Sandhage studied metallurgical engineering at Purdue University, completing his degree in 1981.
He pursued a doctoral degree in ceramics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
In 1988, he moved to an equivalently titled role at the American Superconductor Corporation.
Sandhage began his teaching career in 1991 as an assistant professor at Ohio State University.
In 2015, Sandgage was named to a Reilly Professorship in Materials Engineering at Purdue.