Welcome to the podcast (#135), Jennifer. I am glad to have you. Can you tell me about Jennifer Apicella? The Pittsburgh robo-ecosystem is a globally recognized powerhouse of more than 125 advanced technology companies, offering 7,300+ high-impact jobs across 18 industry verticals. How did you get involved in robotics? Pittsburgh, it seems both likely and unlikely to be a robotics hub. Tell us about the city. Is there a synergy between members and / or board members? How did the city turn into a robotics HUB? How long did it take? Let’s talk about some (of your) numbers: members, money, sponsors, etc. Funding, where do you get your funding? What is the main reason that startups join PRN? What is the profile of a perfect member? Who are some of your new and hot robot companies? Do you see any patterns or areas of interest (humanoid vs mobile robots) What are some of your challenges in being in charge of PRN? What kind of facilities do you have? Tell us about some of the programs that you run? How important are events to your members? Do you charge for membership? Are there other robot or automation hubs in the world  that you like? Amsterdam? Waterloo? California? What is next for PRN? When you are not organizing robotics and events, what do you like to do? https://www.robopgh.org https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferapicella Our sponsor for this episode is Ehrhardt Automation Systems. Ehrhardt builds and commissions turnkey solutions for their worldwide clients. With over 80 years of precision manufacturing they understand the complex world of robotics, automated manufacturing, and project management, delivering world-class custom automation on-time and on-budget. Contact one of their sales engineers to see what Ehrhardt can build for you info@ehrhardtautomation.com eh rh ar dt automation dot com If you would like to get in touch with us at THE robot industry podcast, you can find me jim beretta on LinkedIn. Customer Attraction Industrial Marketing produced today’s podcast and I would like to thank my team: Chris Gray for the music, Geoffrey Bremner for audio production, my business partner Janet and our sponsor, Ehrhardt Automation. Best Regards! Jim Jim Beretta Customer Attraction & The Robot Industry Podcast London, ON info@customerattraction