The Steel Valley Renaissance: How AI and STEM Education Could Transform Our Region
By Justin Powers
As I write this latest update for the Jenifer R. Powers Fruit Memorial Fund, I find myself thinking beyond our immediate goals of promoting STEM education and robotics in our schools. Don't get me wrong, that mission remains at our core, and events like our annual Jen + Tonic fundraiser are crucial to supporting these initiatives. However, today I want to explore a broader perspective that connects our educational mission to the economic future of the entire Steel Valley region, of which Beaver County, my current home, is intricately positioned, just across the border from my hometown of East Palestine, OH.
I'm grateful to my father-in-law, Rich Benkowski, for his invaluable contributions and insights to this post, drawn from his distinguished career with the UA and the Steamfitters/Pipefitters Union. Rich's involvement in the development of the Shell Cracker Plant brings a vital Trades industry perspective to future developments, such as transforming the Steel Valley into the Data Valley.
A Bold Vision: The Steel Valley as Pennsylvania's AI Corridor
It might sound far-fetched at first – the Steel Valley region as a hub for artificial intelligence and data centers? A place more commonly associated with the Rust Belt becoming a technology powerhouse? However, when you peel back the layers, this vision begins to make remarkable sense.
Beaver County's motto is something like: "The rivers that divide us unite us". A motto that perfectly captures both our history and potential future. Those same rivers that powered our industrial revolution throughout the Steel Valley could now power our AI revolution. What once connected Pittsburgh, Beaver County, and communities along the Ohio River through steel production could now connect us through data and technological innovation.
Consider what AI data centers desperately need: reliable power, abundant water for cooling, and a strategic location. Our Steel Valley region, with Beaver County as a centerpiece, has all three:
We have the Beaver Valley Nuclear Power Station providing carbon-free electricity, plus abundant natural gas resources throughout Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio
The Ohio River offers plentiful water needed for cooling these massive computing facilities
Our integrated regional network connects world-class AI research at institutions like Carnegie Mellon and Pitt with Ohio's emerging semiconductor industry, creating natural technology corridors throughout the Steel Valley
The Overlooked Powerhouse of STEM: Our Skilled Trades
When discussing STEM education, the conversation often focuses exclusively on computer science and engineering degrees. However, the truth is that our region's skilled trades represent a crucial and often overlooked aspect of the STEM workforce, one that will be absolutely essential to any AI infrastructure revolution.
The Shell cracker plant in Beaver County stands as a powerful example of our region's strong ties to trade and craftsman unions. This massive industrial project didn't just appear overnight; it was built by thousands of skilled steamfitters, pipefitters, electricians, welders, and other tradespeople who represent generations of technical expertise in our region.
These same skilled trades will be critical to retooling industrial sites for data centers or building the natural gas power generation facilities needed to meet the enormous energy demands of AI computing. A modern data center requires not just software engineers but highly skilled tradespeople who understand complex cooling systems, power distribution, and facility management.
The Nexus of High-Performance Infrastructure and High-Skilled Labor
High-performance infrastructure requires a highly skilled workforce with reliable and repeatable skill sets. To prepare for the latest technology in the built environment, the existing workforce is now embracing the concept of upskilling. This term confirms their struggle to compete in today's workforce.
STEM Programs are the high-performance infrastructure solution. STEM creates solvers, builders, programmers, planners, and troubleshooters for every workplace challenge. By modernizing and addressing the training needs of STEM participants, STEM provides the best opportunity to fill high-skilled labor positions.
Technology is changing faster than society can adapt to it. What was once a convenience has become a vital component of our classroom and job site operations. Digital natives are now in STEM operations waiting to be trained and offered into a technology-driven workforce.
One of the best-known futurists of the modern era, Alvin Toffler, is credited with saying, "The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and re-learn." The velocity of technology will push every STEM instructor to learn about the next technique, unlearn the comfort of "how we have always done things," and relearn teaching concepts to motivate the modern student.
Rick Gopffarth, MCAA President and Senior Vice President of Preconstruction Services, recognizes this opportunity: "The evolution of the built environment, particularly with the growing emphasis on clean energy, advanced technologies, and sustainable infrastructure, has significantly impacted market share. As projects become more complex and specialized, the demand for highly skilled labor has increased. This shift presents a tremendous opportunity for MCAA contractors and UA-trained workers to capture more market share by meeting these evolving needs."
The Jenifer R. Powers Fruit Memorial Fund recognizes that STEM education must include pathways for trades alongside traditional academic routes. The technical skills needed to build and maintain the infrastructure of our AI future are just as valuable as the skills needed to program the algorithms that will run on it.
As we look to the future, strengthening our region's apprenticeship programs and creating clear pathways between our schools' STEM programs and our unions' training facilities will be essential. The craftsmen and women who once built America's steel industry can be the same ones who build America's AI infrastructure – if we invest in their training and recognize their critical importance.
Only STEM prepares to provide the right material, of the right quality, to the right student at the right time.
As we look toward 2027, which many industry experts identify as a critical milestone for AI development, power constraints are expected to become the primary bottleneck for growth. Our unique combination of nuclear and natural gas infrastructure positions us perfectly to meet these challenges in ways that many other regions simply cannot.
STEM Education as Community Development
This is where our work with the Jenifer R. Powers Fruit Memorial Fund takes on even greater significance. The STEM education and robotics programs we support aren't just preparing individual students for future careers – they're laying the groundwork for our entire region's economic rebirth.
The relationship between education and economic prosperity is symbiotic. Without economic stability in our communities, it becomes increasingly difficult to support innovative technology education in our public schools. Yet, without strong STEM education preparing our future workforce, our communities throughout the Steel Valley struggle to attract and retain the technology companies that could provide economic revitalization.
Every time you attend a Jen + Tonic event or contribute to our fund, you're not just supporting robotics clubs and coding programs – you're investing in the economic future of the entire Steel Valley region. Our communities from Pittsburgh to Beaver County to the Ohio flatlands share a common industrial heritage, and now they can share a common technological future.
Our Greatest Challenge: Overcoming Divides
If we're honest, one of our region's greatest limitations has never been our infrastructure or workforce potential – it's been our tendency toward territorial behavior and turf wars between communities in Southwest PA and Northeast Ohio. For our region to capitalize on the AI revolution, these societal divides must be overcome.
We cannot allow petty rivalries and competition for resources to hinder our ability to position ourselves as leaders in this transformative future. The communities that recognize this reality [that AI is not merely coming but already here] and prioritize both infrastructure development and youth education will emerge as the leaders for future generations.
Bringing It All Together
Imagine a future where our children learn advanced robotics and AI concepts in school, then graduate to find high-paying technology jobs right here in the Steel Valley. Imagine former industrial sites transformed into gleaming data centers, powered by our abundant energy resources, employing a workforce that includes both young tech professionals and skilled tradespeople.
This vision connects directly to why we established the Jenifer R. Powers Fruit Memorial Fund. Jen believed in the potential of every child, regardless of background or circumstance. She knew that access to cutting-edge education could transform individual lives.
Our fundraising events, such as Jen + Tonic, aren't just social gatherings; they're investments in our vision of a technologically vibrant, economically prosperous Steel Valley, where our children can build their futures without having to leave the communities they love.
The AI revolution is already here. The regions that accept this reality and build educational systems and infrastructure to support it will lead the way. With your continued support of the Jenifer R. Powers Fruit Memorial Fund, I believe our Steel Valley, with Beaver County at its heart, can be among those leaders.
The rivers that once powered America's industrial might could soon power America's AI future. Let's ensure our children are prepared to lead this transformation, not as isolated communities, but as a unified Steel Valley Renaissance.
For more information about the Jen and Tonic Polo event and how you can support STEM education initiatives in our community, visit www.steelvalleyinnovate.org.