Photo By Jeffrey Grossi | Steel City Spark Cell innovation officers tour HAMR industries during an innovation...... read more read more
Innovation isn't just about equipment—it's about how we do business. From restructuring how Reservists and Guardsmen approach traditional drill weekends to breaking down bureaucratic barriers, Steel City Spark Cell is reshaping the way the U.S. military operates from the inside out.
In a move to accelerate battlefield innovation and harness America’s civilian brainpower, Steel City Spark Cell convened a dynamic summit with some of Pittsburgh’s brightest scientific and engineering minds.
Representatives from Steel City Spark Cell met with leaders from HAMR Industries, HEBI Robotics, the University of Pittsburgh’s Human Engineering Research Laboratories (HERL), and Metal Powder Works in a collaborative effort aimed at fusing defense priorities with cutting-edge civilian tech.
“My goal is for Soldiers here in Pennsylvania to directly benefit—just like we've seen at the 171st and 911th,” said U.S. Army Col. Michael Girvin, 28th Infantry Division innovation officer and commander of the 28th Combat Aviation Brigade Brigade Commander. “By leveraging external partnerships and resources, we can test new equipment and integrate successful innovations directly into our units. This approach enhances readiness, improves retention, and—most importantly—increases lethality. At the end of the day, the Army’s mission is to be more lethal and more decisive than our adversaries. For the Army and for the national defense side, we have to be able to quickly innovate. So that's what I'm hoping as we establish these relationships.”
Guard and Reserve members bring a strategic advantage to innovation: continuity. Unlike active-duty service members who often rotate through bases and positions every few years, Citizen Airmen and Soldiers remain in place. This stability allows them to evolve into specialists—not only in their military career fields but in emerging technologies and unique equipment tied to their home installations.
“The Pittsburgh region has a richness of technology development,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Jason Figley, commander of the 171st Maintenance Group. “The challenge now is to become literate in that technology to keep pace with its development and implementation. We must find those connections as to how we can use it.”
From advanced materials to robotics and rehabilitation, Pittsburgh’s early innovation ecosystem delivered a diverse range of capabilities to the summit. HAMR Industries showcased materials engineered for extreme environments, integrating chemistry, mechanics, and computer science to support defense and aerospace needs. HEBI Robotics demonstrated its modular robotics platform that reduces development time for custom robotic systems, specializing in novel forms of robotic locomotion. The University of Pittsburgh’s Human Engineering Research Laboratories (HERL) highlighted its assistive technology innovation. Meanwhile, Metal Powder Works presented its ability to produce high-integrity metal powders without melting—a desirable trait for high-performance, small-batch manufacturing in defense applications.
“The goals of the day were to bring the brains together and talk about what we can achieve, to formalize relationships and build up our ecosystem,” said Scott Howard, Director of Mission Sustainment and Community Partnership for the 911th Airlift Wing. “Pittsburgh has the opportunity to lead the force nationwide.”
Looking ahead, Steel City Spark Cell aims to create a working catalogue that maps the region’s civilian tech landscape to military needs.
“We want to build a catalogue to connect Pittsburgh partnerships with our Airmen's knowledge and skillsets to quickly identify assets and ideas that have a symbiosis,” said U.S. Air Force Capt. Ashley Johnson, 911th Maintenance Squadron innovation officer.
Officials from Steel City Spark Cell emphasized that these engagements support the Department of Defense’s broader push to tap into regional tech hubs, enhance warfighter capabilities, and shorten the innovation cycle through lasting, local partnerships.
“My entire allegiance is to the warfighter," said U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Timothy Stevens, the senior enlisted leader for the 911th Maintenance Group. “I think it's incumbent upon us to be good stewards of every dollar that we get and to use it the right way. We're in the business of winning wars, so we've got to find the cutting-edge stuff to be able to get them the tools to be able to succeed.”
| Date Taken: | 04.17.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 04.17.2025 13:14 |
| Story ID: | 495531 |
| Location: | PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AIR RESERVE STATION, PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Web Views: | 134 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Steel City Spark Cell Connects Military Innovation With Civilian Ingenuity, by Jeffrey Grossi, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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