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applied technology and training. More re-
cently, Dr. Nasr has been appointed Associ-
ate Provost and Director of RIT’s Golisano
Institute for Sustainability.
And to augment the acumen deployed
for this project, researchers secured further
help from someone who could infuse class-
room activities with genuine insight of field
operations.
Ed McCarthy is a distinguished veter-
an of the United States Marine Corp. Over
the course of his career, he commanded Ma-
rine units and provided logistical/operations
support involving armored services. He
holds degrees in electrical engineering, has
served as an instructor at the United States
Naval Academy, and has also managed pro-
grams involving technical initiatives for the
Department of Defense. McCarthy was still
serving with the Marines when he became
aware of the research taking place at RIT, in
fact, he helped supply some of the early vehi-
cles which were used for testing the product.
Upon retiring, McCarthy joined the team
of researchers and developers, offering in-
sight into real world situations in which this
technology would be applied. He ultimately
became the Senior Program Manager. “This
was a great team of people who approached
this project with great pride and passion,”
says McCarthy. “Many of the students had
friends, or family, who had gone to serve in
the military, and they were excited to partici-
pate in this project because they recognized
how it would benefit those who were serving
and sacrificing for our nation.”
Ultimately, the technology matured
to the point that it could be commercialized.
Chauncey, an RIT Alumnus who serves on
the industry advisory board of the school’s
electrical engineer department, had invalu-
able experience serving other electrical
product companies and business start-ups.
While he stepped-up to help create the busi-
ness model which has since become Vnom-
ics Corp., McCarthy also enlisted for duty,
serving today as Vnomics Vice President of
Operations.
Vnomics has also galvanized support
from other leading forces of industry. From
processors produced by Intel to communica-
tion systems deployed by Verizon, Chauncey
says Vnomics has partnered with “best-in-
class” companies to bring its products to
market. Those partnerships include Advan-
tech, a world-leading manufacturer and de-
