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The National Center for Clean Industrial and Treatment Technologies (CenCITT) is a research consortium dedicated to advancing the science, engineering and implementation of pollution prevention. It was established in 1992 through a base grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with founding members: Michigan Technological University (MTU; administrative lead), the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) and the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (UM). Today, CenCITT is an organization which enjoys participation and collaboration well beyond these founding members. Since establishment, CenCITT has initiated 57 projects involving 51 principal investigators, 57 companies, 33 governmental and other or ganizations, and well over 100 students. Targeted industry sectors have included chemical processing, metals, manufacturing, energy, forest products, and others. Participating disciplines have included environmental, chemical, civil, mechanical, metallurgical and geological engineering, as well as chemistry, biology, social science, business and forestry.
CenCITT activities are planned and executed through the Center Director and a Steering Committee comprised of the Institutional Coordinators from its member institutions, the Technology Transfer Director and the Program Manager. CenCITT's overall program undergoes regular external peer review by its Scientific Advisory Committee composed of nationally recognized pollution prevention and industrial process experts from industry, government and universities.
CenCITT's mission is to assist industry in pollution prevention by devising clean technologies and process design tools, and by pursuing promising leads in treatment, beneficiation, and reuse where prevention is not feasible. CenCITT's goal is to help create industrial facilities in which waste is minimized through economically sound, combined optimization of manufacturing processes, treatment operations and reuse. Now starting its fourth year of operation, CenCITT addresses its mission on three fronts: clean design guidance, new clean technology development and research agenda alignment.
In addition to its highly valued relationships with individual companies and governmental entities, CenCITT has strategic alliances with the Center for Waste Reduction Technologies (CWRT) of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS). These alliances serve to leverage resources and speed industrial implementation of innovative waste reduction technologies, educational programs, information systems, and processes. CenCITT has growing collaborative relationships with many other organizations, including state and national pollution prevention technical assistance providers, government research organizations and other universities.
CenCITT's programs are each marked by openness in development, execution and implementation of results. CenCITT's goal is to assure the chain of industry need, discovery of solution, testing and implementation remains unbroken. It's approach is founded in a belief that limited research funding is a long-term reality, stewardship of the environment can't wait, and that these factors should compel researchers world-wide to communicate and coordinate their efforts to achieve sustainable economic development.