Robert Street

Palo Alto Research Center (PARC)

PARC (Palo Alto Research Center is a research and development company with a distinguished reputation for its contributions to information technology and hardware systems. Founded in 1970 as a division of Xerox, PARC has been in large part responsible for such developments as laser printing, Ethernet, the modern personal computer, graphical user interface (GUI) and desktop paradigm, object-oriented programming, ubiquitous computing, electronic paper, amorphous silicon (a-Si) applications, and advancing very-large-scale integration (VLSI) for semiconductors. HISTORY In 1969, Chief Scientist at Xerox Jack Goldman approached George Pake, a physicist specializing in nuclear magnetic resonance and provost of Washington University in St. Louis, about starting a research center for the company. Pake selected Palo Alto, CA as it provided a 3,000 mile buffer between it and Xerox headquarters in New York, affording scientists great freedom to undertake their work. It's PARC's location proved to be advantageous as it was able to hire many employees of the nearby SRI Augmentation Research Center (ARC) as that facility's funding began falling, from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and U.S. Air Force (USAF). PARC TODAY PARC is dedicated to developing and maturing advances in science and business concepts with the support of commercial partners and clients. Aside from Xerox, PARC has many other corporate and venture clients in different fields: VMware, Fujitsu, Dai Nippon Printing (DNP), Samsung, NEC, SolFocus, Powerset, Thin Film Electronics ASA and many more. PARC currently conducts research into clean technology, metamaterials, user interface design, sensemaking, artificial intelligence, ubiquitous computing and context-aware systems, large-area electronics, digital manufacturing, and model-based control and optimization in embedded, intelligent systems.