Daugherty knows technology and business -- and academe. Trained as an engineer -- he also earned his master's degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering and Ph.D. in engineering mechanics, both from the University of Delaware -- Daugherty spent eight years at Delaware as a faculty member and assistant dean of engineering before moving to the corporate world.
He managed corporate ventures at Exxon and Atlantic Richfield before joining Alcan Aluminum, where he stayed 18 years, heading up product development and business-opportunity review efforts at the company's centers and labs in Canada; England; and Cambridge, Mass. As director of Alcan's fabrication research and development center in Kingston, Ont., he led a 100-person materials and product development effort. He was also part of the company's global management team that set R&D strategy and was responsible for developing the annual technology plan and meeting its objectives.
Joining Virginia Tech in 2004 as an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Management, Daugherty was appointed BTC director in June 2005. Helping small entrepreneurs research and develop their technology ideas, he says, is not so different from what he used to do. Whether it's a fledgling undertaking or an established multinational enterprise or something in between, he says, "all new products or ventures have the same fundamental concerns and issues, and the general approach is the same."
Daugherty plans to continue expanding the center's services -- originally intended to cater to local and regional needs -- to assist businesses in every corner of the state. While supporting economic development will remain the backbone of BTC's operations, the center also aims to strengthen ties with its academic community through expanding research, learning, and entrepreneurial opportunities