In October, the chapter welcomed John F. Sharp as the guest speaker at its monthly luncheon. Sharp is president of the Biomedical Research Foundation of Northwest Louisiana, a not-for-profit corporation, and he oversees a staff of 40 with $88 million in assets. In 1997, Sharp led the creation of the Louisiana Center for Manufacturing Sciences with consortium members Aerojet, the Biomedical Research Foundation, ExtrudeHone, General Motors Powertrain and Raytheon. He is the most recent past president for the Committee of One Hundred and was appointed by the governor to both the Southern Growth Policy Board and the Southern Governor's Association Science and Technology Task Force. In addition, he previously chaired the Technology Commercialization Committee. In his presentation, Sharp presented the contributions of the Biomedical Research Foundation in commercial development throughout Northwest Louisiana, from its inception through the launch of its InterTech Science Park supporting “new venture business development for life science, information technology, digital media, and chemical, environmental, and energy-related companies.” The park's eight facilities total 344,000 square feet, and its current tenants include Oscar-winning Moonbot Studios, Grammy-winning Blade Studios, Embera NeuroTherapeutics, numerous cutting-edge biomedical and pharmacological organizations, and prestigious academic research facilities affiliated with Louisiana State University and the University of Louisiana at Monroe. |
