Carnegie Mellon University President Farnam Jahanian is speaking at TechCrunch City Spotlight: Pittsburgh – TechCrunch

TechCrunch is thrilled to announce Carnegie Mellon University President Farnam Jahanian is speaking at our Pittsburgh event on June 29. You can register here. It’s free to participate and hear President Jahanian’s interview.

President Jahanian is an outspoken advocate for science and innovation, making him perfect to headline our event focused on startup activity in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Speaking to a House committee in April, Jahanian identified recent trends shaping research and development throughout the United States. Among those mentioned was a widening opportunity gap and rising economic inequality — topics that are also fundamentally shaping startups in Silicon Valley, Pittsburgh and elsewhere.

“Carnegie Mellon’s decades-long leadership in research and education in AI and robotics has catalyzed an innovation ecosystem in the Pittsburgh region where entrepreneurship, creativity and placemaking intersect,” Jahanian told TechCrunch. “These emerging technologies are changing the way we farm, enabling millions to learn a new language, leading the race to develop self-driving vehicles, and even going to the moon. We are committed to empowering citizens across Pittsburgh to take part in the economic benefits of these innovations as they continue to transform our world.”

Pittsburgh is a fantastic startup ecosystem quickly growing by leveraging its incredible universities, a welcoming local government and experienced investors. Though thousands of miles away, Pittsburgh has long contributed to Silicon Valley’s success through research and development. To TechCrunch, Pittsburgh represents a city leveraging its local assets to help build companies in and out of the area. We recently published a deep profile on Duolingo that highlights how the local Pittsburgh ecosystem helped turn the startup into a billion-dollar company.

TechCrunch Hardware Editor Brian Heater will be interviewing Jahanian. Heater was key in shaping and programming TechCrunch’s past events, including TC Sessions: Robotics, a cornerstone discipline at CMU.

TechCrunch City Spotlight: Pittsburgh features talks from Jahanian, local startups and local leaders. More names will be announced in the coming weeks.

We’re still looking for startups to participate in the event. It’s free to register and participate in networking and watch the event (click here to register). It’s also free to apply to pitch your startup at the event (click here to apply). We’re looking for early-stage companies from the greater Pittsburgh area that can give a two-minute pitch to a panel of local venture capitalists in exchange for feedback.