Gregory Rohrer
W.W. Mullins Professor and University Professor, Materials Science and Engineering
Gregory S. Rohrer is the W.W. Mullins Professor of Materials Science and Engineering. He received his bachelor’s degree in physics from Franklin and Marshall College, his doctoral degree in materials science and engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, and joined the faculty at Carnegie Mellon in 1990. From 2005 to 2021, he was the head of the department. Rohrer is a fellow of the American Ceramic Society and has authored or co-authored more than 350 publications. His research has been recognized by numerous awards, among which are the Richard M. Fulrath Award, the Robert B. Sosman Award, and the W. David Kingery Award, all of the American Ceramic Society. Rohrer is the coordinating editor for the Acta Materialia family of Journals. In 2011, he served as chair of the University Materials Council, from 2016 to 2019 he was a member of the Board of Directors of the American Ceramic Society. He was named as a Materials Research Society (MRS) Fellow in 2024 and received the Cyril Stanley Smith Award from TMS in 2025 for pioneering work in quantifying the underlying atomic, nano, and microstructural mechanisms that govern high temperature deformation of materials.
Polycrystalline Materials
Education
1989 Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania
1984 BS, Physics, Franklin and Marshall College
Media mentions
The American Ceramics Society
Rohrer awarded for outstanding teaching and mentoring
MSE’s Greg Rohrer was awarded the Outstanding Educator Award by the American Ceramics Society for his outstanding and creative work as a teacher and mentor.
CMU Engineering
Greg Rohrer named University Professor
Greg Rohrer was among three Carnegie Mellon University faculty members who have been chosen to receive the title of University Professor in 2025.
Materials Science and Engineering
CMU shines at TMS Meeting
The TMS (The Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society) Annual Meeting held in Las Vegas highlighted the work of Carnegie Mellon faculty, students, and alumni in a number of ways.
Materials Science and Engineering
Sparking interest in materials science
MSE faculty are involved with a variety of efforts aimed to engage elementary, middle, and high school students with materials science concepts.
Materials Science and Engineering
Rohrer earns MRS, ASM recognition
Greg Rohrer was recently selected as an MRS fellow, and designated to deliver the ASM Andrew Carnegie Lecture.
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Rohrer quoted on steel vulnerabilities after overpass collapse
MSE’s Greg Rohrer spoke to the Philadelphia Inquirer about the properties of steel in light of the recent overpass collapse on I-95 in Philadelphia that occurred after a tanker truck caught fire. Rohrer noted that heat not only makes steel girders weaker, but it also causes them to expand.
US Department of Energy
Rohrer’s microstructure research shared by DOE
MSE’s Gregory Rohrer’s research on predicting the microstructure of materials was shared by the US Department of Energy Office of Science.
CMU Engineering
Refuting a 70-year approach to predicting material microstructure
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a new microscopy technique that maps material microstructure in three dimensions; results demonstrate that the conventional method for predicting materials’ properties under high temperature is ineffective.
CMU Engineering
Air Force partnership to fuse AI and materials research
CMU and Air Force Research Laboratory establish 5-year, $7.5M Center of Excellence in data-driven materials research.
Phys.org
Rohrer contributes to grain boundaries research
MSE Head Greg Rohrer was recently mentioned in a Phys.org article for his contribution to work that lead to the discovery of segregation-induced superstructures at grain boundaries in nickel-bismuth polycrystalline alloys.
Rollett and Rohrer publish book on materials science topics
MSE’s Tony Rollett and MSE Head Greg Rohrer recently published a materials science book, called Recrystallization and Related Annealing Phenomena. The newest edition of their text provides experts with the latest findings in the materials science field.
CMU Engineering
Department news
The initiatives underway in the College’s departments embody the value we place on progress. Here are some of our current projects and prides.