Heather Dougherty, an NETL research engineer whose work has supported a range of fossil energy initiatives, was recently honored by the Pittsburgh Coal Mining Institute of America (PCMIA) for outstanding service and dedication to the mission of the organization.

Dougherty has been a PCMIA board member since 2011 and served as its president in 2015. She received the 2025 Exceptional Service Award at the annual joint meeting of the PCMIA and the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration held Oct. 22-23 at the Hilton Garden Inn Southpointe in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.

The award was established in 2011 to recognize PCMIA board members for sustained participation and exemplary service. Recipients of the award must complete at least 10 years on the PCMIA Board of Directors and have volunteered to serve on multiple committees and in leadership posts.

“I began my professional career in the coal industry in southwestern Pennsylvania, and I am honored to receive this professional recognition. I look forward to continuing to work on projects that support the use of coal and other domestic fossil resources to produce affordable, reliable and secure energy for U.S. families and businesses,” Dougherty said.

In a career spanning more than 20 years in the federal government and private industry, Dougherty has led projects that have focused on ventilation and safety in underground mines, extraction of critical minerals from the subsurface, wellbore integrity for natural gas operations and other topics.

In 2009, Dougherty began her government career as a research mining engineer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. She joined NETL in 2022 as a federal project manager in the Technology Development Center and is serving a temporary assignment in NETL’s Strategic Systems Analysis and Engineering directorate.   

Dougherty earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mining engineering at West Virginia University (WVU) and a doctorate in mining engineering from Virginia Tech. She also earned a Master of Business Administration at WVU.

PCMIA was formed in 1976 as a result of the merger of the Pittsburgh Coal Mining Institute and the Coal Mining Institute of America. The institute provides scholarships to advance study and research into mining methods and practices, and encourages safety and efficiency in the coal industry while fostering cooperation between the industry and government agencies.

NETL is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory dedicated to innovating and

accelerating the nation’s energy solutions in hydrocarbon, geothermal energy and critical minerals production. With research sites in Albany, Oregon; Morgantown, West Virginia; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, NETL operates as one laboratory to create advanced energy technologies that support DOE’s mission and enable affordable, reliable and secure energy to fuel human prosperity.