Robert Pond is a professor emeritus in the Whiting School of Engineering's Department of Materials Science and Engineering Department. He was Hopkins' first metallurgist, notable among students for his aluminum bow ties. In his career, he spent time on rapid solidification technology as well as on solidification phenomena. Pond was also known for his lecture "Fun with Metals," which he gave more than 500 times throughout the course of his career. In this history, Pond recounts his professorship and innovation at the Whiting School of Engineering. This oral history is part of the Mame Warren oral histories series.