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Mike Tarkanian teaches 3.042 (Materials Project Laboratory), a capstone design course in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering curriculum. He manages the Laboratory for Engineering Materials and the Merton C. Flemings Materials Processing Lab, supporting the DMSE instructional staff. His work in laboratories focuses on materials metallurgical processing, manufacturing, prototyping, and design. He instructs students in the theory and practice of casting, forging, machining, and welding. In 2022, Tarkanian became associate director of the Center for Materials Research in Archaeology and Ethnology, overseeing both undergraduate and graduate research. In this role, he began co-teaching courses such as 3.985 (Archaeological Science) and 3.094 (Materials and Human Experience). Tarkanian has been at MIT continuously for over 18 years, with short breaks, also working in materials development at early 3D printing company Z Corporation and in the polymer coatings and adhesives industry at Bostik. He has earned BS and MS degrees in Materials Science and Engineering and is a registered professional engineer in metallurgy in Massachusetts.