After World War I, the Institute of Mechanical Technology II was established on the initiative of Prof. Ryška in 1920. The aim was to complement instruction in the technological procedures that had been taught at the Institute of Mechanical Technology I since 1901to include the technological properties of materials (weldability, castability and formability).

In 1921, Dr. Frantisek Píšek was appointed Professor Extraordinary for mechanical technology II, who reorganized studies at the Institute and extended them to include lectures and exercises in metallography (academic year 1926/1927).
Under Prof. Píšek’s leadership the Institute was developing rapidly, with laboratories for metallography, dilatometry, chemical analyses and mechanical testing being successively established.
The main focus in the Institute was on the study of the properties of foundry materials (foundry alloys and metal-forming materials).
The Institute operated in this form until the closure of universities in World War II.

After the war, the organizational set-up of the Technical University in Brno was renewed in its pre-war form and the reforms of university studies in 1945 and 1948 did not bring any changes.In 1951, the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, inclusive of the two technology institutes, was made part of the Military Technical Academy. Part of the Institute of Mechanical Technology II was incorporated into the Civil Engineering University as the Department of Foundry Engineering.

The Institute resumed its activities only in the year 1956, when the Technical University of Brno was established. Within its Faculty of Power Engineering the Department of Materials Science was formed, led by Prof. Frantisek Píšek, which took over and continued in the tradition and work of the former Institute of Mechanical Technology II. Successive heads of the Department were Prof. Osina (1961), Prof. Dorazil (1969), Prof. Míšek (1989), and Prof. Ptáček (1991).
The Department had a span of successful development and provided instruction in the “Metal Forming” specialization until 1964, when the Department of Metal Forming was formed, taking over from the Department of Materials Science some laboratories, classrooms and part of the staff. The Department of Materials Science provided instruction in the “Metal Forming – Heat Treatment” specialization.
In the year 1985 the laboratories for electron microscopy and X-ray structure analysis split from the Department and came under the Amalgamated Science and Research Institute of BUT, where the formed an independent Instrumentation Centre. The Centre provided research services for all the BUT faculties.

On September 1st, 1992, the Institute of Materials Engineering was established, comprising four units of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering: the Department of Materials Science, the Department of Foundry Engineering, the Instrumentation Centre, and the newly created centre for advanced ceramics.
The four units provided instruction in the basic courses and in the specializations “Materials Engineering” and “Foundry Engineering”, complementing one another organically. Research in the Institute concerned the fields of Materials Science, Foundry Engineering, Structure and Phase Analyses, and Ceramics.
The first director of the Institute to be appointed was Prof. Švejcar, followed by Prof. Čech, Prof. Ptáček, and the present director, Prof. Cihlář.

The Institute continues the tradition following up on Prof. Píšek’s modern approach to science and teaching. It is involved in extensive teaching activities and participates in many national and international research projects. Cooperation with industries forms a significant part of the activities of the Institute, focusing on the areas of materials sciences and processing technologies. Teachers in the Institute are members of national and international technical societies.