i3 - November/December 2018 - 37

Consum

er

Techno

logy

ENGINEER/JOURNALIST/ANALYST
(1952 - 2016)

I

t is rare for a journalist
to both seek quotes and
be sought for quotes.
But Richard "Rick" Doherty - a
familiar sight in the front row
at consumer electronics press
conferences armed with a
camcorder perched atop a
monopod - was more than
just a journalist, acting also as
a knowledgeable and quoted
consumer technology and
engineering consultant and
analyst.
Born in Jamaica, Queens, NY,
on January 22, 1952, the family
moved to Levittown to take
advantage of better schools.
Doherty's parents provided
him with both knowledge and
inspiration. His mother Gertrude
was a legal secretary for a
leading patent attorney, while
his father Norman worked as a
machinist and inventor. Father
and son would later share many
patents, working together in
his father's Doherty Technology
Corporation lab, where he taught
the youngster that the seemingly
impossible doesn't always have
to be. 
Young Doherty worked odd
jobs to buy equipment and
publications, including NASA
operations manuals. Throughout
his youth, he participated
in science fairs, exploring
topics such as electroplating,
anodization, lasers and
holograms.
While attending Pratt Institute
in New York, Doherty ran
communications for the Pratt
Urban Vehicle Design Team.

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C TA . t e c h / i 3

Techno

[Doherty] was more than just a journalist,
acting also as a knowledgeable and quoted
consumer technology and engineering
consultant and analyst.

The prototype received several
awards for innovative features,
including one of the first rearview
cameras with an in-dash display
installed in a passenger car. He
helped finance his education
via Mad Rick's Electronic Repair,
fixing or installing student
electronics.
After graduation in 1970,
Doherty spent two years as
an engineer at Data General,
moved to Lourdes Industries
as chief engineer, then started
freelancing for EE Times as a
tech reporter in 1981. In 1983, he
joined the publication full-time
as a senior tech writer, and
founded The Envisioneering

Run, a larger-than-life crosscountry automobile race. For
the competition, he planned,
designed, engineered and built a
dream machine decked out with
everything an electro-physicist
could devise to drive faster, safer
and longer without stopping. In
1981, Doherty organized - and
won - his own cross-country race,
the U.S. Express, with all entry
fees, less expenses, donated to
local charities. That same year
he married his wife, Carolyn. The
couple honeymooned at CES, and
both their daughters, Heather and
Sabrina, attended their first trade
shows while still in diapers.
A life-long space enthusiast, in
1986, Doherty both witnessed and
assisted in the investigation of the
Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.
In 2003, Doherty was nominated
by longtime friend Steve Wozniak
for a seat on the Presidential
Medal of Technology Award
Selection Committee during both
the George W. Bush and Barack
Obama administrations.
Doherty was a member of
numerous industry societies
and sat on the board of many
standards and technical working
groups including various Institute
of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers societies, numerous
Society of Motion Picture and
Television Engineers digital TV
and HDTV standards committees
and was on the CES Advisory
Committee. His vast field of
knowledge combined with his
quick wit made him a favorite goto expert when an independent
opinion was needed. 

Group, hiring diverse experts
from varied specialties to consult
on engineering projects and
conduct technology market
research.
Doherty spent 11 years at EE
Times, covering every major
technology development of the
late 1980s and early 1990s, and
continued to write after ending
his fulltime job in 1994. He also
grew The Envisioneering Group,
building his reputation as both a
knowledgeable tech reporter as
well as an insightful source for
tech reporters.
Doherty also indulged his
playful side; in 1975 and 1979 he
competed in the Cannonball

logy

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018

37
https://www.cta.tech/
i3 - November/December 2018

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