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Philly daily roundup: Boathouse Row’s new tech; ‘Second skyline’ rising in UCity; City Council talks life sciences

Plus, meet an IT manager who was "born into tech."

Farmer's market outside the University of Pennsylvania bookstore (Sarah Huffman/Technical.ly)

Tech Behind: Boathouse Row’s light system reboot

After going dark for almost a year, Boathouse Row is officially shining again. The Fairmount Park Conservancy partnered with the Lighting Practice and other contractors for the six-year, $2.1 million project.

The new system features 6,400 LED lights and adds the potential for animation, with a custom interface that can be operated remotely to program color changes, sparkle effects and fades. Each house has its own power supply, and they’re all wired back to Boathouse No. 1.

➡️ Get a behind-the-scenes look at the revamped iconic lights

This service desk manager was born into tech

Dave Singh’s first exposure to technology was from his father, who was an IT manager and constantly brought home computers in the 80s. He went on to become a technologist in the hospitality industry, legal and finance.

Singh is currently a remote service desk manager for Wilmington-based fintech company Best Egg. His advice to others in tech is to get out of your comfort zone and make the big move, even if its scary.

➡️ Reach more about Singh’s tech career journey in Holly’s article here

News Incubator: What else to know today

• Biomed research nonprofit the Wistar Institute released its annual report, recapping awards, grants, new technologies and other successes from 2023. [Wistar]

• Philadelphia’s “second skyline” is rising up in University City, largely because of added space for life science industry stakeholders. [Chamber of Commerce]

• City Council advocated for more workforce opportunities for Philadelphians in the life sciences industry at a hearing earlier this week. [The Inquirer/Technical.ly]

• A report from Penn Med and Penn Engineering found AI models developed to detect depression by looking at Facebook posts are less likely to work when applied to posts from people who are Black. [Penn Medicine]

🗓️ On the Calendar

• Code&Coffee@Philly is hosting a code session on March 30 at Chapterhouse Cafe and Gallery at 1 p.m. [More Info]

•  Make your own stencil or rubber stamp using a tabletop laser cutter from Hive76 at Iffy Books on March 30 at 1 p.m.  [Register Here]

• WURD Radio is hosting a Level Up Pitch Party Competition for Black women-owned businesses on April 2. [Register Here]

• Partner listing: Want to meet the region’s freshest talent? Thousands of college students are expected at Campus Philly’s Spring Career Event on April 2, and space for tables is still available. [Register Here]

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.

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