Former Thermo Fisher VP joins Southborough engineering firm as COO

Block Engineering in Southborough has hired a former vice president of Thermo Fisher Scientific as its new chief operating officer.

Denzil Vaughn served as vice president and general manager at Thermo Fisher, overseeing several businesses in that firm’s analytical instrument and laboratory products groups. Vaughn’s knowledge of the spectroscopy market will assist the company in rapidly growing its semiconductor laser business, Daniel Cavicchio, chairman and CEO of Block, said in an Aug. 3 announcement.

In addition to his approximately nine-year stint at Thermo Fisher, Vaughn has worked with Boston-based Cabot Corp. and Delaware-based DuPont. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from MIT, a doctorate in mechanical engineering from Harvard, and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.

Vaughn replaces Patrick Herdman in the COO role. Herdman departed Block in March, later joining Washington-based scientific equipment provider Research International as its chief revenue officer, according to his LinkedIn profile. 

Block Engineering manufactures laser-based instruments used to detect and identify chemicals and gases. Its technology is used in security, environmental monitoring, medical devices, and industrial testing.

Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the real estate and banking & finance industries.