Doug Sharrott

Doug Sharrott

Doug Sharrott graduated from Cooper Union in 1983 with a Bachelor of Engineering, and from Polytechnic University (now NYU Tandon) in 1987 with a Master of Science, both in electrical engineering. He was named president of The Cooper Union Alumni Association (CUAA) in 2025.

From 1983 to 1993, Sharrott worked as an electrical engineer at Fairchild-Weston, Hazeltine, and Grumman corporations. He designed anti-jam communication systems, combat friend-or-foe identification systems, and ballistic missile tracking systems for the Department of Defense. He attended Brooklyn Law School at night from 1990 to 1994 where he served as Notes and Comments editor of the Brooklyn Law Review. His 1992 law review article “Provider-Specific Quality-of-Care Data” helped pave the way for the public disclosure of medical outcome statistics. In 1994, Sharrott graduated with a Juris Doctor, magna cum laude. 

From 1994 to 2024, Sharrott practiced law at the Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto and Venable law firms. He was recognized by Legal 500 as one of our country’s leading patent attorneys. He has tried numerous cases before the federal courts, International Trade Commission, and United States Patent and Trademark Office. He also worked with inventors to obtain and license patents. His clients included IBM, Hewlett Packard, Canon, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Becton Dickinson, Johnson Outdoors, Novartis, and Bristol Myers Squibb. 

Besides litigation, Sharrott is well versed in alternate dispute resolution including mediation and arbitration. He retired from the practice of law in 2024. Sharrott has also served on the President’s Advisory Council of Brooklyn Law School and the Advisory Board of Nanotechnology Law and Review. He lives in Orlando, FL with his wife Karen. They have four children and five grandchildren. 

Role: Alumni Trustee 
Elected to the Board: August 2025 
Class Term: 2029 
Term Limit: 2029

  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.