About
Why Pennsylvania. Why Pitt.
Pennsylvania’s industries, from energy and manufacturing to healthcare, depend on operational technology (OT): the control systems, sensors, and networks that run our power plants, pipelines, factories, and medical systems. As the second-largest natural gas-producing state and second in nuclear power generating capacity, Pennsylvania’s OT is a cornerstone of national infrastructure and security.
Protecting it takes more than traditional IT cybersecurity. Industry needs solutions that bring IT and OT together into a unified, manageable environment, one that can handle legacy systems and rapid technological change.
The University of Pittsburgh is uniquely positioned to deliver those solutions. We combine interdisciplinary research, long-standing industry and government partnerships, and collaborative faculty-student research.
Our Mission
The Cyber Energy Center unites industry and academia across engineering, computer and network science, and law and policy to secure the industrial systems that keep our society running, from energy and utilities to manufacturing and healthcare.
How We Work
The Center acts as a force multiplier for the cybersecurity and energy industries, helping organizations solve critical problems faster. Partners gain a startup's urgency and resourcefulness in addressing today's challenges and emerging threats. We do this in two ways.
- Industry-informed research and development. Center personnel engage stakeholders in in-depth discovery, identify technology gaps, and work with industry advisors to fill them. Our R&D moves technologies through successive technology readiness levels, and where appropriate, promising technologies are commercialized through innovation projects.
- Immersive student innovation. Student teams get out of the classroom and work directly with cybersecurity, IT/OT, and energy stakeholders. They rapidly iterate on ideas to validate solutions to real operational needs, learning what makes a solution desirable, viable, and feasible. Industry gets fresh thinking and validated concepts, and students graduate with experience that employers want.
Our Expertise
Our researchers work across:
- Energy and utilities
- Law and policy
- Industrial Internet/Internet of Things
- Advanced manufacturing
- Healthcare and Medical Devices
- Other emerging areas of critical infrastructure
Our Journey
- May 2024: Launch. The Cyber Energy Center was established through a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.
- November 2026: A new chapter. The Center transitions to an industry consortium model, placing our partners at the center of setting priorities, shaping research, and accelerating the technologies that matter most.
