<p>This sounds like a terrific project.</p>
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September 12, 2007</p>
<p>The institute will provide an environment in which businesses, governments and academic researchers can collaborate to improve manufacturing processes and products in order to increase usability and reduce negative environmental impacts.</p>
<p>For example, researchers at RIT's Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies already have worked with one company to find ways to reuse printer cartridge parts that had been discarded after one use. RIT researchers developed a method to verify the quality of the parts so they could be reused.</p>
<p>The Golisano donation will pay for curriculum development, new faculty and some equipment. A building to house the institute is planned for the future, but the donation is not intended to pay for that.</p>
<p>Plans for the new institute include creation of the one of the first doctorates in sustainability. The program is expected to start next year.</p>
<p>Sustainability initiatives designed to improve the efficiency of manufacturing processes from the raw-material stage to the disposal of products have attracted increased attention from major corporations, where the position of sustainability manager has been established.</p>
<p>The new institute, which will be led by Nabil Nasr, RIT assistant provost and director of the Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies, will have an academic focus, while the existing CIMS will continue to concentrate on working with companies and governments to develop practical solutions to manufacturing problems and to improve products.
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