Carnegie Mellon University

Robotics, AI and Advanced Materials Bring Economic Transformation

Carnegie Mellon University's global leadership in the research and development of advanced robotics, artificial intelligence, materials science and 3-D printing is rapidly transforming manufacturing and catalyzing economic development in Pittsburgh and beyond.

This new era of manufacturing — a true transformation of industry — is a new chapter for Pittsburgh, where the forging of steel was the bedrock of economic viability for more than a century and put the city on the map as a global economic powerhouse. Now, the research conducted by CMU's Manufacturing Futures Initiative (MFI) and the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Institute epitomizes the city's ongoing evolution toward its global leadership and manufacturing future, attracting public and private sector partners and bridging the gap between manufacturing research and industrial use.

Center to this resurgence is a 94,000-square-foot historic warehouse, Mill 19 at Hazelwood Green, to serve as home for CMU manufacturing initiatives.

The Future of Manufacturing

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For the Nation

By attracting and collaborating with industry and public and private academic partners from around the country, CMU is helping to revitalize American manufacturing in the global marketplace and create jobs across the country.

For the Region

CMU's advanced manufacturing initiatives are at the forefront of the manufacturing renaissance in Pittsburgh, solidifying the city's leadership role in defining the future of the global manufacturing economy.

For the Community

Hazelwood Green, one of Pittsburgh's largest undeveloped areas, will become a center of hope for new jobs, economic growth, community involvement and environmental sustainability in the region.

Advanced Manufacturing Programs Lead the Way

advanced robot arm working along an assembly line

ARM Institute

The Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Institute — founded at Carnegie Mellon and now operating as an independent nonprofit — actively develops, demonstrates and facilitates early adoption of robotics solutions, leveraging artificial intelligence, autonomy, 3-D printing and other emerging technologies to bolster productivity and adaptability for businesses of all sizes.

photo of students working in an engineering lab

Manufacturing Futures Initiative

Carnegie Mellon University's flagship advanced manufacturing program, the Manufacturing Futures Initiative (MFI), seeks to advance manufacturing capabilities and accelerate workforce and economic development in the region and state by expediting the adoption of new technologies through interdisciplinary research on materials discovery, product design, robotics and automation, machine learning, policy, workforce training and education.

Through the MFI, Carnegie Mellon University manages the PA Manufacturing Fellows Initiative, a joint collaboration of top universities, centers and state departments.

Hazelwood Green: A New Home for Advanced Manufacturing Research and Development

For nearly a century, the Jones and Laughlin mill near the heart of Pittsburgh produced steel that was shipped to all corners of the globe. After Pittsburgh steelmaking ended on the site in 1998, The Heinz Endowments, Richard King Mellon Foundation and the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation joined forces in 2002 to purchase the property.

Together with local government and neighborhood partners, the foundations developed a vision for Hazelwood Green that will create economic opportunity, while promoting diversity and economic sustainability.

Harkening back to that land’s historic industrial role, Carnegie Mellon University has agreed to lease two-thirds of a 94,000-square-foot building constructed within the shuttered skeleton of the building previously known as Mill 19.

The innovations developed at Hazelwood Green from new technologies, such as robotics, 3-D printing and machine learning, promise to return America to the vanguard of global manufacturing and empower American workers.

Groundbreaking Highlight Reel

"By bringing together large-scale academic research and industrial development under one roof, Mill 19 will become a true differentiator for Pittsburgh and for the region. When complete, it will be the first manufacturing hub of its kind in the nation — in the world."

- President Farnam Jahanian

Mill 19 Concepts

Images show the new advanced manufacturing hub in Mill 19. Concepts are early renderings and may not be representative of the finished building. Credit: MSR Design, Ten X Ten and R3A