These contributions are among the Xerox Foundation's nearly $1 million annual contribution to fund research grants and its annual $13 million investment in support of educational and non-profit initiatives.
The research grants are part of Xerox's University Affairs Committee programme, which aims to advance science, technology and management research by promoting interaction between Xerox researchers and their counterparts at universities. The grants are designed to stimulate basic academic research in technologies of long-term importance to Xerox. Students and faculty aren't required to deliver a specific result, nor is the work proprietary to Xerox.
"The full range of technology found in Xerox products is being studied at universities as well as in our research labs, and this grants programme helps strengthen the bridges between our organisations and our people, while advancing science at the same time," said Gregory Zack, chair of the University Affairs Committee. "Investing in the work of science and engineering students today may lead to their success as inventors at Xerox tomorrow."
Since the University Affairs Committee grant programme started more than 20 years ago, Xerox has provided over $15 million for more than 300 research projects across a range of technical disciplines. Each year, about 40 projects are funded at 30 colleges and universities worldwide.
How grants are selected
Any college or university is eligible for funding but cannot apply for it directly; instead, a Xerox scientist or researcher prepares and presents a proposal to the University Affairs Committee, which includes researchers from across Xerox.
Awards are based on originality, technical merit, and quality of the researchers and institutions as well as relevance of the project to Xerox and the commitment of the Xerox employee to monitor progress.
The research is oriented toward basic science in a variety of fields, as opposed to next-generation technology related to document processing systems and software - which is the focus of Xerox's five global research and technology centres in the U.S., Canada and Europe.
The 10 new grants for spring 2006 are:
Xerox and educational support
Xerox contributes more than $2 million a year through a variety of educational programmes, including University Affairs grants, Xerox's technical minority scholarships, scholarship support to more than 140 colleges and universities, and matching employees' gifts to educational institutions. Xerox people also help champion science in elementary schools by volunteering through the Xerox Science Consultants Program and by mentoring high-school FIRST robotics-competition teams.
About Xerox Europe
Xerox markets a comprehensive range of Xerox products, solutions and services, as well as associated supplies and software. Its offerings are focused on three main areas: offices from small to large, production print and graphic arts environments, and services that include consulting, systems design and management, and document outsourcing.
Xerox also has manufacturing and logistics operations in Ireland, the UK and Holland, and a research and development facility (Xerox Research Centre Europe) in Grenoble, France. For more information visit, www.xerox.com.
Xerox is a trademark of Xerox Corporation. All non-Xerox brands and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
Media Contacts
David Millican, Xerox UK, tel: +44 (0) 1895 843 196,
email: david.millican@xerox.com
Kinross + Render (on behalf of Xerox),
Tony Brown or Camellia Zarbhanelian,tel: +44 (0) 20 7592 3100,
email: tb@kinrossrender.com/ cz@kinrossrender.com