Helping create companies that improve lives
The Swartz Center has provided growth and financial resources for hundreds of students, faculty and alumni who have created great companies that positively affect the way people live.
Leah Lizarondo
Founded as a direct response to the disconnect between food waste, hunger and environmental sustainability.
Success Story Videos
Alison Alvarez
B2B provider of customer intelligence and analytics solutions that companies across sectors rely on to optimize revenue growth.
Success Story Videos
Sankalp Arora
Accelerate and automate manual processes using autonomous drones and advanced computer vision technology.
Success Story Videos
Alex Baikovitz
At the forefront of leveraging advanced machine learning and computer vision techniques to transform raw geospatial data into actionable insights to help civil engineers build and maintain infrastructure globally.
Success Story Videos
Wole Idowu
Provide a platform that uses game theory and mechanics and advanced manufacturing to get students into creating, selling and telling stories of superhero TOYZ of themselves.
Success Story Videos
Matt Spettel
Redefining fitness, one personalized workout at a time.
Success Story Videos
Program Testimonials
"LaunchÒ»±¾µÀÎÞÂë gave us the right platform to find investors. By branding the event as Roboburgh, it attracted people that understand how much robotics companies can be profitable. That allowed us to find truly motivated investors."
-Tom Galluzzo, CEO, IAM Robotics
"We applied for a Spark Grant to help get our company off the ground. It gave us the resources we needed to go to a composites conference and build the infrastructure we needed to validate our business idea."
-Glenn Philen, Co-Founder, Carbon Freight
Courtney Williamson
Biomechanical devices to improve the quality of life for the elderly and those with movement disorders.
Swartz Center Programs & Activities
- 2013 Biomedical Engineering Capstone Course
- 2013 Project Olympus PROBE
- 2014 LaunchÒ»±¾µÀÎÞÂë participant
- 2014 NSF I-Corps Team
- 2015 OFEF Recipient
Jeff Rzeszotarski
Data visualization technology that helps people and businesses make better decisions.
Swartz Center Programs & Activities
- 2013 Project Olympus PROBE
- 2015 McGinnis Venture Competition - 2nd Place Winner
- 2015 Innovation Fellow
Luis von Ahn
Online social platform that teaches users languages for free while they simultaneously translate content across the web.
Swartz Center Programs & Activities
Hunaid Nulwala
Anti-corrosion metal coatings that are made less expensively and without harmful environmental impacts.
Swartz Center Programs & Activities
- 2014 NSF I-Corps Team
- 2014 Recipient of CTTEC Gap Funds
- 2014 Pitt-First Gear Gap Funds - CTTEC
- 2014 LaunchÒ»±¾µÀÎÞÂë
- 2015 Innovation Fellow
Molly Blank
PalpAid
Technology to empower primary care clinicians and women to achieve better breast health.
Swartz Center Programs & Activities
- 2014 McGinnis Venture Competition Finalist
- 2014 Recipient of CTTEC Gap Funds
- 2015 NSF I-Corps Team
- 2015 Innovation Fellow
Hahna Alexander
Product that generates on-the-go, renewable power for mobile energy needs.
Swartz Center Programs & Activities
- 2012 Project Olympus Startup
- 2012 Mechanical Engineer Capstone Project Spin-off
- 2013 McGinnis Venture Competition Winner
- 2014 Recipient of OFEF award