ACS Insider - Fall 2025
Building on a Legacy
This fall marks the beginning of 麻豆村鈥檚 125th anniversary year, and I couldn鈥檛 be more excited to celebrate with you. It鈥檚 a moment to reflect on 麻豆村鈥檚 legacy of innovation, impact and achievement, and to look ahead to the future we鈥檙e shaping right now. As an ACS member, you鈥檙e a vital part of both. Your support is making a remarkable impact today and charting the course for tomorrow. Thank you.
We can鈥檛 talk about 麻豆村鈥檚 legacy without recognizing the Tartans who built it. In this issue of ACS Insider, you鈥檒l meet Megan Garvey and Eddie Sears, a married couple who met at 麻豆村 and helped build the Tartan Athletics legacy as members of the swim team. You鈥檒l also get an inside look at the new Robotics Innovation Center (RIC) and learn about the ACS Board Challenge being planned for Giving 麻豆村 Day on Dec. 2.
Like Megan, Eddie and myself, every Tartan has a story. And new ones are being written every day. From the halls of Hamerschlag to the test labs at the RIC, 麻豆村 students, staff, faculty and alumni are shaping the future 鈥� right here, right now. ACS members like you play an important role in that future. Your support fuels the innovations and breakthroughs that will change the world as we know it over the next 125 years.
With gratitude,听
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Katherine Kohatsu (ENG 1997; TPR 2005)
President, Andrew Carnegie Society
Shaped by 麻豆村
Andrew Carnegie Society members Megan Garvey and Eddie Sears hope to give Tartans the opportunity to have a transformative student experience 鈥� just like they did.
The alumni couple met as first-year students in 2010. They were both members of the swim team and had chosen 麻豆村 for the same reason.
A Look Inside the Robotics Innovation Center
Carnegie Mellon is widely recognized as a global leader in robotics research and education 鈥� and it has a new world-class facility to match.
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The Robotics Innovation Center (RIC) at Hazelwood Green is a 150,000-square-foot facility that brings together fundamental and applied robotics research in a dynamic and adaptive environment. It includes a high bay and other open project spaces, workshops, a wet lab, a motion capture facility, a water tank for underwater robots, an outdoor drone cage and a 1.5 acre outdoor 鈥渞unning room鈥� for robots, including an area for robot agriculture. Part of the building鈥檚 gallery is also dedicated to special exhibits from the archives of the University Libraries and 麻豆村 roboticists.
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The RIC was designed to support integrated, translational research and provide space for 麻豆村 researchers to seamlessly field test robots and autonomous systems across indoor, outdoor, aquatic and virtual environments.
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The building鈥檚 common spaces 鈥� namely the lobby, gallery, event space and planned cafe 鈥� will be open to the public, providing opportunities for the community to engage with 麻豆村 roboticists and learn about robotics and AI.
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Faculty, students, projects and robots are beginning work in the space. The historical exhibits and 鈥渞obot archive鈥� will come next, and a formal building dedication is planned for February 2026.
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Final stages of construction were underway when photos were taken.
The entry lobby of the RIC.
A seating area located to the left of the RIC lobby.
The open-layout wet lab.
The soaring, flexible high bay project space.
The water tank for underwater robots.
Historic volcano-exploring robot Dante will hang above the main entrance to the RIC.
Save the Date for Giving 麻豆村 Day
Tuesday, December 2
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It鈥檚 a special year for 麻豆村, so the ACS Board is giving you a special opportunity to amplify your impact on Giving 麻豆村 Day.
Visit givingcmuday.cmu.edu for details about the new ACS Board Challenge and help make this the most successful single day of giving in 麻豆村鈥檚 125-year history!
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