Canadian scientist Hadi Mahabadi, the vice-president at the Xerox Research Centre of Canada, located in Toronto, deserves two rounds of congratulations this week, one for winning the Printing Industries of America‘s Robert F. Reed Technology Medal and another for becoming a grandfather.
“I have to tell you when I received this award, it was the day after I became a grandpa,” Mahabadi said. “I dedicated the medal to my grandson.”
The award recognizes outstanding scientists and engineers in the graphic communications industry, according to a report by Xerox Corp., headquartered in Webster, N.Y.
Mahabadi is the most recent recipient of the technology award. Past winners include Peter Crean, researcher at Xerox Innovation Group out of Wilsonville, Ore., and Dan Gelbart, co-founder of Creo Inc. acquired by Rochester, N.Y.-based Kodak Co. Gelbart won for his plate handling patents, while Crean created the first laser printer.
“I’m very honoured to be on this distinguished list (of scientists),” Mahabadi said.
Mahabadi won the award for his extensive work in creating toners for printers. He has over 86 patents and more than 50 per cent of those patents cover technology devoted to perfecting toner. Among his inventions, he created reactive extrusion toner for the digital press, which is what he describes as his claim to fame.
Along with his other accomplishments, he is also a past winner of The President’s Award at Xerox.
Senior engineer George Liebermann nominated Hadi Mahabadi for the award. Liebermann has worked at The Xerox Research Centre since 1981, which specializes in the advancement of digital printing on decentralized printing processes, and he has seen a lot of managers at work. Mahabadi and Liebermann worked together as researchers, before Mahabadi eventually became Liebermann’s manager.
Mahabadi’s technology medal means a lot to the Canadian printing market, according to Bernard Courtois, the president and CEO of Information Technology Association of Canada.
“I think it (shows) the strength of the Canadian labs,” Courtois said. “The Canadian lab is an amazingly successful lab.”