Events - Event View

Please join us for our monthly luncheon on Friday, August 14, 2026, Prestonwood Country Club in Cary, 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM.

To learn more about NCER membership, please contact the Membership Committee Chair who will guide you through the nomination and selection process.

Our guest speaker is John Hardin, PhD., "North Carolina’s Innovation Ecosystem: Performance and Key Initiatives"

John Hardin, Ph.D. serves as Executive Director of the Office of Science, Technology & Innovation at the North Carolina Department of Commerce, where he leads statewide initiatives that advance research, innovation, and technology-based economic development. In this role, he advises state leadership on policies that strengthen North Carolina’s research capacity, support commercialization of new technologies, and drive long-term economic growth.

Dr. Hardin has more than two decades of experience in science and innovation policy. He previously served as Deputy Director and Chief Policy Analyst for the North Carolina Board of Science, Technology & Innovation and as Assistant Vice President for Research and Sponsored Programs for the University of North Carolina system. He also taught public policy and political science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for over 15 years.