Select Tours for Sept. 21
Credentialed media and G-20 summit delegates are invited to tour cutting-edge technology and research centers at Carnegie Mellon, Pitt, and UPMC on Monday, Sept. 21. The program will begin at 10:30 a.m. at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial auditorium in Oakland, followed by the tours.
Before you register for individual tours, you may want to read the tour descriptions on this page and follow links for more details.
Children's Hospital of UPMC
The $622 million hospital and research facility is one of the first all-digital pediatric hospitals in the country, a leader in the use of “green” practices, and a model of patient-centered care. Built with no storage room for paper records, the hospital enters 99.5 percent of its data electronically—from doctors’ notes to medication orders.
Peter M. Winter Institute for Simulation,
Education and Research (WISER)
Part of the University of Pittsburgh, WISER is one of the world’s largest and most advanced health care simulation centers. Using life-like, computerized mannequins that "breathe, bleed, cough and cry," the center trains more than 3,500 health care professionals annually at all career and training levels. With a focus on improving patient safety at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, WISER helps participants to learn specific procedures such as placement of intravenous lines, and the decision-making skills needed in challenging medical scenarios.
Biomedical Science Tower 3 (BST3)
The University of Pittsburgh’s Biomedical Science Tower 3 (BST3) is evidence of the region’s growing biotech industry. Built in 2005, the $205.5 million state-of-the-art research facility houses some 50 laboratories and approximately 500 scientists, graduate students, and technicians engaged in such fields as molecular genetics, cellular biology, and biochemistry. Their research will result in new advanced medical therapies that are destined to help patients for years to come.
McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine
Researchers at the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine use a variety of approaches to address tissue/organ disease including the replacement of tissue function with entirely synthetic devices such as in artificial organs; functional restoration that includes both synthetic and cellular components, such as in biohybrid organs; a combination of temporary scaffolds with cellular components, such as in conventional tissue engineering; and cellular therapies, including those involving adult stem cells and genetically manipulated cells for the repair of damaged tissue and muscle.
Center for Global Health
Brief overview of work in Pitt's Center for Global Health, a computer simulation of an H1N1 virus outbreak, and a panel Q&A session on global health issues.
UPMC Sports Performance Complex
The UPMC Sports Performance Complex is home to the world-renowned UPMC Center for Sports Medicine as well as the state-of-the-art indoor and outdoor training facilities of the Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the University of Pittsburgh Panthers. The $40-million complex is sprawled across a half-mile stretch of land along the Monongahela River where a shuttered steel mill once stood. Completed in 2000, the complex is an exciting part of Pittsburgh’s South Side riverfront revitalization.
Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute
Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute is a leader in autonomous mobile robots, computer vision, human-robot interaction, locomotion and real-world applications of robotic technology in mining, agriculture and manufacturing. One of the largest robotics education and research organizations in the world, the institute has an annual research budget of more than $55 million. The institute's more than 300 faculty, staff, and students are working on more than 100 projects.
Entertainment Technology Center
At Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Center, students draw on every bit of their imaginations as they develop interactive video games, robots, and virtual worlds. Co-founded by Don Marinelli and the late Randy Pausch, who became famous for a life-affirming online lecture and book titled The Last Lecture, the ETC tour showcases the dreams brought to life by artists and technologists. While there, walk into a world that includes chats with a Ben Franklin simulation and Quasi, an animatronic robot, or linger on a starship’s deck and meet some of tomorrow’s innovators who want to entertain, inform, and inspire.
Pitt Green Tour
Pitt is one of the leaders of Pittsburgh’s transition from one of the world’s most heavily industrialized cities to a model of green, post-industrial adaptation. Pitt researchers investigate and apply more sustainable methods for powering and building our society. This tour provides a glimpse at the ongoing work at Pitt in areas from local, small-scale hydroelectric power to constructing buildings from bamboo. The tour takes place in the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation, Pitt’s center for designing applications for sustainable communities and lifestyles, and includes demonstrations.
Center for Energy
Researchers in Pitt’s Center for Energy are answering the call for more reliable, efficient, and environmentally friendly energy solutions.
