Materials Technology Laboratory

The Materials Technology Laboratory (MTL) was a research facility under the U.S. Army Materiel Command that specialized in metallurgy and materials science and engineering for ordnance and other military purposes. Located in Watertown, Massachusetts, MTL was originally known as the Watertown Arsenal Laboratories (WAL) and represented one of many laboratory buildings erected at Watertown Arsenal. Despite its name and its role in housing the arsenal's mechanical and metallurgical laboratory equipment, however, WAL operated independently from the arsenal. The facility remained in operation even after Watertown Arsenal closed down in 1967. WAL was renamed the Army Materials Research Agency (AMRA) in 1962 and then the Army Materials and Mechanics Research Center (AMMRC) in 1967 before it became the Materials Technology Laboratory in 1985. In 1992, MTL was disestablished, and the majority of its operations and personnel were incorporated into the newly created U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL).