Carnegie Mellon University has reached a significant construction milestone for its forthcoming Robotics Innovation Center(opens in new window) (RIC), a cutting-edge facility for research, development and testing of robotics technologies in Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood Green development. To mark the occasion of the completion of the structural phase of construction, the university held a traditional topping-off ceremony on July 19 for administrators, faculty, staff, students, supporters, civic and community leaders, and the construction and project management team.

Event attendees added their names to the permanent legacy of the building by signing one of the last major structural supports to be installed on the project. The American-made steel beam was then hoisted into its final place within the structure.

“This facility will serve as a hub of innovation in robotics, AI research and the technology development life cycle. It will complement and accelerate the work of Carnegie Mellon’s School of Computer Science(opens in new window), College of Engineering(opens in new window) and National Robotics Engineering Center(opens in new window),” said CMU President Farnam Jahanian(opens in new window) at the event. “… The RIC will kick off a new era of robotics and AI and will help to forge a brighter future that works for everyone.”

The RIC is rising adjacent to CMU’s existing Manufacturing Futures Institute(opens in new window) (MFI) facility as well as the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Institute(opens in new window) within the Mill 19 building. When completed in 2025, it will add 150,000 square feet of research space for advanced robotics. The various spaces for development and testing will include a 50,000-square-foot indoor robot test facility, an open-layout wet lab, reconfigurable high bays, and a 1.5-acre, large-footprint outdoor lab with a 6,000-square-foot drone cage. 

Construction of the Robotics Innovation Center has been made possible by a $45 million lead grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation(opens in new window).

“The innovations generated here at the RIC have the potential to transform the world and its economies once again. Spinoff companies will create even more jobs here. Other companies will want to relocate here, to be as close as they possibly can to the faculty, the students, the residents of this community and all the incredible innovation that will spill out of this new facility,” said Sam Reiman, director and trustee of the Richard King Mellon Foundation. “Best of all, it will happen right here in Pittsburgh, once again in Hazelwood Green, in the shadow of a former steel mill.”

In addition to Jahanian and Reiman, event speakers included Jen Gilburg, deputy secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development; CMU Trustee Jeanne Cunicelli; and Tim Smith, CEO of Center of Life, an organization supporting people and building community in the Greater Hazelwood community.

“The RIC embodies the spirit of collaboration and forward thinking that defines Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania,” Gilburg said. “By repurposing this historical steel mill and making it a hub for robotics and advanced manufacturing, we’re not only preserving our industrial heritage, but also paving the way for a new era of economic growth and opportunity.”

Other event attendees included Corey O’Connor, Allegheny County controller; Barb Warwick, Pittsburgh city councilperson for District 5; Richard Mellon, chair of the board of the Richard King Mellon Foundation; Chris DeCardy, president of The Heinz Endowments; Ken Gabriel, CEO of the University of Pittsburgh’s BioForge; JaQuay Carter, founder and president of the Greater Hazelwood Historical Society of Pittsburgh; the Rev. Michael Murray, chair, Greater Hazelwood Community Collaborative; and Sonya Tilghman, executive director of the Hazelwood Initiative.

The RIC will provide CMU robotics researchers with enhanced capacity and capabilities for foundational research, integration, iteration and commercialization. Ultimately, these discoveries will be translated into real-world technologies in fields such as health care, transportation, education, agriculture, national security and retail. The RIC also is planned to include pre-incubator space for robotics companies.

CMU is developing plans for how the RIC could amplify CMU’s STEM education programs and initiatives to engage Pittsburgh-area residents, with a focus on its Greater Hazelwood neighbors. These may include K-12 education and workforce development programs such as Girls of Steel Robotics(opens in new window), the Robotics Academy(opens in new window) and Engineering Ambassadors(opens in new window). The RIC also will include spaces open to the community and public art displays. CMU is a member of the Greater Hazelwood Community Collaborative, a group of organizations focused on enhancing the economic, social and physical outcomes for all Greater Hazelwood residents.

The 178-acre Hazelwood Green development was once the site of the Jones & Laughlin Steel Company and is being redeveloped by the Almono Limited Partnership, composed of the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, Richard King Mellon Foundation, and The Heinz Endowments. The colocation at Hazelwood Green of the RIC, MFI, the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Institute, Catalyst Connection and BioForge is expected to create synergies that accelerate research, workforce development and technology integration programs. 

“When this kind of technology is made available to community members, it informs, it educates and it empowers them to get jobs making respectable salaries that make it possible for people to stay in their community and participate in the work of development without displacement,” Smith said. “So we welcome Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Innovation Center to the Greater Hazelwood community and we say congratulations.”