By Harbans Lal, PhD; D.Litt.

The National Academy of Sciences elects members in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.Thus,this year, the Academy considered the original and outstanding research accomplishments of Dr. Badesha at XeroxCorporation where he is a Fellow and manager of open innovation.

At Xerox, Dr. Santokh S. Badesha is responsible for leading inter-organizational efforts with both internal and external value chain partners, building academic and industrial partnerships, and providing critical technical support for product programs. He is also a technical liaison for talent development and acquisition and collaborative research to academic intuitions including Clarkson University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Rochester Institute of Technology, PENN State, University Of Rochester, North Carolina State University, Purdue U, and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.  These strategic partnerships design and execute front-end research to develop and deliver functional materials, components, and marking subsystems. In addition, Badesha is also responsible for exploring external funding opportunities from the State and Federal sources with and without external collaborations that include academia and private businesses. In addition, he serves on internal committees which are responsible for Intellectual Property generation (IPC), Intellectual Property evaluation (TAP), and Intellectual Property management (MIP, COMIP).

Dr. Badesha joined Xerox Research Center Webster in 1980 as a senior research scientistto conduct independent research programs to design novel materials for image generation devices. He was appointed theprincipal scientist in 1990, and principal scientist and technical manager in 1994. As a manager, he provided direction and strategies for materials research and led cross-functional development efforts in high-performance materials for component design for marking subsystems.

Prior to joining Xerox Badesha was a Teaching Fellow at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY.

Badesha holds bachelor’s and Master of Science degrees with honors in chemistry from Punjab University, India. He received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the Punjab Agricultural University and then received a second Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of East Anglia, Norwich, U.K.

He received an Honorary Doctor of Science from Clarkson University in 2007 for his contributions to science, technology, and intellectual property, building academic and industrial partnerships, and his help in shaping research programs.

Badesha holds 255 U.S. Patents, also filed in multiple countries. This makes him one of the most prolific inventors ever in the history ofapplied science.

Sikh contributions

Santokh Singh Badesha was born in a Sikh family in Taragarh, Punjab, finished Khalsa Higher Secondary School in Batala and earned a PhD degree in Chemistry from the Punjab University. He earned another Ph.D. degree from England. He immigrated to USA in 1976 to teach at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. In 1980 he joined the research department at Xerox.

While working at Xerox Corporation, Dr. Badesha joined Rochester Sikh Community participating in religious and cultural activities. In those early days, Sikhs families were holding services in individual homes. It is at that time that the author was introduced to Santokh.

Dr. Badesha joined the initiative to spearhead efforts for establishing a legal entity that is now called the ‘Gurdwara of Rochester, Inc. which is located at 2041 Dublin Road, Penfield New York, USA.  He helped secure an eight-acre parcel of land for building the Gurdwara, and more importantly, collected contributions from the local Sangat by going door to door and as well as funds from family & friends living abroad.  Today, you would see him performing physical services side by side with his wife Amarjit Kaur Badesha and son Jason Singh Badesha along with other Sangat members during various phases of the maintaining and construction projects.Dr. Badesha’s wife.Jason, while a student at the University of Illinois founded a Sikh student forum.

It is noteworthy that, the Punjab Science Congress held at Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot, and presided by the Governor of Punjab, honored Dr. Santokh Singh Badesha with an Honorary Fellowship. Mr. R. S. Gill (Vice-Chancellor, Baba Farid University) also recognized Dr. Bethesda as a Sikh scholar and presented him with a portrait of Baba Farid Ji. We congratulate Dr. Santokh Singh Badesha on his achievements and bringing honor to the Sikh community of the USA.

(The author is Emeritus Professor and Chairman, Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth Texas, and Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies, Guru Nanak Dev University at Amritsar. He can be reached at harbansl@gmail.com)