The Pittsburgh Robotics Network welcomes the addition of Stephen M. Muck, the Co-Founder & Executive Chairman of Advanced Construction Robotics, to the organization’s Board of Directors.
Muck, who also serves as chairman and CEO of Brayman Construction Corp. and a general partner at Grouse Ridge Capital, founded Advanced Construction Robotics (ACR) in 2016 alongside Jeremy Searock, formerly of Carnegie Mellon University’s National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC). ACR develops innovative robotics and artificial intelligence systems with the goal of enhancing productivity and improving safety at construction sites. Their first product was the autonomous rebar tying robot TyBOT, and they are currently in the late stages of development on the rebar placing robot IronBOT. The company is based in Pittsburgh, which is recognized as the Robotics Capital of the World.
The number of PRN directors grows to 19 with the addition of Muck, who adds his breadth of business and economic development expertise to a board already consisting of a broad set of stakeholders and leaders from industry, nonprofit and academia.
While the Pittsburgh Robotics Network is headquartered in Western Pennsylvania, the impact of the organization, as well as the influence of it’s Board, is felt beyond state lines and within the national and international robotics and machine learning communities. Among the distinguished stakeholders with seats on the PRN Board are representatives of autonomous vehicle pioneers Argo AI and Aurora; world-renowned research institutions such as Carnegie Mellon’s School of Computer Science and the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Computing and Information; robotics leaders such as KAARTA, RE2 and Seegrid; industry leaders such as Dentons and J.P. Morgan; and nationally leading seed-stage investor Innovation Works.
Led by veteran robotics industry executive Joel Reed, the PRN is a non-profit organization formed by regional industry leaders for the purpose of cluster creation and promotion to develop a network of highly engaged stakeholders that fosters business growth and jobs for a diverse pool of talent. The Pittsburgh Robotics Network’s board is committed to fulfilling the PRN vision of making the Pittsburgh robotics ecosystem the largest and most advanced in the world, and it currently features:
Kevin Dowling, CEO, Kaarta (President)
Jorgen Pedersen, Founder and CEO, RE2 (Secretary)
Parag Batavia, Founder, Neya Systems (Treasurer)
Marcel Bergerman, COO, Near Earth Autonomy
Matt Blackburn, Senior Manager, Government Relations, Aurora
Bruce Childers, Interim Dean, School of Computing and Information, University of Pittsburgh
Howie Choset, CMU & Co-Founder, HEBI Robotics
Mike Embrescia, Chief Development Officer, Carnegie Robotics
Martial Hebert, Dean, CMU School of Computer Science
David Kalson, National Group Leader, Dentons Venture Technology and Emerging Growth Companies Group
Zack Katic, Director of Strategic Talent, Argo AI
Afshan Khan, Portfolio Executive, Innovation Works
Justin Krauss, Executive Director, Technology & Disruptive Commerce, J.P. Morgan Commercial Banking
Louisa Michaels, Chief Financial Officer, The ARM Institute
Aaron Morris, Founder and CEO, Allvision
Stephen M. Muck, Co-Founder & Executive Chairman, Advanced Construction Robotics
Joel Reed, Executive Director, Pittsburgh Robotics Network
Jim Rock, CEO, Seegrid
Patti Rote, Program Manager, Robotics Institute; CMU & Co-Founder, Girls of Steel