When Philip Chen joined Xerox Corp. in 1967, only big companies could afford printers and scanners. Now retired and with several patents to his name, Chen developed the Xenon flash lamp printer, which he considers the “steam locomotive” of printers. He also designed an optical disc drive for the Library of Congress to store its card catalogue information, which became the predecessor of CD drives. Chen’s next big project was to come up with a low-cost image scanner (they typically cost $20,000 at that time) for a company in Taiwan called Microtek. Chen earned a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from S&T in 1965.
Share This Story
Spark a Memory?
Share your story! Fill out the form below to share your fondest memory or anecdote of S&T. If you'd prefer not typing, you can also share by phone at 833-646-3715 (833-Miner150).
Robert and Mary (Shultz) Hoffmann
Robert Hoffmann knew right away when Mary (Shultz) walked into a fraternity house party with a group of four friends…
Studying the past to improve the future
Katy Bloomberg, who earned her bachelor’s degree in history in 2006, believes that her experience working in S&T’s Archives prepared…
Keith and Bobbie (Smith) Wedge
Keith Wedge met his future wife, Bobbie (Smith), in November 1967 while he was helping establish a chapter of Pi…
The fine art of tuning a Corvette
Charlie Rusher, a 2011 graduate in mechanical engineering, “makes Corvettes sound like Corvettes.” Rusher was interviewed by The New York…
Bringing back the wetlands
Donald Hey, a 1963 graduate in civil engineering, is passionate about proving the economic efficiency and sustainability of using restored…
Hall of fame astronaut
Janet Kavandi, former deputy director at NASA’s Glenn Research Center and a NASA astronaut, has logged more than 33 days…