Category Archives: Media

Local Startup making Batteries Smart

Congratulations, you’ve made it to the 21st Century! We’ve got smartphones, smart cars, and smart mouths, but no smart batteries. Unlike our other tech, batteries lack any ability to think and they, as we have all experienced, die way too quickly. Solving this powerful problem is Watt-Learn, who just emerged from the Pittsburgh-based accelerator AlphaLab. Watt-Learn is using machine learning to give batteries the ability to think independently. So, when you need to manage power for things like getting the most out of your home’s solar + battery or have sufficient energy during a thunderstorm, batteries can make it happen without help.

To find out more about this innovative tech, we interviewed Watt-Learn’s CEO, Matt Maroon, and CTO, Matineh Eybpoosh.

Listen to the Interview

Read The Full Interview

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Meet Pittsburgh’s Draft Climate Action Plan 3.0

While the Trump administration has been working to remove environmental protections and even swapping out the term “climate change” for “resilient,” Pittsburgh is addressing this global issue head-on. The Steel City, along with numerous U.S. cities and now 14 States have committed to the Climate Paris Agreement, which the U.S. federal government withdrew from earlier this year. In September, the City of Pittsburgh released a draft of its Climate Action Plan 3.0. The Plan calls for 100% renewable energy use and a dramatic reduction in emissions. The City Council is currently reviewing the Plan and may hold hearings or sessions before a final vote. With the lack of federal support and with the City’s commitment to the Paris Agreement, a global spotlight will shine on Pittsburgh as it addresses the issue of climate change. This past week alone, the City had a three-day climate change workshop headlined by former Vice-President and climate change advocate, Al Gore.

The draft Climate Action Plan 3.0 can be found here, and a summary presentation of the Plan can be found here.  Follow @PLANPGH on Twitter for updates from the City of Pittsburgh Department of City Planning.

For more information on sustainability and resilience in Pittsburgh, visit the City’s website: pittsburghpa.gov/dcp/sustainability&resilience. 

The video above was created by the Owl Me Not project run by Ben Wonderful. Owl Me Not seeks to simply explain that which is unknown, whether it’s an idea or an innovative business. Owl Me Not has partnered with IHeartPGH to produce videos on topics related to Pittsburgh, including a series on innovators.  The project is currently in development, but the latest video can be found here. Feel free to reach Ben Aufill about the OwlMeNot project via email.

Meet Jack

You may recognize this Britt from his video last month–“Jack Holden Loves Pittsburgh”. He truly loves the place and is looking for work in our fair city. Here’s a little more about Jack, and what he’d like to do in Pittsburgh.

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Why Pittsburgh? What brings you to the city?

Initially, I came to Pittsburgh to visit my girlfriend from Mt. Lebanon. I didn’t really know much about Pittsburgh, other than what I was told by Dana before my first visit. By the end of my trip I had fallen in love with the city. It is unique compared to any other city that I have been to in the states. It’s got a funky, fresh, and alternative vibe which makes the city pretty exciting to be in.

On my first weekend of my first visit, we went to the Strip District on a Saturday morning. That was pretty special. I usually go to a market regularly in London where it’s overflowing with culture and smells of ethnic foods. But in Pittsburgh, it was surreal as there was heavy snow on the ground and this market going ballistic. Most of all, the friendliness and kindness of the people is the main attraction. You don’t get that everywhere, and there is this local feel and buzz in a relatively big city. Continue reading →

Cultural District’s Gallery Crawl Tonight

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Looking for something to do tonight? Want to do something free? Want to culture yourself? Impress your friends with newfound knowledge of artistry? (Maybe that last part’s just me.) Come join other partons of the arts at the Cultural District’s free quarterly Gallery Crawl. The crawl runs tonight, Friday, July 12th, from 5:30-9 p.m., and participants can start from any of the many locations.

There is so much going on at the crawl tonight, but I’ll include some unique highlights here. There’s comedy, a cell phone disco, documentaries, live music, photography, yoga, a night arts market, dance lessons, and, of course art.

Check out the Cultural Trust’s page or the brochure below for more details.

 

 

 

 

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“Art is everything my parents told me not to do” (Post-It Note Wisdom from Art All Night)

At this years Art All Night there was a giant time line and vistors were asked to add their Art All Night memories to the board.

Art All Night Timeline

While there were lots of interesting memories stuck on to the board, this post-it note jumped out at me.  In case you can’t read the post-it…

  • Green Note: “Art is everything my parents told me not to do”
  • Grey Note: “SAME HERE! It’s a damned shame I listened to them.  I’m 56 now and finally I’m enjoying art + LIFE”

“Art is everything my parents told me not to do”