Ground-Floor Investors

Following in the footsteps of our entrepreneurial history...

Pittsburgh was the Silicon Valley of the 19th Century, a place where the industries that made America strong – glass, steel, aluminum – were born, nurtured and perfected.  What made this possible was not only the intrepid spirit of entrepreneurial scientists but also the financial support of far-thinking local investors. 

The Pittsburgh Chapter of ARCS Foundation aims to continue this tradition of sustaining the best emerging scientists, by providing financial support to the most promising graduate students at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh.  Our members are real “ground-floor investors” in the science and technologies that will strengthen our society in generations to come.

Since our chapter’s founding in 2003, we have grown from a dedicated core of women, supporting a single scholar, to a vital group of approximately 100 women members.  Over the years we have provided three-year scholar awards to 187 individual scholars for a total of over $2.8 Million. This includes scholar awards which have been paid through the recently established CMU and Pitt endowments.

Our mission goes beyond mere check-writing...
Our members believe that advancing science in America requires us to support our scholars with more than just funding.  A key emphasis of membership is introducimg our scholars to opportunities in the Pittsburgh region and encouraging these brilliant young scientists to seek their fortune here, hoping that their creativity, entrepreneurial spirit and can-do attitudes will contribute to Pittsburgh’s continuing greatness.  As our scholars move through their careers whether in Pittsburgh or elsewhere, we hope they will encourage other promising young scientists to come to Pittsburgh to start their professional careers in a region that has transcended its industrial past, and that once again stands at America’s economic frontier. 

The smokestacks are gone, and Pittsburgh’s verdant hillsides and lush valleys now house leading innovators in computer software, health care, robotics, and green technology.  We will take heart in knowing we have helped to launch a promising career and that members of ARCS Pittsburgh Chapter helped by investing in a small bit of ground-breaking science, which may someday change the world.