A method of co-synthesizing ceramic/metal (cermet) composite powders by combustion techniques has been developed.  The resulting powder is an intimate mixture of particles of the two materials that are on the order of 10 nm in size.  A model system consisting of 30 vol% CeO₂ and 70 vol% copper metal has been co-synthesized in this manner to explore the microstructures of metal matrix composites that can be achieved utilizing a co-synthesized precursor powder with such a fine scale of homogeneity.  The microstructures resulting from various milling, compaction, and sintering techniques and parameters will be presented, including the effects of spex milling parameters on powders in which the CuO phase, which is present after combustion synthesis, was reduced to Cu metal either before or after milling.  The spex milling parameters were investigated using a 2-level full factorial matrix study and included the milling media composition, the number and size of milling balls, and the milling time.