Revivicor’s $100 million pig-organ facility moves forward
By early next year, Blacksburg-based Revivicor will be raising genetically modified pigs in Montgomery County, with plans to harvest their hearts and kidneys for xenotransplantation into human patients. Founded in 2003 as a spinoff company of PPL Therapeutics (the company that cloned Dolly the sheep seven years earlier), Revivicor provided the genetically modified pig heart […]
Va. Tech’s Center for Biz Analytics names director
Jennifer Havens has been named director of the Center for Business Analytics at Virginia Tech‘s Pamplin College of Business, the university announced Wednesday. Havens joins Virginia Tech from Amazon.com Inc., where she was an executive coach, shaping organizational strategy and culture and designing the global e-tailer’s first group coaching program. She was also a founding […]
Torc to acquire Canadian computer vision firm
Blacksburg-based Torc Robotics on Tuesday announced it will acquire Montreal-based computer vision company Algolux Inc. A purchase price was not disclosed. Torc, a self-driving truck company, is an independent subsidiary of Daimler Truck AG. Torc said in a news release that it is acquiring Algolux for its expertise in computer vision and machine learning. Algolux […]
Va. Tech names new biz school dean
Saonee Sarker, a professor at Sweden’s Lund University, will serve as the next dean of the Virginia Tech‘s Pamplin College of Business following an international search. Virginia Tech announced Sarker’s new role Monday. She has been a professor in Lund University’s Department of Informatics in the School of Economics and Management since 2021, and is also a […]
Va. Tech names College of Architecture, Arts and Design dean
Virginia Tech has named a new dean to lead its College of Architecture, Arts, and Design (AAD) following an international search. Tsai Lu Liu will start July 1. He has led the Department of Graphic Design and Industrial Design at North Carolina State University, in Raleigh, since 2012 and has a background in industry and […]
Torc names regulatory, safety SVP
Blacksburg-based Torc Robotics has named Michelle Chaka as senior vice president overseeing safety and regulatory matters, the self-driving truck company announced Wednesday. Chaka, who most recently has worked as a director for safety assurance and standards for Pittsburgh-based autonomous trucking solutions firm Locomation Inc., will oversee and coordinate safety across the company, including it[...]
Va. Tech taps Fralin Life Sciences Institute leader
A chemistry professor from Louisiana State University will join Virginia Tech as executive director of its Fralin Life Sciences Institute. Robin L. McCarley will start Dec. 1, the university announced Thursday. He was selected following a national search. McCarley is currently the Barbara Womack Alumni Association Endowed Professor of Chemistry at LSU. At the Fralin […]
Bowman gives $5M to Va. Tech for land development program
Reston-based Bowman Consulting Group Ltd. founder and CEO Gary Bowman committed $5 million to Virginia Tech‘s College of Engineering for the expansion of sustainable land development learning initiatives, the university announced Monday. “The Bowman gift solidifies Virginia Tech as the premier undergraduate and graduate programs in the field of sustainable land development,” Mark Widdows[...]
Virginia Tech appoints COO from W&M
Virginia Tech announced Wednesday it has named Amy Stoakley Sebring, currently chief operating officer at William & Mary, as its executive vice president and COO, effective Nov. 1. “I am very pleased to welcome Amy to the university community and our leadership team,” Virginia Tech President Tim Sands said in a statement. “She brings a […]
Virginia Tech promotes VP of comms, marketing
Virginia Tech announced Tuesday it has promoted Tracy Vosburgh to be its inaugural vice president of communications and marketing. The university is also renaming its University Relations department to Communications and Marketing. Vosburgh has served as Virginia Tech‘s top communications administrator since 2015, when she joined the university as senior associate vice president for universi[...]
Torc Robotics names new CEO
Blacksburg-based self-driving truck company Torc Robotics has named Peter Vaughan Schmidt its next CEO, the Daimler Truck AG subsidiary announced Thursday. Currently head of Daimler Truck’s Autonomous Technology Group, Schmidt will take on his new role Oct. 1 and succeeds Michael Fleming. The company produces software for self-driving commercial vehicles and was started by a […]
Statewide hotel revenues continue to lag 2019
Hotel revenues in Virginia for the first half of 2022 continued to lag behind 2019, and reduced business travel is still the culprit. That’s according to data released this week from STR Inc., a division of CoStar Group Inc. that provides market data on the U.S. hospitality industry. Hotel rooms sold decreased by 4.6% in Virginia through June […]