University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Illinois Sustainable Technology Center | University of Illinois Archives

The Hazardous Waste Technology Exchange Service Program was created in September 1984 after the passing of the Hazardous Waste Technology Exchange Service Act.¹ This Act required that the Department of Energy and Natural Resources create a Hazardous Waste Technology Exchange Service Program, which was the first incarnation of the program and administered by the State Water Survey. Its name changed to the Hazardous Waste Research and Information Center (HWRIC) in 1989 when it separated from the State Water Survey, and in 1995 it was transferred the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and renamed the Waste Management and Research Center by the Board of Natural Resources and Conservation.² In July 2008, the center--along with the State Scientific Surveys--moved from the DNR to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The university renamed it the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC). The ISTC is now administered by the Prairie Research Institute, which in turn is managed by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research.³ Aside from its home office in Champaign, Illinois, the ISTC also staffs offices in Springfield, Alton, and Peoria.

According to Director Manohar Kulkarni, the ISTC's emphasis is "on sustainability, technology, energy and environment, and industrial outreach...Specifically, the Center's research is currently focused on biochar, biofuels, crop-water-energy nexus, water-energy nexus, and sustainable electronics."⁴ Some notable programs of the ISTC include the Pollution Prevention Program (established in 1989) and the Toxic Pollution Prevention Assistance Program (also established in 1989). Prior to 1997, the ISTC had four programs: Information Services, Laboratory Services, Pollution, and Research. In January 1997, Research and Laboratory Services were combined into one program.⁵

Directors and interim directors of the ISTC include Michael Barcelona (appointed 1984), David L. Thomas (1985-1997, 2012-2013), Gary Miller (1997-1998, 2008-2009), George Vander Velde (1998-2008), John Marlin (2009-2010), Manohar Kulkarni (2010-2012), and Kevin O'Brien (2013- ).⁶

1. History of ISTC, https://www.istc.illinois.edu/about/history.

2. Ibid

3. Ibid.

4. Illinois Board of Natural Resource Sustainability (IBNRS) Minutes, May 12, 2011, http://www.prairie.illinois.edu/board/minutes/may-12-11.shtml.

5. History of ISTC, https://www.istc.illinois.edu/about/history.

6. Ibid.