International Research Facility Opens
November 12, 2009 • By Aaron Koepper,
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HARRISONBURG, Va. — After almost four years of planning and construction, the Stanford Research Institute International’s new research facility opened Monday in Harrisonburg.
Gov. Tim Kaine said the presence of James Madison University and the help it has provided is a key factor in entering the partnership with SRI.
SRI is expected to create more than 100 new jobs in the next year and pave the way for more high-tech investment in the Shenandoah Valley.
“We wanted to do something great, something special and meaningful for the community,” said Pablo Cuevas, vice chairman of the Rockingham County Board of Supervisors. “The potential from this is unlimited. I have no idea what this will be 20 or 30 years from now.”
SRI International is a non-profit research and development group, focusing on engineering, public policy, biosciences, information and computing, and the physical sciences. Based in the Silicon Valley in California, SRI has offices across the country, as well as an office in Tokyo, Japan. Researchers develop technology used by the federal government and managed by spin-off companies in the private sector.
Since 2006, JMU has provided office and lab space for SRI’s scientists and its Center for Advanced Drug Research (CADRE).
CADRE has focused on improving the productivity of the pharmaceutical industry, while also developing treatments for diseases and responses to pandemic and bio-terror threats. It already has a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for tuberculosis resistant drugs and has partnered with the National Cancer Institute.
JMU worked with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, the Shenandoah Valley Partnership, a public/private partnership that gives marketing and business assistance for the region and Harrisonburg and Rockingham County governments in order to bring SRI to the Valley.
“We wouldn’t be here today if there hadn’t been a relationship between SRI and JMU,” Gov. Tim Kaine said. “The work that JMU has done in being a leader, the upward path of the university is the key reason that we’re here today.”
Kaine also campaigned to bring SRI to Virginia, calling it “the single best project we’ve ever worked on.”
SRI officials said they chose Harrisonburg because of the quality of life in the Valley, the presence of several universities and the proximity of Washington, D.C.
“We have found here a group of people who want to make a positive change in the world,” said Curtis R. Carlson, CEO of SRI International.
Officials from state governments and universities attended the ribbon-cutting event, including JMU President Linwood Rose and Congressman Bob Goodlatte.
Contact Aaron Koepper at koeppead@jmu.edu
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