The Industrial Development Authority of Halifax County is pleased to announce that Dr. Douglas P. Corrigan has been named the Executive Director of the Riverstone Energy Center.
Corrigan has been praised by the search committee for his entrepreneurial spirit coupled with his experience in business development, technology commercialization and his extensive work in research and development across high-tech sectors.
“Doug has been in the trenches. He started his own biotechnology company and has experience in SBIR project management. He also brings to the table in-depth understanding of intellectual property protection, patents, trade-secrets, confidentially agreements and material transfer agreements,” said Ted Bennett, selection committee chair. “His combination of private sector business experience and his understanding of the academic and research fields made him the ideal candidate for the director’s position.”
“I am excited about this new chapter in my professional career and I am looking forward to working with the IDA and the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center and other partners as we develop this unique model,” Corrigan said. “My family and I have been very impressed with everyone that we’ve met and everything that we’ve seen in Halifax County. We are looking forward to becoming a part of this dynamic community with its eye on the future.”
“Doug brings with him an outstand list of credentials and experience. His work at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center coupled with his work with SBIR and his publications helped him rise to the top of an outstanding list of candidates for the position,” said IDA Executive Director Mike Sexton. “Doug and Amy will be energetic additions to our community.”
“Currently, Virginia is the second largest importer of electricity in the nation, behind California. By working with businesses and entrepreneurs, we can look for solutions to our energy dependency and create new jobs in Halifax County,” Sexton said. “We have already announced the NOVI biomass power plant and the Dominion solar research project, that combined will provide nearly $200 million in new investment in the county and 50 new direct jobs. The NOVI project will also produce 100 jobs in the forestry industry to supply the power plant, thus expanding jobs in the agri-business sector, another focus of the IDA. These investments touch every man, woman and child in Halifax County by adding significant taxes to the County coffers at a time of financial strain and provide jobs across a wide variety of skill sets”
Located in South Boston, the Riverstone Energy Center (REC) and the Research and Development Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Energy Efficiency provide innovative solution to businesses and entrepreneurs seeking resource to pursue consistent research, or who struggle to implement the innovations research has discovered. The REC is a 7,000 square foot facility that houses the Mechdyne Flex Virtual Reality System. “The Cave”, as the system has been coined, is a powerful 3D virtual reality environment that provides unparalleled modeling and simulation capabilities. Coupled with the Cisco 3000 Telepresence videoconference equipment that provides the ability to create the world you want and to share it without being limited by geographic boundaries. A meeting with customers or clients around the world becomes as real and as vibrant as a meeting around the table. Additionally, REC has a multimedia center capable of producing sophisticated audio, visual and print materials that will clients to tell their story to the government and industry.
The R&D Center for Advanced Manufacturing & Energy Efficiency is located in the Innovation Center – a 46,000 square foot, newly renovated, former tobacco warehouse located on the campus of, and operated by, the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center. The facility houses state-of-the art machining Center equipped with today’s most advanced and progressive manufacturing technology that produces products in both the 3-axis and 5-axis realm. Because advanced manufacturing techniques are the key to compete globally, a “Smart Factory” approach to demonstrate how emerging trends in industry and advanced technology can be adopted and mastered.
The Riverstone Energy Center will work with the Research and Development Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Energy Efficiency collaboratively to proved a complete, unparalleled, competitively priced package of services for product and process development needs.
Corrigan is a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where he earned his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees and a graduate of Quillen College of Medicine, East Tennessee State University where he earned his Doctorate degree.
Doug and his wife Amy have four children and are expecting another child in the fall.
James Gordon, the owner of Springfield Distillery, comes by his interest in whiskey naturally. “I grew up with memories of my father moonshining,” says Gordon, who opened his Halifax County distillery in August 2016. “My father is one of the first two private individuals in South Africa to get his license for distilling liquor. I get to tap into 25 years of distillery experience.”
