Funding for the center comes primarily from industry membership fees, state funds and other external research grants, as well as NSF funds, and university contributions in the form of tuition scholarships and reduced overhead rate. The Center is leveraging the industrial contributions by a factor of more than 20. Our Chicago location provides advantages for this center because of the significant industrial presence in the region, the ease of accessibility and the amenities of a large city.

The missions of the center are to perform high quality basic research of interest to industry in a cost effective manner, to provide a mechanism whereby technology can be transferred to industry and to enhance the human resources available to the industry. This will be achieved through the concentration of resources dedicated to this research, by having a well defined research agenda set by the Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) and through direct interactions with the industry partners. Some of the research projects will involve collaboration with national laboratories, universities and other centers such as the Advanced Steel Processing and Products Center at the Colorado School of Mines and the Sensors Center at Ohio State. The center provides education of graduate students through project research for MS and PhD and continuing education for working professionals through distance learning courses, personnel exchanges, seminars and workshop activities. The center also enhances undergraduate education through opportunities for participation in seminars and workshops, research projects, IPRO’s (IIT’s Interprofessional Projects program), and maintaining and developing faculty with interest in thermal processing.