Explosively Created Ph.D. Copper Diplomas
It is a long-standing tradition at New Mexico Tech that Ph.D. recipients receive, in addition to their paper diploma, a copper diploma explosively formed using a process called Detonography—developed at NMT’s Energetic Materials Research & Testing Center (EMRTC).
In this process, a copper plate is placed against a laser-etched rubber sheet containing the diploma text and a layer of explosive sheet material. When detonated, the explosion forces gas through the etched rubber, engraving the design into the copper with remarkable precision. A thin layer of aluminum foil is also explosively welded onto the surface to imprint the New Mexico Tech seal.
Each diploma uniquely combines artistry and science, symbolizing the creativity and innovation that define NMT’s graduate research. More than 500 graduate students contribute to groundbreaking projects across physics, chemistry, biology, and engineering each year—advancing research funded by faculty-led grants and national collaborations. Pictured on the right: Jonathan Dooley (Physics, Dissertation in Instrumentation), and Megan Yuriko Hein (Physics, Dissertation in Astrophysics), a husband and wife who received their diplomas at the same time.
Learn More:
Graduate research going on at NMT:
https://nmt.edu/research/graduate/index.php
Graduate Studies Office to apply today:
https://www.nmt.edu/gradstudies/