The center provides a focal point for hazardous substance research and training and technology transfer in the Great Plains and Rocky Mountain areas comprising EPA Regions VII and VIII. A long-term goal is to serve the needs of the 10-state area using as many available resources within Regions VII and VIII as possible. For instance, training and technology transfer events offered by consortium universities and other institutions are listed in the quarterly newsletter HazTech Transfer. Information about the center, the annual report, and proceedings of the annual conference are available on the Internet at http://www.engg.ksu.edu/HSRC. Through personal visits, the newsletter, telephone calls, the Internet, and direct mailings, center staff have emphasized inclusiveness and the idea of "working together for a better environment." Center personnel have made visits to all of the consortia universities, several other universities, EPA regional offices, and other state and federal offices. A variety of professional gatherings and conferences have been sponsored and attended. More than 25,000 individuals have benefited directly through center activities.

A large number of the projects funded by the center include a cooperative element. Many of them involve more than one principal investigator; there is cooperation across academic department boundaries as well as institutional cooperation. In some cases, investigators are cooperating with support through two separate projects. Often publications are co-authored by two or more faculty members. Faculty from several universities have participated in workshops offered by the center. These cooperative activities have helped to strengthen environmental research and technology transfer programs at participating universities. Participating students have benefited from working with a team of investigators.

The advisory committees have been most valuable in guiding the center in selecting research and technology transfer areas to pursue and projects to support. On the advice of the Science Advisory Committee in May 1990, the director assigned the highest priority to research involving soil and processes to clean up contaminated soil, thus pursuing a focal area. Many of the new projects reflect the priority on soil-related research. Members of the committee have encouraged research on innovative applications of vegetation in bioremediation and stabilization of soil. Cooperation with other institutions and organizations has been enhanced because of leadership of committee members.

The center's administrative office is in Ward Hall at Kansas State University. Stanley C. Grant, associate director; Blase Leven, program coordinator; Patrick McDonald, extension assistant; and Carla Wolfe, office manager and program associate, manage the office and provide a variety of public services, including responding to many requests for information on the activities of the center and other environmental issues. Wendy Griswold, project manager, provides administrative management for the Native American and Other Minority Academic Institutions (NAOMI) Program at Haskell Indian Nations University. Alison Hodges is the project accountant for the center and Rita Shade provides clerical support.