Inventing the Future : Featured Stories

Like all organisms, founders start small and evolve. But instead of birth, childhood, adolescence and adulthood, they mature from intellectual capital to incubation, bootstrapping to venture capital, startup to established company.

Whether it's Drexel's Schuylkill Yards strategy, the Science Center's uCity Square expansion or visions for capping and developing the rail yards north of 30th Street Station, the neighborhood we see today is not long for this world.

Thanks to an exciting University City Science Center program, businesses seeking a foothold in the U.S. are choosing Philadelphia. These firms are pioneering groundbreaking technologies, transforming sectors such as oncology and wind power.

Check out our picks for the week's top events.

Check out our picks for the week's top events. 

The region's reputation as a global hub for academic, scientific and entrepreneurial prowess in the life sciences is on the rise, and now thousands of industry leaders will descend on the city June 15-18.

Check out our picks for the week's top events.

An innovative new program gives artists studio space and financial support in exchange for tackling projects in the West Philadelphia community. And in a true twist, it's the neighborhood that decides the exact nature of those tasks. 

Whether you're a 16-year-old who's never touched a power tool, a union carpenter, a design student, or a 20-something skateboarder, Public Workshop's Building Heroes program offers an opportunity to design, build and even sell your next big idea.

As we look forward to a new year, Flying Kite highlights a group of game-changing Commonwealth companies. Whether they're brewing beer, saving lives, making life more convenient or helping kids learn better, these startups are poised for a big 2015. 

Last week, the latest class of startups entered DreamIt Ventures' tech accelerator. These fledgling entrepreneurs could be building the next billion-dollar company or learning to fail fast -- the next 90 days will say a lot.

Plasma could have groundbreaking applications in energy, health care and technology -- and some of the most promising research and commercialization efforts are coming out of the Philadelphia region.

With the sale of the property to Drexel University and Wexford Science and Technology finalized, the local community continues to fight to make their voices heard. How will this potentially $1 billion development project impact the neighborhood?

Local colleges and universities are developing innovative ways to foster entrepreneurship and cultivate the next generation of startup leaders. They are joined by schools across the state.

Friday's showcase of 'ideas worth sharing' made an argument for Philadelphia as 'The New Workshop of the World.' Speakers touched on education, development, access and modern manufacturing.