Sophie Vandebroek, Chief Technology Officer of Xerox, to Speak at Yale

The Yale Faculty of Engineering will host a Dean’s Distinguished Lecture by Sophie Vandebroek, the Chief Technology Officer of Xerox Corporation on November 1. She will speak on, “Xerox Innovation – Creating the Future Today” at 4 p.m. in Davies Auditorium, 15 Prospect Street. The talk is free and open to the public.

Vandebroek was named to the position of CTO and President of the Xerox Innovation Group for Xerox Corporation in January 2006 and became a Corporate Vice President in February 2006. She is responsible for overseeing Xerox research centers worldwide and for maximizing the company’s multimillion-dollar investment in research and technology.

“Xerox Corporation has a long and fascinating history of innovation that has changed the nature of communications,” said Yale Dean of Engineering Paul Fleury. “We are delighted to have Sophie Vandebroek bring us a preview of the innovation we can look forward to in the future.”

As Chief Engineer at Xerox for the preceding four years, Vandebroek was responsible for coordinating the company’s engineering efficiency and effectiveness. During that period Xerox refreshed over 95 percent of its office product line and launched its flagship iGen3™ Digital Production Press.  She has served as Chief Technology Officer at Carrier Corporation, as technical advisor to the Chief Operating Officer of Xerox, and as Director of the Xerox Research Centre of Canada.

Vandebroek holds a master’s degree in electro-mechanical engineering and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and served as an elected member on its Administrative Committee. She was a Fulbright Fellow and a Fellow of the Belgian-American Educational Foundation. She holds 12 US patents.

Noted for her sense of innovation, Vandebroek served as a judge for MIT’s Technology Review Young Innovators awards, the Wall Street Journal Innovation awards, and the first Lego and Robotics competition regional awards.  She currently serves on several university and professional advisory boards. She has received awards from Xerox, IBM, HP, Monsanto, the Belgium National Science Foundation, Semiconductor Research Corporation, IEEE, and Cornell University.

For further information about the lecture contact Eric Mitchell at eric.mitchell@yale.edu or 203-432-4200.