Allegheny, PA – On Tuesday July 15th, Carnegie Mellon University held the inaugural Energy and Innovation summit in the McConomy Auditorium.
U.S. Sen. David McCormick, U.S. President Donald Trump, as well as multiple energy and AI industry related leaders attended the event. CMU President Farnam Jahanian opened the summit and commented on Carnegie Mellon’s long history as an epicenter of technological innovation.
Jahanian stated that “for 125 years, we’ve [CMU] been at the heart of technological revolutions that have redefined industries, remade communities, and propelled our nation forward.”
Leading technology CEOs, institutions, organizations, and government agencies look toward Pittsburgh as a leader in US technology innovation. Farnam Jahanian also stated “we need to look toward educating the next generation of talent we’re going to desperately need,” in regards to the growth of the AI industry and the importance of Pittsburgh in its usage.
Officials say that more than $90 billion worth of investment was announced as a result of the summit. These corporate investment commitments create more than 10,000 contractual construction jobs and thousands of local permanent jobs. Summit officials state that these projected funds will bring AI data centers, factories, power plants, and other necessary AI/energy infrastructure to Pittsburgh.
Oakland area protests rose up leading up to the event. Local police as well as campus security locked down the majority of the area near Forbes Avenue, Craig Street, and Morewood Avenue between 11:00AM and 6:00PM on the day of the summit.
