PRODUCED BY SPONSORED BY fDiMagazine THE BUSINESS OF GLOBALISATION Pittsburgh Regional Alliance Photo: DaveDiCello, courtesy of Allegheny Conference PITTSBURGH From steel city to tech titan

FORMERLYAN or evidence that thecity of Pittsburgh ducing city –adriving force forindustryand INDUSTRIAL leads thefrontline of new industry, manufacturing around theworld from the look no further than its selection as POWERHOUSE, IN THE F mid-19th centuryonward –global economic thesiteofthe firsteverWhiteHouse Frontiers changeforced Pittsburgh intodramatic 1970s PITTSBURGH Conference in October 2016,ahigh-profile decline before its ultimateturnaround. WENT INTOADECLINE. event focused on building theUS’s capacity Beginning in the1970s, manufacturing THEN DIVERSE LOCAL in science, technology and innovation. plants and steel mills, theengines of the INTERESTS CAME Hostedbythe University of Pittsburgh region’s economyand employment, began TOGETHER TO REBUILD and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), the shutting their doors. By 1983, 250,000 people THECITY INTOATECH, conference focused on thecapacity of technol- had leftthe city and theunemployment level ogy to improvelives and createjobs and invest- had reached 18.3%. HEALTHCARE AND ment, exploring fields from healthcare inno- Today, thePittsburgh region (comprising FINANCIAL SERVICES vation, clean energy and theInternet of 10 counties in south-western Pennsylvania) HUB, ENSURING ITS Thingstorobotics, artificial intelligence tells astory of striking resilience, an example SURVIVAL THROUGH and space exploration. of what can happen when adiverse group EDUCATIONAND Speaking at theevent, US president Barack of stakeholders come together to invest INNOVATION. NATASHA Obama called Pittsburgh “a city that has har- their work and inventiveness intoreviving TURAK REPORTS nessed innovation to redefine itself as acentre acommunity. fortechnology,healthcare and education”. It startedinthe 1990s, says Dennis “Pittsburgh has been revitalising itself Yablonsky,CEO of theAllegheny Conference through technology foraverylong time,” on Community Development (ACCD), which said Mr Obama. “That’s howthis city came serves thePittsburgh region. “Ledbythe back afteraniconic industryfell on tougher then-presidentofCMU,literally afew hundred times, doubling down on science, on tech, on leaders –government,business, academic, innovation –all of which can createamazing philanthropic –cametogetherand concluded new jobs and opportunities.” that throughinnovationand collaboration betweeninstitutions, we coulddevelop our From steel to tech clusterofindustriestobeproductiveagain,” Fewplaces embody thephenomenon of a he recalls. comeback city quitelikePittsburgh.Known The region became thethird in theUS historicallyfor its dominance as asteel-pro- to fullyrecover from the2008 recession, its

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unemployment rate is nowbelowthe national have $300m everyyear ingrant making that average, and it is one of thecountry’s fastest goes on here,”adds Mr Yablonsky. growing destinations formillennials. Acombination of academic institutions, Building forthe future privateenterprise, historicphilanthropyand Building on its manufacturing history, new industryinnovators –and aspirit of pull- Pittsburgh is carrying that spirit of creativity ing oneself up by one’s bootstraps –isdue intothe future. It is aventure embodied in credit forthe remarkable renaissance of Pittsburgh 4.0, thecity’s owncontribution to Pittsburgh from former steel towntoone of Industry4.0, so named to describe thenewest theworld’s premier destinations foradvanced industrial revolution toward automation and industries such as cyber security,artificial increased data exchangeinmanufacturing. intelligence and robotics. Google and Uber The Pittsburgh Regional Alliance describes are justafew of themanyblue-chip compa- Pittsburgh 4.0 as thesynergy between manu- nies that have set up operations in thecity facturing prowess, energy,technology and in recent years. innovation –assets thecity aims to utilise to automateand revolutionise manufacturing Asmartecosystem around theworld. The base of Pittsburgh’s power, its business Multinational 3D design, engineering residents say, is its human talent. Annually, and entertainment software corporation 35,000 students graduatefromPittsburgh’s Autodesk, which employs nearly8000 world- 35-collegeuniversity network. Some 50% of wide and has an annual revenue of more than young adults in Pittsburgh have abachelor’s $2.5bn, acquired Pittsburgh start-up Allpoint degree, compared with the national in 2013.Senior manager Aaron Morris, who averageof35%. earned his PhD at CMU,saysthe city has been CMU and theUniversity of Pittsburgh, waiting forits moment to shine again. bothtier-one research institutions and “Asyou cansee, Industry4.0 is thefuture incubators fornumerous start-up companies, of everything: it deals withdata, security and are among thecity’s mostvital assets, interna- all thethings Pittsburgh has been sitting on tionallyreputed fortheir technology and forawhile,”hesays. “Wegot intorobotics in science programmes. And thecity’s wage theearly2000s, we thought it was going to ratesare 95% of thenational average. In bustloose. So we’vebeen waiting along time, Silicon Valley thefigure is about 158% of and nowthis is theworld. You’vegot to have thenational average, according to theUS faith. The world is ready and starting to recog- Bureau of Labor Statistics. nise it, which is whycompanies such as Pittsburgh’s present-dayeconomic Autodesk are able to getinvestment.” foundation lies on five pillars: financial and Forthcoming challenges includeincreas- business services, advanced manufacturing, ingthe millennial retention rate beyond IT,healthcare and lifesciences, and energy. universityand ensuring education keeps “Wehavethis whole knowledge-based pace with changing industrydemands. industry,”saysMrYablonsky.“We went from a Regional players areteaming up with place that was totallydependent on one sector schools and businesses to introduce new –50% of theeconomywas heavy manufactur- career opportunities to young people, from ing –toaneconomythat is very balanced. The CMU’sCyburgh PA Initiative 2016 forcyber largestsector –financial services –now [makes security learning to ShaleNet’s engineering up] 23% [of theeconomy]. It’s very diversified, training forthe natural gasindustry. and all driven by innovation.” When Mr Yablonsky began his ownartifi- Stateand local community leaders have cial intelligence start-up in the1990s, there developed astrong ecosystemtosupportnew were 50 tech companies in theregion. Now companies. The ACCD and the300-member there are 1600, along with500 lifesciences Regional Investors Council work with state- companies and athriving healthcare sector, level players to ensure businesses have what thelargestemployerinthe area. they need to grow and stay in thearea.And a Mr Yablonskyalso highlights thelocal $3bn investment in university,corporateand qualityoflife. Living costs are96% thenational government R&D annuallyunderscores the average, andPittsburgh offers morethan500 region’s commitment to leading innovation. arts and cultural organisations,threeprofes- Thankstothis, Pittsburgh is home to more sionalsportsfranchises, and plentifulgreen than 400 foreign-owned firmsemploying spacefor ahealthy andactive lifestyle. more than 50,000 people. Pittsburghers saythat thesteel made in “Wehaveaunique asset in that we thecity’s mills was exportedto“build the have thesecond highestconcentration of world” in the20thcentury. Those business philanthropic assets in thecountry,”saysMr and trade connections remain, but have now Yablonsky.“There is more than $6bn dollars expanded intonew sectors that define the of philanthropic assets here.” The foundations frontiers of advanced industry. Led by its work leftbyprominent industrialists such as HJ ethic, scientific prowess and history of resil- Heinz, GeorgeWestinghouse and Andrew ience, Pittsburgh’s rich ecosystemishelping Carnegie investsolelyinPittsburgh. “So we lead theUSthrough the21stcentury. ■

December 2016/January2017 www.fDiIntelligence.com 57 Infinity and beyond: William ‘Red’ Whittaker and his planetaryrover protoype Therobot revolution PITTSBURGHISAGLOBALLEADERWHENITCOMES TO ROBOTICS RESEARCHAND DEVELOPMENT, HOSTING NUMEROUSCOMPANIES IN THE FIELD DRAWN TO THE CITY’S RICH INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE, HIGHLYSKILLED WORKFORCE ANDTHE EXPERTISE COMING OUT OF CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY. NATASHATURAK LOOKS AT HOW THE CITY IS BUILDING ON THISREPUTATION

here is areason whyinterna- theworld forrobotics, following pilots NASA’s Curiosity on Mars tional transportation network onlyBostonbut ahead of San project; and William ‘Red’ T Uber chose Pittsburgh as the Francisco, Tokyoand Seoul. Whittaker,aprofessor,the insti- launch city forits autonomous vehi- tute’s father,and thefounder of cles lab and thesiteofits firstpublic Arobo-hub thediscipline of field robotics. unveiling of driverless cars. Raffi Robust R&D,abroadarray of private- Since theinstitute’s founding, Krikorian, engineering director publicpartnerships and abundant it has developed unmanned vehicles at Uber’s Advanced Technologies human talent arecountedamong to clean up theinfamous Three Mile Center and theman behind thecom- theresourcesthatmakePittsburgh Island nuclear accident site, it has pany’s driverless revolution, spoke fertile ground forroboticscompa- brought CMU to victoryinthe $2m to fDi at theWhiteHouse Frontiers nies. Some of thecity’s mostpromi- Urban Challengerobotic autono- Conference in Pittsburgh. “Being nent players in thefield are Uber mous vehicles race, and Mr here withthe Carnegie Mellon Technologies, RedZone Robotics, Whittaker and his team nowplan University [CMU] robotics centre, Astrobotic Technologies, Carnegie to land and operatearobot on the one of thebestrobotics departments Robotics, theCMU National Robotics moon in pursuit of the$20m Google in theworld, gives us access to so EngineeringCenter andthe CMU Lunar XPrize. much talent. We have areallyclose RoboticsInstitute. partnership, which enables us to Founded in 1979, theCMU WhyPittsburgh? work with research and industry Robotics Instituteconsists of 76 “I chosePittsburgh bothatatime of right here in thecity.” faculty members, 94 PhD students andbecauseofdeclining traditional Pittsburgh stands out as one and 132master’s students and it industry,”saysMrWhittaker. “I was of thetop robotics research hubs has produced alargenumber of looking foraplacethat hadagood in theUS, making it aleader world- robotics entrepreneurs. Big names technical base, tremendouswork wide. Aranking by design and tech- include Chris Urmson, nowhead ethic, affordable living,where peo- nology websiteGizmodo named of Google’s self-driving car pro- ple could come from anywhereand Pittsburgh thesecond bestcity in gramme; Mark Maimone, who make it big.” Onething that stood

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outtoMrWhittakerwas thesites of infusing automationfeatures mentality hasstayedwiththe com- available foruse.“One thingyou can intomachines forminingand con- munity,and I’m drawntoit.” really find in this townisincredible struction. Caterpillar is thebiggest buildingsand sites,”hesays. “You and bestinclass in what it does in Apast and future canfind acreage, which is so essen- theworld.Itisclear that automation CMU hasfosterednumerous spin- tial to thekindoftechnologies that is itsfuture.” Mr Whittaker cites offcompaniessuchasNearEarth matter in farming,mining and driv- John Deereasanotherexample of Autonomy, which develops ing–these are applicationsyou just an agricultural machinerycompany unmanned aerospace technology, can’tdoatacomputer in acubicle. that is leading theway whenit and EdgeCaseResearch, acustom Robotics hasaphysical manifesta- comes to robotics. software programming andtesting tion beyond itsintellectual content.” “These are thecompanies who firm.EdgeCase uses its expertise in No sectorwill go untouched by have themeans to be firstmovers autonomousfunctional safety to robotics, according to Mr Whittaker. and to go big,”hesays. “Theyare all helpindustrial clients managethe Whether it isinnovations in min- tremendous technological partners. increasing complexityofmachine- ing, agriculture,advanced manufac- That movesitalong, and it isn’t learning algorithms. It worksin turing, automotives, healthcare slowing down.” The Pittsburgh autonomousvehicles, theInternet or space and defence, he says “the Robotics network currentlycom- of Things,consumer electronicsand common denominator in allof prises about 20 companies and industrial powersystems.The small them is robotics”. counting –interms of tech firms team of 10 people serves20clients “Pittsburgh is an incredible cor- in general, thePittsburgh region fromboththe commercial world – ner of theworldfor making things. counts about 1600. including Fortune500 companies Youcan makejustabout anything –and theUSmilitary. in this town. Electronics, precision The centreofrobotics “The base of industryhere has mechanisms,sensors, software – ConfirmingPittsburgh’s allure been important to manyofour pro- robotics is theeconomic engine forroboticscompanies is Jeff grammes,”saysMikeWagner,Edge that drives investment forward,” says Christensen, vice-president at Case CEO and CMU alumnus. “I’ve Mr Whittaker.“General Motorshas Seegrid, afirmdevelopingautono- worked on several vehicles pro- embarked on a$1bn centrefor auton- mous 3D vision navigation in robotic grammes where we needed welders, omy, andthe likes of Ford,Uberand machinery. Simply put, thecompany machinists and technicians, and Teslaare goingafter this revolution “teaches machines howtosee”. having all those available was huge as well. That is billions andbillions Seegrid’s vision-guided industrial forus. Pittsburgh has always been of dollars, that is jobs,and it’s ahuge vehicles are nowbeing deployedby asuperstar forthat kind of thing.” investment in thekindoftechnolo- major manufacturing andretail cli- Representing thefirstgenera- gies that continue to push this along, entsall over theworld.Its partner- tion of his familynot to work for whereall of it begets more of it andit ships withlocalsupermarketchain US Steel, Mr Wagner believes that really buildsonitself.” Giant Eagleand forklifttruck manu- these new ideas have been percolat- facturer Raymond supportits devel- ing in Pittsburgh forsome time, The bigger picture opment and funding. but restofthe world had not been Whileuniversityresearch andgov- “Tome, Pittsburgh is thecentre ready forthem. “If youlook at the ernment funding –particularly from of robotics,”saysMrChristensen, kind of things that are being com- theUSDepartment of Defense and who is aMichigan native. “CMU is mercialised now, those were ideas space agencies–have provided both obviouslyamajor driver forthat; a developed here in theearly2000s,” thesupportand client base forthe lot of us went to school there, and he says. robotics community to thrive, there is afeeder programme forpeo- “I think aclear transformation Pittsburgh is nowworkingto ple who are reallygreat in computer hashappenedhere,”saysSeegrid’s develop this expertiseinto science and robotics.” Mr Christensen. “The hi-tech trans- commercial success. Pittsburgh is an excellent formation is very strong across the “What’ssoimportantisthat place to livecomparedtoSilicon wholeregion –robotics is really com- this gets beyond thedoorsofauni- Valley,headds. “The costofliving ingintoits own. If Pittsburgh’s repu- versity and intothe world,” says Mr comparedtoSilicon Valleyisfantas- tationmoves from steeltocomputer- Whittaker.“So we collaboratewith ticand allofthe talent is here. guided steel–if that’s whatarobotis [constructionand engineeringcom- Pittsburghhas ahistorical reputa- –thatisareallyhealthymove, andit pany] Caterpillar,and that is decades tionfor building things –that as a takesusintothe next century.” ■

December 2016/January2017 www.fDiIntelligence.com 59 SUPPLEMENT PITTSBURGH Acyber security force

PITTSBURGHWAS AMONG THEEARLY LEADERSOFTHE CYBER SECURITYINDUSTRY, APOSITIONITHAS ENHANCED IN RECENT YEARS. NATASHA TURAK LOOKS AT THEMETHODS THECITY IS USINGTOSTAY AHEAD OF THE GAME IN THISINCREASINGLY RELEVANT FIELD

sthe worldbecomes increas- ingly connectedand technol- A ogypermeatesalmost every aspectofbusiness,sotoo does it Home security: the CollaborativeInnovation Center,which houses theSoftwareEngineering Institute become more vulnerabletoattack. The market forcyber security ser- coding to architecture,workforce predicted to be more than 1million vices reached $68bn in2013; development and malware analysis; unfilled cyber security positions between2017and 2021, worldwide we have one of thelargest databases worldwide by theend of 2016.In spending on cybersecurityproducts of malware in theworld. One of our response to this,the Pittsburgh and services is expected to surpass big areas is insider threat work, Technology Council launched the $1000bn, according to researchfirm wherewehaveliaisons withthe Cyburgh, PA Initiative2016toreach Cybersecurity Ventures. It is pre- SecretService, theFBI and more. out to 100% of local high school stu- dictedthatcybercrime will cost Thebeauty is we’re tied very closely dents by 2019 to develop thenext theworld $6000bn annuallyby2021. to campus,soweworkwiththe uni- generation of cyber professionals and In line withits missiontooccupy versity’s teamsinmachine learning, maintain Pittsburgh’s leading edge. thefrontlines of technology,in1988 artificial intelligence andstatistics.” Already, theareahosts several Pittsburgh became home to thefirst The Collaborative Innovation cyber security spin-offcompanies Computer Emergency Response Center,whichhousesthe SEI,brings withroots at CMU,some of whom Team Coordination Center (Cert). campus researchers andindustry have beenacquired by larger There are now more than 200 Cert together underone roof.“Disney multinationals. ABS Computer centres in theworld focused on com- Research is here, CyLab is here, Technology,ForAllSecure, puter security response and research. CMUSEI, Intel, Apple andmore,”says NetronomeSystems,Wombat Randall Trzeciak, aseniormember of SecurityTechnologiesand To serve andprotect Cert’stechnicalstaff.“We provide the Pittsburgh PatternRecognition – Certwas set up by theUSDefense students,and thecompanies fund the recentlyacquired by Google –are Advanced ResearchProjects Agency, students andresearch effortaswell.” justafew of thegroups driving the and stemmed from theCarnegie In 2003, CMU invested$6m to insti- region’s effortsinthesector.Sofar MellonUniversity (CMU) Software tuteCyLab,one of thecountry’slarg- more than 40 businessesinsouth- EngineeringInstitute (SEI), estab- estuniversity-based cybersecurity westernPennsylvania offercyber lished by theUSDepartment of researchcentres. Almost entirelypri- security expertise, andall arepoised Defense (DoD) in 1984.The DoD vatelyfunded,its investors include to takeadvantageofthisrapid chose CMU to establishthe federally Facebook, GM, Lockheed Martin, growth trend. funded R&D centre–now funded Motorola, Raytheon andSamsung. In fact, thePittsburgh region out- with between $20m and$25m bid other US regions to hostaGerman annually –because of its reputation Jobopportunities Cyber Security mission in late2016. as havingone of thebestcomputer Dennis Yablonsky,CEO of The German American Chamber of science departments nationallyand theAllegheny Conference for Commerce wroteonthe event’s page: itsproximity to Washington, DC,a Community Development, sees “Since Pittsburgh is the‘secret capital’ four-hour driveaway. thefieldasagrowing engine forjob of cyber security on theeastcoast “Weworkinsupportofthe gov- creation. “The firstfederal Certwas because of its manycompanies, like ernmentand critical infrastructure,” established here, and cyber security thesecurity division of Google, it is says Summer Fowler,technical direc- is becoming abigger issue and an thefirst destination forthe German torofcyber securityresilienceand opportunity forjobs,”hesays. trade partner.” At its current rate,the riskatCMU.“We have bodiesofwork Indeed, according to arecent Cisco region’s prowess will not remain a that span everything from secure Annual Security Report, there are ‘secret’ formuchlonger. ■

60 www.fDiIntelligence.com December 2016/January2017 SUPPLEMENT PITTSBURGH Another dimension PITTSBURGH’S MANUFACTURINGINDUSTRYHAS CHANGED WITH THE TIMES, MOVING FROM HEAVY INDUSTRY TO EMBRACEADVANCEDTECHNOLOGYSUCHAS3DPRINTING. NATASHATURAK REPORTS

ittsburgh’s long-standing reputation as ahub of manu- Pfacturing has followeditinto the21stcentury, despitethe face of its traditional industrychanging dramatically. Boasting more than 120 research centres, 3000 advanced man- ufacturing firmsemploying 96,000 people and more than 1600 engineer- ing graduates per year,the Pittsburgh region’s strengthacross areas such as industrial machinery, speciality met- als, precision machining and electri- cal equipment is readilyevident. In 2014 alone,itsaw 68 advanced manu- facturing projects worthmorethan $450mincapital investment. ew

At theUniversity of Pittsburgh’s sN /Chri

Swanson School of Engineering, s t

sophisticated research partners por Re

withindustrytoexplorethe poten- GE tialofadvancedproductiontechnol- Whiteheatoftechnology: aCATA employee checks the temperatureofcomponents leaving the oven ogiessuchasadditivemanufactur- ing(AM)–otherwiseknown as 3D theuniversity andOberg Industries.” University,Pitt,Robert Morris, printing –totransform theway Manufacturers remainthe Youngstown Stateand Penn State theworldmakes things. region’s largest employers by all have goodAMprogrammes,and revenue:Alcoa,USSteel andPPG we want to takeadvantageofthat.” Collaborativethinking Industries leadPittsburgh’s topfive GE’s siteselection highlights Research in AM is accelerating grossingcompanies. Germanmanu- thevalueofPittsburgh’s supply in anticipation of greatermarket facturers Bayer, Lanxess and Siemens chain:providers of metal powders penetration. To plug someofthe are among themorethan394 for- andother materials required forAM knowledgegaps in thenew industry, eign-ownedcompanies in thearea. areabundantinPittsburgh. At one Pennsylvania-based precisionmanu- time providersfor thesteel industry, facturerOberg Industrieshas part- GE approval localfoundries and other smaller neredwiththe Universityof Pittsburgh’s latestanchor tenant is businesses are helpingdrive Pittsburgh’s Ansys researchlab, an GE, whose massive$39m greenfield advanced manufacturing. AM facility equipped withsome of investment in its 12,000-square- AM will penetrateand transform theworld’smostadvanced manufac- metre Center forAdditiveTechnology everyindustry sector, according to turing equipment, using alloys,met- Advancement (CATA) is developing Ms Cipolla.“It allowsustocreate als, polymers andother materialsto 3D printing technologies forthe much more complex internalgeom- print componentsfor everyindustry. aviation, oil and gasindustries. The etries at alower cost,which means Since 2014,AMresearchersatthe investment is building thearea’s rep- you’re goingtosee theperformance Swanson School have attracted more utation as an AM hub and bringing of industrial products improve very than $6mingrants from groups these technologies intothe main- rapidly,”she says. “GEisatthe fore- such as America Makes, theNational stream. GE joins 3D industryleaders front of innovationinthisarea, Science Foundation and theNational such as ExOne and threeRivers 3D, pushingthe boundariesand Energy Technology Laboratory. already based in thePittsburgh area, drivingtheirindustrialisation.” “When we go out and talk to who are among thetop 3D equip- Ansys director of mechanical ourFortune 500 manufacturers, ment builders in thecountry. development Al Hancq is optimistic introducethemtowhatthe “Oneofthe reasons we came about theregion’sfast-growing AM University of Pittsburgh is doing here isfor theworkforce. The area network. “GE is aworldwide com- and showthem possibleindustry hasreallyexplodedwithtechnology pany, and it chose Pittsburghasits solutions,wecontinue to expand in recent years, and manypeople centre of excellence forthistechnol- theknowledgebase of AM within arecoming in with hi-tech back- ogy,”hesays. “What does thefuture our customers,”saysOberg vicepres- grounds,” says CATA site leader hold? I’mnot sure, but Ithink ident of sales and marketing David JenniferCipolla. “Wehaveaccess Pittsburgh has abig chance to Rugaber.“This is reallyawin-win for to theuniversities. Carnegie Mellon be at thecentreofthat.” ■

December 2016/January2017 www.fDiIntelligence.com 61