Philly daily roundup: World’s best startup ecosystem; Remembering Alan Waggoner; New NIST Standards

Philly ranked No. 25 best startup ecosystem

Longtime Carnegie Mellon University professor Alan Waggoner died at 82 this May, but he leaves behind an impressive legacy. Specifically, Waggoner invented CyDye, which helped revolutionize fluorescence microscopy.

CyDye, along with other fluorescent dyes, led to major advancements in biomedical research and health care. Surgeons have used them to remove cancerous tumors and scientists used them to help complete the Human Genome Project.

➡️ Read more about Waggoner’s career and his lasting impact

News Incubator: What else to know today

• The National Institute of Standards and Technology launched the Assessing Risks and Impacts of AI initiative in May to test Large Language Model applications. [Techncial.ly]

• RunPod, a South Jersey-based startup founded by former Comcast employees raised $20 million in seed funding. The company offers software to create AI applications. [Philly Biz Journal]

• The Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center is hosting its 10th annual Entrepreneur Spotlight on July 18. The event will hold a pitch competition where the winning company will get a $250,000 investment. [PABC]

• The National Skills Coalition released a short report about digital skills, finding that 90% of jobs in Pennsylvania require digital skills. This information is from the org’s 2023 Closing the Digital Skill Divide report. [National Skills Coalition]

🗓️ On the Calendar

Sarah Huffman is a 2022-2024 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The Groundtruth Project that pairs young journalists with local newsrooms. This position is supported by the Lenfest Institute for Journalism.