About Todd
Todd Daniels is Vice President of Defense Technologies Innovation at the Delaware Valley Industrial Resource Center (DVIRC), where he leads strategic initiatives to accelerate the translation and deployment of mission-critical technologies across the defense industrial base.
His work focuses on establishing high-impact federal partnerships, scaling advanced commercial innovations into operational readiness, and ensuring national security supply chains possess the technological edge required for modern readiness.
With over 30 years of engineering, executive, and entrepreneurial experience, Daniels specializes in building the operational frameworks and public-private alliances necessary to transition emerging technologies from conceptual stages to federal deployment. He has directed multi-million-dollar portfolios supporting the U.S. Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the National Reconnaissance Office, and the Intelligence Community, transforming complex research into scalable industrial capabilities.
At DVIRC, Daniels oversees defense technology initiatives, leveraging tools like AI-driven viability assessments and federal Partnership Intermediary Agreements (PIAs) to streamline collaboration between commercial innovators, research institutions, and defense stakeholders. He works closely with manufacturers to expand regional capabilities, de-risk technology adoption, and position regional supply chains to meet urgent defense requirements.
Prior to joining DVIRC, Daniels served for 26 years in research administration and executive leadership at Montana State University, where he served as Executive Director of the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) OnRamp Hub: Montana and Director of multiple federal PIAs. He previously held executive leadership at MilTech, securing and scaling over $50 million in defense contracts, and served as a Field Engineer and elite consulting lead with the Montana Manufacturing Extension Center. Earlier in his career, he spearheaded quality management systems in high-tech manufacturing, served as a two-time NIST MEP National Practitioner of the Year, and founded and operated a commercial brewery in Montana.
Daniels holds a bachelor’s degree in Industrial and Management Engineering and a master’s degree in Science and Engineering Management from Montana State University. He holds a DOD Top Secret Clearance, holds an ASQ Certified Quality Auditor certification and an Innovation Engineering Black Belt, and is an avid high-altitude trekker who has completed expeditions to Everest Base Camp, the Inca Trail, and Mount Kilimanjaro.
