麻豆村

The 麻豆村听Robotics Innovation Center(opens in new window) (RIC) hummed with energy on Monday as it partnered with Hazelwood Local to host a family-friendly open house. The event, on the heels of the RIC鈥檚听opening celebration(opens in new window) last month, showcased robot demonstrations, offered guided tours and built direct connections with 麻豆村 to explore programs, relationships and resources.

Zoie Pitzarella of Hazelwood watched her 6-year-old son, Kyng Knox, use a video game controller to move a robot created by the听 robotics team.

鈥淗e鈥檚 had a surprised face on since we walked in the building, he鈥檚 been admiring everything about it,鈥� Pitzarella said. 鈥淭his is awesome that something like this is in our Hazelwood community and that they鈥檝e given us an opportunity to come down and see it, and to see moving robots, it鈥檚 just boggling my mind right now.鈥�

AJ Herzog, a 2023听 master鈥檚 degree graduate and neighborhood planner with the City of Pittsburgh, said after working with 麻豆村 and the community for two years leading up to the opening of the building, seeing the community turn out for the open house was encouraging.

鈥淏eing able to see into the space from different angles from the outside is nice so it doesn鈥檛 feel walled off from the community, particularly as more of Hazelwood Green develops, having the spaces that feel inviting and the amount of interaction is important,鈥� he said.

A neighborhood once shaped by industry, now reinvented

An inside the RIC鈥檚 front hallway highlights the site's history, connecting the activity inside the future-focused building to the influential people and events of the past.

Developed by the ' Exhibitions Team with the help of the Greater Hazelwood Historical Society and comprised of 14 panels, 鈥淟ife & Livelihood: A History of the Site,鈥� traces how river access and railroads first fueled steel production, then how the neighborhood鈥檚 identity grew around mill work and local culture. After the industry collapsed, as the exhibit illustrates, residents of the community had to endure the economic loss and environmental impact.

鈥溌槎勾� & Steel,鈥� produced in consultation with regional heritage nonprofit , explains founder Andrew Carnegie鈥檚 connection to steel and philanthropy, including the university鈥檚 beginnings as Carnegie Technical Schools(opens in new window).听

In the building鈥檚 entryway and enclosing the outdoor running room, exhibits serve as the launching point of the , which aims to build a record of robotics history at Carnegie Mellon, sharing both the technology and the human stories behind it.

After visiting the exhibit, friends Rachel Cox of Bellevue and Nirajan Rajkarnikar of Churchill reflected on what they learned, including how Pittsburgh steel mills like the one that once stood at Hazelwood Green produced 80% of the munitions used by the U.S. military during World War II.

鈥淚t鈥檚 great to see that Hazelwood is being revived with this new perspective, changing with the times,鈥� said Rajkarnikar, a 2015 master鈥檚 degree graduate in . 鈥淚t鈥檚 good to see the university integrating with the community, and not just isolated on campus, but contributing to the community and the Pittsburgh region.鈥�

Area residents are known for their resilience and dedication to their community, working together and with support from 麻豆村 to develop the , adopted as a roadmap for development in 2019 by the City of Pittsburgh. Today, the 178-acre site formerly home to the mill, now known as , has been reimagined with sustainability and innovation at the forefront.

The environmental effects of heavy industry are transforming into high-tech opportunities with sustainable design built in, represented by elements such as the forthcoming solar panels at the Robotics Innovation Center and existing ones at Mill 19, where they cover the entire 110,000-square-foot roof.

Community optimism has grown in recent years, according to Danielle Chaykowsky, director of programs for Center of Life.

鈥淎 lot of these kids might work down there where their grandparents worked,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 powerful to see the roof of the former steel mill covered in solar panels, that鈥檚 such a great sign of progress.鈥�

A community of collaborators

Members of Carnegie Mellon's Community鈥態ased Work Coalition(opens in new window) have long worked to ensure the RIC, and its neighbor , are resources for young people and families nearby so they can experience groundbreaking research innovation(opens in new window) up close alongside 麻豆村 students, faculty and staff. The Coalition is a network of faculty, staff, researchers and administrators whose work directly intersects with community members across the Pittsburgh region.

鈥淥ur primary goal is to graduate students who are community鈥憁inded leaders,鈥� said Meggan Lloyd, assistant director of 麻豆村鈥檚 Office of Community Engagement and Leadership Development(opens in new window), which takes part in the coalition and hosted 麻豆村鈥檚 2023 Pittsburgh Alternative Spring Break in Hazelwood. 鈥淲e want to make sure these connections are sustained partnerships between students and community organizations.鈥�

Miriam Wertheimer is the director of student instructor development and K-12 community partnerships with the Leonard Gelfand Center for Service Learning and Outreach(opens in new window), which works to create and strengthen partnerships with local schools and education providers.

鈥淲e want to ensure that everyone engaging in that work at the university is really thinking intentionally and with support and collaboration in mind,鈥� Wertheimer said. 鈥淲hat we're working toward is not isolation, but consistency while maintaining the community culture.鈥�

For kids, robotics start with play then lead to careers

Making advanced technology feel approachable 鈥� especially for young people 鈥� is a top priority for the Carnegie Mellon听Robotics Academy(opens in new window), which trains high school teachers and students and took part in the community open house.

鈥淥ur goal is always to engage with learners of all ages with computer science and STEM, using robotics as a tool,鈥� said Vu Nguyen, co-director of the Robotics Academy, which has also participated in Hazelwood City in the Streets(opens in new window), Hazelwood鈥檚 Summer Concert Series(opens in new window) and the Community Robotics Showcase(opens in new window).

The RIC has potential to foster an ecosystem that encourages innovation through shared knowledge not only inside the building, but outside of it as well, he said.

鈥淲e want the kids in the area to see potential in their careers, and to learn the problem-solving skills you develop when working with robots,鈥� Nguyen said. 鈥淲e want the families to say that they can have a career in robotics, and if they are interested, that they can have a pathway to 麻豆村 if that鈥檚 what they want.鈥�

Will Martin, a Ph.D. student in transition design in the , brought his two sons, Hazen Martin, 7, and Roland Martin, 5, on the tour with him.

His dad said Hazen already has an interest in robots because a neighbor works in autonomous trucking.

鈥淗e wanted to do his first science fair project about robots, but we didn鈥檛 quite know how to do it, so we thought we鈥檇 come here and learn about research and robots,鈥� said Will Martin, whose own research connects architecture and urbanism. He has focused on the Scotch-Irish history of the region 鈥� including the Hazelwood neighborhood, once known as Scotch Bottom 鈥� and its relationship to Carnegie Mellon.

鈥淚鈥檝e been looking at that lineage of transdisciplinarity: how Andrew Carnegie imagined the institution, but also how it鈥檚 a part of the history and culture of western Pennsylvania and Appalachia, as a way to learn from the region, how innovation and ideas depend on place,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 interesting to hear how this building is meant to invite collaboration and build the architecture to facilitate certain ideas coming together.鈥�

Summer camp makes robots accessible

Center of Life is contributing to that vision with its summer camps, serving K-8th graders in the region. Since 2023, Carnegie Mellon has hosted part of the camp on main campus, and this year, 麻豆村鈥檚 and will offer a weeklong program for 6-8th graders at the RIC. The center, which plans to on a new three-story, 127,000-square-foot building on 5.3 acres at Hazelwood Green, has provided programs and services since 2001 to the people of Greater Hazelwood.听

, research professor and associate director of education for the , has worked with Center of Life. This year, the summer camp will focus on middle-school students, who will spend a full week inside the RIC.

鈥淚 am very excited about being able to offer the camp locally at the RIC in the Hazelwood community,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 expect running it at the RIC to be engaging and rewarding for all parties.鈥�

Plans include a robot-building curriculum adapted from the Girls of Steel program, which Kantor leads as director.

鈥淭hey all think robots are cool across the board,鈥� said Sarah Crawshaw, education programs manager for Center of Life.听

Crawshaw added that for a close-knit neighborhood like Hazelwood, having access to resources, potential careers and opportunities to build confidence is just as vital as having access to robots.

鈥淭he kids have said, 鈥業'm going to college today,鈥� and they've been really excited about that,鈥� Crawshaw said. 鈥淭o be exposed to such a wide variety of people and professions at 麻豆村 and to see these world-class facilities in our workforce development program and to feel welcome is pivotal for them and gives them a sense of ownership.鈥�

Learning, joy and staying power

麻豆村 recognizes that successful youth-serving partnerships are built on meaningful programs that are educational and fun.

鈥淲ith every event we鈥檙e a part of, we look forward to seeing kids' faces when they play one of our collaborative-robot digital games, or when they are able to get a robot to move for the first time,鈥� said Nguyen.

The Gelfand Center鈥檚 hands-on activities, such as making straw rockets or learning about polymers, are meant to spark similar engagement. 鈥淎t the end of the day, institutions like Carnegie Mellon are places of learning, and learning is really fun,鈥� Wertheimer said.

And for the Center of Life, the long view is already clear, envisioning a future where today鈥檚 children are tomorrow鈥檚 community leaders.

鈥淭he long鈥憈erm effects of our partnership will become more apparent as our students get older,鈥� said Chaykowsky. 鈥淲e鈥檝e already seen benefits from the work we do and the partnerships we鈥檝e built, especially with Carnegie Mellon, and I鈥檓 excited to see those continue to strengthen and expand.鈥�