Institutes & Centers
The Wanger Institute for Sustainable Energy Research [WISER]The institute develops close collaborations among numerous programs at IIT with a focus on development of energy-related interprofessional educational and research programs and proposals. The strategy of the institute is to use a least-cost path to improve energy efficiency, enhance power reliability and security, minimize pollution, and continue the decarbonization of the global energy system. IIT researchers believe that the endpoint of this evolution will be electrification of most stationary energy uses with such high-tech renewables as photovoltaic, solar-thermal and wind energy, and the use of hydrogen as the dominant transportation fuel in fuel-cell-powered electric vehicles. The institute also has plans to develop research and educational partnerships with the City of Chicago, State of Illinois, industry, national laboratories and other universities. The institute goal is to play a major role in identifying future research directions for shaping national energy policy and sustainability initiatives. For more information, contact Hamid Arastoopour at 312.567.3038 or arastoopour@iit.edu.
A Pathway to Sustainability:Overview of IIT energy and sustainability initiatives
The Pritzker Institute of Biomedical Science and Engineering
The Pritzker Institute is an umbrella organization that enhances the biomedical science and engineering research activities on the IIT campus. The Medical Imaging Research Center (MIRC), the Center for Integrative Neuroscience and Neuroengineering research (CINNR), and the Engineering Center for Diabetes Research and Education (ECDRE) are some of the Centers that operate under the Institute. Each of the Centers has a Director and is described in more detail elsewhere in this document.The Pritzker Institute develops and coordinates relationships and programs with traditional science and engineering departments within IIT, as well as outside institutions, especially, Argonne National Laboratory, Rush Presbyterian Medical Center and the University of Chicago. Vincent Turitto, Director, can be reached at 312.567.5324.
The Center for Complex Systems and Dynamics (CCSD)
CCSD provides an interdisciplinary collaborative environment for fundamental and applied research for understanding and mathematically describing complex systems; developing mathematical and computational techniques for simulating, analyzing, and modifying their behavior; and applying these methods to various complex systems of national interest. Current research areas include nonlinear and stochastic phenomena in complex systems, multiagent systems, complex networks and adaptive systems, natural and industrial ecologies, dynamics of multiphase systems, fluid turbulence, molecular level modeling of physical systems, brain electrophysiology and computational neuroscience, and transportation systems. Ali Cinar, director, can be reached at 312.567.3637 or cinar@iit.edu.
The Center for Digital Design and Manufacturing (CDDM)
The center was formed to integrate innovative computing with product design, materials characterization, and manufacturing technologies. One of the goals of the center is to partner with industry to improve the U.S. manufacturing industry's global competitiveness. The CDDM is a multi-disciplinary research center with strengths in design, materials, solid mechanics, process control, and manufacturing. The center's research activities will cover the entire product development cycle-including product design, computational analysis, rapid manufacturing and process control, experimental characterization of material properties, and dimensional metrology. Director Xiaoping Qian can be reached at 312.567.5855 or qian@iit.edu.
The Center for Electrochemical Science and Engineering
The Center conducts basic and applied research primarily in fuel cells and batteries, while preparing students for a career in advanced energy technology. Jai Prakash, director, can be reached at 312.567.3639.
The Center of Excellence in Polymer Science and Engineering
The Center is an interdisciplinary research and education center established in 1990 through a grant from the Amoco Foundation, is devoted to the advancement of polymer science and engineering. Research is conducted on synthesis, rheology, characterization and processing of polymers. Education programs include concentrations for B.S., Mas. (non-thesis), M.S. and Ph.D. degrees. David C. Venerus, director, can be reached at 312.567.5177 or venerus@iit.edu.
The Center for Integrative Neuroscience and Neuroengineering Research
The mission of the Center for Integrative Neuroscience and Neuroengineering Research (CINNR) is to foster research in systems and behavioral neuroscience at the University of Chicago and neural engineering at Illinois Institute of Technology. Work in the Center proceeds from basic science and clinical efforts and emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches to understanding the nervous system.
The Center for the Molecular Study of Soft Condensed Matter (CMS2)
This inter-disciplinary center will focus on problems particular to soft condensed matter, including biological systems. The group will have synergies with other existing IIT research centers including the Center for Complex Systems and Dynamics (CCSD), the Center of Excellence in Polymer Science and Engineering (CEPSE), the Center for Synchrotron Radiation Research and Instrumentation, and the Particle Technology and Crystallization Center (PTCC). Current funding for this center is provided to the individual researchers, and the formation of this center is expected to create a critical mass of expertise in this area, leading to increased visibility and the likelihood of large-scale research funding. Current research focused on by members of the center include: the modeling and simulation of intracellular protein and DNA dynamics; mechanical properties of the cytoskeleton; synthetic polymer property modeling; and membranes and membrane proteins. Jay Schieber, director, can be reached at 312.567.3046 or schieber@iit.edu.
The Center for Work Zone Safety & Mobility (CWZSM)
The center will work towards providing long-term solutions to highway work zone safety and mobility problems, by building a consortium of major work zone stakeholders including transportation agencies, road contractors, the trucking industry, and the insurance industry. By working together through the consortium, the stakeholders can combine their resources and knowledge, and work towards preventing the 50,000 work zone injuries and 1,000 fatalities that occur every year. The initiatives of the center will focus on (1) developing highway work zone safety audit guidelines by addressing the concerns and interests of all stakeholders; (2) discovering/developing/transferring new technologies and measures for improving work zone safety, and minimizing its negative impacts on private industries and the national economy; and (3) providing work zone safety training and education to the transportation community and the public. Jonathan Shi, director, can be reached at 312.567.3630 or shi@iit.edu.
The Electric Power and Power Electronic Center (EPPEC)
IIT has long maintained high quality education and research programs in electric power and energy systems. The mission of the Electric Power and Power Electronics Center (EPPEC) is to make significant educational, research, and practical contributions to the fields of electric power, power electronics, electric machines, motor drives, and vehicular power systems. The tasks of the Center include the sponsorship of technical studies, which will enhance the role of university faculty, manufacturers, vendors, and consumers in power engineering research and education. The Center works with centers and departments across IIT, other institutions, government agencies, and industry to sponsor research projects, short courses, conferences, and seminars. Ali Emadi, director, can be reached at 312.567.8940 or emadi@iit.edu.
Energy + Power Center
The Center offers research and education programs that respond to the needs of the energy and power industries. The center's activities include the Energy/Environment/Economics (E3) program. Henry R. Linden, center director, can be reached at 312.567.3095 or linden@iit.edu.
The Engineering Center For Diabetes Research and Education (ECDRE)
ECDRE's objective is to use engineering techniques to develop treatment modalities for diabetes and its many complications. ECDRE is the first center in the U.S. to focus on diabetes treatment. IIT faculty members, in collaboration with investigators and clinicians at the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory, are working on a variety of diabetes-related research projects. ECDRE is a component of the Pritzker Institute of Biomedical Science and Engineering, which is developing a biomedical research thrust on the campus of IIT. Ali Cinar, director, can be reached at 312-567-3637 or cinar@iit.edu. Emmanuel Opara, co-director, can be reached at 312-567-3858 or opara@iit.edu.
The Fluid Dynamics Research Center
FDRC consists of six faculty engaged in experimental, computational, and analytical studies of fluid flow and its control. The center has numerous research-quality experimental facilities including, high and low Mach number wind tunnels, jet facilities, water channels, anechoic room and an axial flow compressor. Extensive computational resources are available for numerical flow simulations. Areas of focus include active flow control for aerospace applications, aeroacoustics, contaminant dispersion predictions and vortex-surface interactions. David R. Williams, director, can be reached at 312.567.3192.
The Medical Imaging Research Center (MIRC)
MIRC at the Pritzker Institute of Biomedical Science and Engineering promotes, coordinates, and fosters research and educational activities at IIT in medical imaging and related fields. Educational programs include B.S. and Ph.D. programs in Biomedical Engineering and a professional masters degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Current projects include: mapping the human brain, new x-ray imgaging techniques, computer-aided diagnosis, and imaging the heart. Director, Miles Wernick, can be reached at 312.567.8818 or wernick@iit.edu.
The Particle Technology and Crystallization Center (PTCC)
PTCC is devoted to the development of fundamental knowledge, methods and strategies in the areas of nucleation, crystallization, particle technology, and characterization that will result in faster development of new pharmaceutical compounds, development of new solid forms, and a reduced time to bring a new compound to market. This center is a collaboration of IIT, Purdue University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A unique mechanism for addressing these important problems in particle technology and crystallization in the pharmaceutical industry arises from the combination of the particle technology and crystallization group at IIT, which includes characterization facilities at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) at Argonne National Laboratory; the expertise provided by the department of Industrial and Physical Pharmacy at Purdue University in polymorphism, materials science, spectroscopic analysis, and manufacturing; and MIT in benchmarking and process analysis. Allan Myerson, director can be reached at myerson@iit.edu. Co-director Hamid Arastoopour can be reached at arastoopour@iit.edu.
Thermal Processing Technology Center (TPTC)
Through the TPTC, faculty and students undertake research to support the needs of the materials processing and manufacturing industries. The center performs high quality basic and applied research in thermal processing technology of interest to the primary metals and manufacturing industry. In addition, the center provides training and education to enhance the human resources available to industry. Multi-disciplinary research teams are used to provide innovative crosscutting technological solutions to industrial materials processing problems. Philip Nash, director, can be reached at 312.567.3056.
Wireless Network and Communications Research Center (WiNCom)
WiNCom is an inter-disciplinary research center that will fuse the creative talents of researchers from the Computer Science, and the Electrical and Computer Engineering Departments. The center will focus on state-of-the-art research in the area of wireless communications and networking with a particular emphasis on the challenges of interference in this domain. The immediate goals of the center are (1) to create and maintain a flexible state-of-the-art wireless experimental and simulation based testbed; and (2) to utilize the base understanding obtained through the testbed to support the development of interference mitigation techniques, and to advance emerging wireless technologies, such as cognitive radio and ultrawideband (UWB). Long-term, the center members envision that the center's research and capabilities will attract collaborators from government agencies, industrial organizations, and other universities. Joseph LoCicero, director, can be reached at 312.567.3408 or locicero@iit.edu.