Foundry for the future: The Silicon Valley of Appalachia

Foundry for the future: The Silicon Valley of Appalachia

PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania — The familiar hum of a coal barge pushing the region’s black gold up the Monongahela River holds the same low rumble it did a century ago, softly echoing through the valley towns where steel once defined the American identity.  But follow the Monongahela River just upstream from Pittsburgh, toward the historic Hazelwood Green site, and the landscape begins to change. This was once the home of the Jones and Laughlin Stee…