A member of FuzeHub’s Board of Directors, Santokh S. Badesha, is more than a prolific inventor. The Xerox Fellow and manager of open innovation at Xerox Corporation is a leader who knows how to get the most out of a team. Since joining the business process and document technology company in 1980, Badesha has been issued over 200 patents by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Today, he has over 55 other patent applications in different stages of review. Badesha’s individual contributions are extraordinary, yet he’s also a team-builder with important advice for New York State manufacturers.
Applied Knowledge and Business Relationships
Before joining Xerox in 1980, Santokh Badesha led a distinguished academic career both in India and the United States. The holder of two PhDs in organic chemistry, he credits his “academic background” with helping him to “seek out and leverage scientific advancement for solving current critical technology problems”. In 2007, Badesha was awarded an honorary doctor of science (DSc) degree from Clarkson University for what the Potsdam, New York school described as his “successful career-long effort to connect novel scientific principles with innovative technological application.”
Today, Badesha serves as a technical liaison for talent development and acquisition and collaborative research to a number of academic institutions, including Clarkson, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Rochester Institute of Technology, and University Of Rochester. At Xerox, he explains, management encourages the development of intellectual property (IP), but also sets high expectations. To succeed, diverse teams must collaborate closely while crossing departmental boundaries and even going outside of the organization itself.
Accordingly, Badesha describes himself as a “great believer” in building relationships both within and beyond Xerox. “This enables you to cut down on cost and time of implementation of your inventions,” he explains. In addition to his work for Xerox Corporation, Badesha serves on the Board of Directors for FuzeHub, which connects New York State’s small and mid-sized manufacturing companies to the resources, programs, and expertise that they need to succeed and grow. Badesha’s milestone 200th patent illustrates his contributions not just as an inventor, but as a manufacturing thought leader.
Milestones and Materials
On May 26, 2015, the USPTO issued Badesha and four Xerox co-inventors Patent 9,042,796 for their “Transfer Assist Blade.” Part of a subsystem that aids the electrostatic transfer of developed images onto paper, this invention is designed for use with Xerox Corporation’s iGen high-speed, high-end, color-process printing press. “The patent marks a new era of transfer assist blade technology,” Badesha claims. The highly-controlled, semi-conductive material that’s used is significantly more uniform than previously available materials, but that’s not the only reason the transfer assist blade is cutting-edge.
For companies of all types, especially small-to-medium manufacturers, reducing material costs can strengthen the bottom line. If quality suffers, however, potential savings can be offset by the cost of rework – or even lost business. With Patent 9,042,796, the lower-cost, higher-quality material that’s used is part of a “true win/win,” Badesha explains. “The ability to become significantly better, and doing so at a lower cost, is the essence of being both efficient and competitive – no compromise,” he adds. Badesha’s patent is no longer his most recent (the latest is #203), but it’s a model for manufacturing innovation.
CDDC Is About Value – Not Counting
Patents are important because they promote sales, support cross-licensing, and help prevent technology infringements. Yet patents alone don’t provide product value. “What is more important,” Badesha explains, “is commercialization in product portfolios”. Although he’s one of the most prolific inventors in the history of Xerox Corporation, Badesha says that an inventor’s ability to apply technologies in response to business needs is “a true differentiator”. Successful inventors work closely with their peers, but they also collaborate in a broader sense.
“I am often called upon by the product program management teams to help solve technology problems to get ideas implemented faster for commercialization,” he explains. “Over the years, I have learned to appreciate and build on the diversity of ideas from members of inter- and intra-organizational teams”. The approach he champions is captured in the acronym CDDC, which Badesha defines as “create jointly (C), design (D), develop (D), and capture value (C)”.
Help for Manufacturers
FuzeHub congratulates Santokh S. Badesha on this 200th patent – and on all of his previous and subsequent inventions. As we work to connect New York State manufacturers to the many resources that are available, we invite readers to remember this advice from our distinguished Board Member. “Get involved with real problem-solving efforts, form cross-functional teams, don’t try to do everything yourself, share credit with others, recognize the missing pieces of capabilities – and seek out assistance.”