As the Vice President and Centre Director of the Mississauga-based Xerox Research Centre of Canada (XRCC), Paul oversees one of Canada’s leading materials research centres.  With more than 40 years of innovation research experience, XRCC’s mission is to drive business growth through the commercialization of breakthrough materials, technologies, and services.

Paul joined Xerox in 1995, and has held a number of management positions at the Centre, leading teams that have developed key materials for Xerox product platforms.  A native of Lavenham, England, Paul received his doctorate in chemistry from the University of Bath and was a National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) fellow from 1995 to 1997. He is a named inventor on 78 U.S. patents and has published 16 research articles.

Paul strongly believes that innovation cannot exist in a vacuum.  “Collaboration is essential for innovation,” Smith says.  “This philosophy is behind XRCC’s thriving innovation hub where we have formed strong partnerships with like-minded organizations including The Research Innovation Commercialization Centre (RIC), The Ontario Centres of Excellence and the National Research Centre of Canada (NRC).”

XRCC’s thriving open innovation hub, is helping Canadian start-ups accelerate development toward commercialization of their advanced materials manufacturing breakthroughs.  XRCC’s ecosystem provides a value chain to start-ups where they have access to a variety of resources and experts to help guide them through every stage of their business journey – from ideation to commercialization.

Together with NRC, XRCC has established the Canadian Campus for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing (CCAMM).  As part of the Campus, NRC will construct a state-of-the-art advanced materials research facility.  The new research facility is currently under construction on property adjacent to XRCC. The major objective for the CCAMM is to help bridge the gaps between laboratory scale demonstration and commercializing research outcomes in the global marketplace by leveraging the complimentary advanced materials expertise and infrastructure of NRC and XRCC.  CCAMM will attract new talent in advanced materials R&D to build a skilled workforce that supports next-generation Canadian manufacturing.

“Innovation is a key driver for the long-term economic success for Mississauga and that success will have a positive ripple affect across Ontario and throughout Canada,” says Smith. “The future for innovation is truly unlimited for the City of Mississauga.”