Rafik Loutfy, chemical engineering professor, entrepreneur and former Xerox business executive, has been appointed the inaugural innovator-in-residence with the Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science at Ryerson University. His one-year appointment is effective July 1, 2013 and is made possible through a one-year research leave from McMaster University where he currently teaches.

For over 30 years, Loutfy worked with Xerox Corporation in increasingly senior roles, including corporate vice-president and director of the Xerox Research Centre of Canada. In 2004, Loutfy retired from Xerox and joined McMaster University as the director of the Xerox Centre for Engineering Entrepreneurship & Innovation and was appointed the inaugural Walter C. Booth Chair for Engineering Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

“Ryerson University is honoured to welcome Rafik Loutfy to our community,” said Mohamed Lachemi, provost and vice president academic. “His appointment as a distinguished visitor reflects how entrepreneurship and innovation figure prominently in Ryerson’s academic and research agenda.”

Loutfy will focus his attention on program development and implementation including an optional specialization and a master’s program in engineering innovation and entrepreneurship. He will also help raise the profile of the prestigious Norman Esch Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship Awards which enable Ryerson students to develop their ideas into new products and services.

“We are looking forward to Rafik Loutfy’s contributions to our vibrant teaching, research and innovation culture,” said Sri Krishnan, interim dean, FEAS. “The knowledge and insight he has gained in building the highly successful engineering and innovation centre at McMaster will be invaluable as Ryerson expands its capacity in this area.”

“It is truly exciting to join the Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science at Ryerson,” said Loutfy. “The university is known for its entrepreneurial and student-centered culture, and I look forward to helping to create opportunities for Ryerson students to start their own entrepreneurial ventures.”

Loutfy is a distinguished researcher in the area of radio frequency identification industrial applications, alternate energy sources, photovoltaic engineering, and entrepreneurship and innovation education. He has 32 U.S. patents to his credit and has published over 170 papers in referred journals. He is a dedicated graduate student supervisor, having overseen 90 master’s students who have created almost 30 start-up companies. Loutfy secured $3.3 million in seed funding for McMaster’s Master of Engineering Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program for students to build proof-of-concept for their enterprise projects.

Loutfy is a current member of the Investment Review Committee for the Southern Ontario Fund for Investment in Innovation and the Board of Editors of the Industrial Research Institute’s Research and Technology Journal. He earned an MBA from the Rotman School of Management, and holds a PhD in Photo Physics from the University of Western Ontario, an MSc in Organic Chemistry and a BSc in Chemistry from Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt.

As a distinguished visitor at Ryerson, Loutfy joins some of Canada’s most prominent business, humanitarian and political leaders. To learn more about Ryerson’s other distinguished visitors, visit www.ryerson.ca/provost/appointments.