Hot Technology Companies Leveraging Carnegie Mellon

Google has recently been added to the list of technology power-houses that have set up shop in Pittsburgh in order to leverage the top-flight talent and ideas out of Carnegie Mellon University.

Creating and commercializing innovation is the key to creating a self-sustaining economy. By putting together leading academic researchers from places like Carnegie Mellon and Pitt with private sector firms, the probability of creating commercially viable research technologies goes up tremendously. Not only will this fuel innovation, but they create jobs. It is also estimated that Google's move will result in 100+ new jobs in Pittsburgh. Not bad eh?

This is definitely a step in the right direction. I applaud CMU for making it happen and hope that we continue to make it easier for high-technology companies to come to Pittsburgh and build our economy.

Pittsburgh Boom?

I recently stumbled upon an article in the Post Gazette discussing the burgeoning real estate market in Pittsburgh. According to the author, "the Pittsburgh region is on the verge of another building boom, with more than $3 billion in projects underway or ready to break ground." Oddly enough, in the same sitting I also read an article discussing how entrepreneurs have tended to favor "college towns." That is particularly interesting given the recent post on the HELP blog, as well as my own post regarding creating a research-oriented, college town, focus to economic development in Pittsburgh. Maybe with a couple smart moves by our community leaders, we could bolster the growth spurt associated with real estate and advance projects that contribute to the development of a region driven by academic innovation.