Pittsburgh is advancing the frontiers in healthcare, technology, homeland security, higher education, financial services and the arts. What Pittsburgh is doing is having an impact around the world in every key sector of the global economy. Pittsburgh has reinvented itself and is a national resource for innovation.

The Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University is the epi-center of next-generation robotics research and the largest facility of its kind. Its work includes building robot forklifts and ship-cleaning robots to medical robotics. Carnegie Mellon University is the only institution of higher learning in the world offering a Ph.D. in Robotics.

Pittsburgh is a leader in medical research and innovation. ALung Technologies, a medical device company, is developing the world's first commercial artificial lung-the Hattler Catheter scheduled to be launched in 2006-, which delivers significantly safer and less expensive respiratory support. The Pittsburgh Tissue Engineering Initiative (PTEI) is developing groundbreaking medical alternatives that unite biology, engineering, and medicine to restore or replace tissues and organs damaged by disease, injury, or congenital anomaly.

The Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University trains technologists and fine artists to work together to produce interactive artifacts that entertain, inform and inspire--from computer games to animation for movies and television to employee training and safety and homeland security programs.

Pittsburgh topped the list of America's most desirable places to live, and ranked 26th globally, in an October 2005 study by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), which looked at stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure-in 127 cities worldwide.

The University of Pittsburgh is a dominant force in nanoscience - the study of things only a thousandth the width of a human hair. With the opening of the Nanoscale Fabrication and Characterization Facility (NFCF) in the summer of 2006, Pitt researchers will have the newest and best tools for seeing and manipulating the "essentially nano" landscape.

Pittsburgh is home to the world's largest "green" building - the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, certified with a Gold LEED rating by the U.S. Green Building Council. In fact, Pittsburgh ranks second in green-certified space among cities across the nation, at 2.3 million square feet. Pittsburgh also is a leader in brownfield redevelopment. The Steelers' practice field is part of the SouthSide Works including retail, entertainment, and residential development on the former Jones & Laughlin steel mill site.

With eight major theaters in the downtown Cultural District, Pittsburgh has more theaters in a concentrated area than any city outside of New York. Plaza, parks, streetscaping, facade restoration, and lighting complete the ambiance in the 14-block area that is a national model for a holistic approach to an arts district.

The CERT Coordination Center (CERT/CC) at Carnegie Mellon University's Software Engineering Institute has become the center of Internet security expertise, providing a central point for the identification and correction of security vulnerabilities. Established after the Morris worm incident, which brought 10 percent of Internet systems to a standstill. CERT/CC coordinates communication among experts during security emergencies to help prevent future incidents.

PNC Park, home field to the Pittsburgh Pirates since 2001, is recognized as the best new ballpark in the major leagues by Sports Illustrated, USA Today, and ESPN.com (Capacity: 38,496). It also hosted the 2006 All Star Game. Heinz Field, home of the 2006 Superbowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers, also opened in 2001 (Capacity 64,450). The University of Pittsburgh's Petersen Events Center, home to one of the country's top college basketball programs, opened in 2002.

With 34 colleges and universities in Southwestern Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh is the second-most-attractive "college city" among 15 cities of its size, according to a survey done by Collegia, Inc. Pittsburgh is also home to the immensely popular student-written series of College Prowler guide books, which rate 214 colleges and universities across the country. Additionally, there are 89 trade and technical schools in the region.