Latest News

Minneapolis, 27 September 2013 – The Defense Alliance held its annual award event Thursday evening at HGA.  More than 100 people from 75 defense-oriented organizations attended the event which was hosted by HGA, one of the nation’s leading architectural and engineering firms. 

The event, titled “Architect of Defense,” was principally a networking opportunity for the diverse group representing a spectrum of industries that contribute to defense and homeland security technology needs. Following a reception and program, the sixth annual “Architect of Defense” award was presented to the  President and CEO of Phygen Coatings, Inc. and Sterilucent, Inc., David C. Bell (pictured here with Alliance director Chip Laingen).  The award is presented to the Defense Alliance member who best exemplifies and promotes the ideals and mission of the Alliance. 

Phygen was founded in 1994 by Bell with the objective of being a technology leader in the PVD surface coatings industry.  The company has achieved a breakthrough for the U.S. Army that is delivering a first-of-its-kind replacement coating solution for hard chrome and conventional plating processes that are considered environmental hazards, with a new coating with excellent corrosion protection (besting thick and thin hard chrome and all conventional wet plating processes) while simultaneously achieving 20X improved mechanical wear.    

Sterilucent, Inc., was established in 2004 with a grant from the National Institutes of Health.  Since then, the company has received funding from the Department of Defense and angel investors to continue its work developing a unique low temperature sterilizer for field-based operating theaters in combat support hospitals and remote settings.  Working closely with the U. S. Army and U. S. Marine Corps, Sterilucent completed development of the Sterilucent™ PSD-85 Hydrogen Peroxide Sterilizer and all accessories. 

Bell’s entrepreneurship and industry leadership, combined with his long-held championship of this region’s ability to provide innovation to our nation’s Warriors, exemplify the values of the Defense Alliance and its membership, which now comprises over 700 corporate members in 27 states.  Following a brief industry update from the Defense Alliance, the evening’s keynote presenter was Jonathan B. Smith, CEO of ChiefOptimizer, Inc., an SBA-endorsed management consulting firm focused on helping entrepreneurs and their executive teams simplify, clarify and achieve their vision.  The evening was sponsored in part the Advanced Power & Energy Cluster, Minnesota Defense, and Teamvantage.