Supporting basic research through worldwide institutes
Microsoft Research collaborates with universities, industry, and governments around the world to support basic academic research to advance the state of the art in computing and computational sciences.
Through institutes around the world, our regional outreach programs focus on both regional and global concerns.
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Asia-Pacific Institutes
KAIST–Microsoft Research Collaboration Center
Daedeok, Korea
The center, established in October 2008, explores a platform to advance state-of-the-art, computing-related research. Its goal is to strengthen the mutually beneficial relationships between research (including scientific research), talent fostering, academic exchanges, and curriculum development. Areas of research include a Technical Computing Initiative (System biology.NET), Cyber-Physical Systems, Real-World-Scale Computing, uCampus, and Creative Interaction Design. Additionally, the center is exploring the development of a curriculum for a Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) – Home Service Robot class. Young talent will be cultivated though programs such as young professorships, student fellowships, and internships. The center will continue to evolve and develop other research projects as they present themselves.
China Ministry of Education–Microsoft Key Laboratory of Information Technology, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Hong Kong, China
Created in September 2000, the Key Laboratory of Information Technology has the objective of doing high-quality research by integrating the strengths of both Microsoft Research Asia and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in the area of computer networks, multimedia, database, and artificial intelligence. In the past several years, the lab has published papers in some of the international conferences, including ICCV, CVPR, ECCV, SIGGRAPH, ICML and journals such as PAMI and TNN. Some lab members have also won "Best Paper" awards at the QShine 2006 conference. The lab was upgraded to become a China Ministry of Education Key Lab in 2004.
China Ministry of Education–Microsoft Key Laboratory of Media and Networking Technology, Tsinghua University
Beijing, China
The lab, created in January 2000, completes research projects in the area of computer networks, multimedia, database, and information retrieval. Lab members have published many significant papers in international journals and conferences including IEEE Transaction on Multimedia, SIGIR, SIGKDD, and ACM MM. The lab also plays a very important role in academic exchanges. In August 2007, it co-organized the first Microsoft Research Asia–Tsinghua University Workshop on Internet Services. Prior to that, the lab also co-organized the NICT China–Japan Forum in Beijing in 2005 and 2006. In 2004, the lab was upgraded to become a China Ministry of Education Key Lab.
China Ministry of Education–Microsoft Key Laboratory of Multimedia Computing and Communication, University of Science and Technology of China
Hefei, China
Founded in September 2003, this lab was created for research in signal processing and speech recognition, content-based retrieval as well as wireless video communication. Lab members have published significant papers in IEEE Trans. on Image Processing, IEEE Trans. on Circuit and System, ICIP, ICME each year. Eight technologies generated by the lab have been accepted by Joint Video Team in Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG/JVT). Through the platform, young professors have the opportunity to work at Microsoft Research Asia as visiting researchers. The lab was upgraded to become a China Ministry of Education Key Lab in 2004.
China Ministry of Education–Microsoft Key Laboratory of Natural Language Processing and Speech, Harbin Institute of Technology
Harbin, China
This laboratory was established in June 2000 for research in the areas of machine translation, information retrieval, speech recognition and processing, natural language understanding, among others. In July 2006, the Shenzhen extension of the lab was launched. More than 200 staff and students have undertaken research projects, including some sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the National 863 program of China. Since 2005, the lab has also been organizing a summer camp in Harbin Institute of Technology, and about 150 faculty members and students from universities in China have participated. In 2004, the lab was upgraded to become a China Ministry of Education Key Lab in 2004.
China Ministry of Education–Microsoft Key Laboratory of Visual Perception, Zhe Jiang University
Hangzhou, China
Established in November 1999, the lab was the first joint lab between Microsoft Research Asia and universities in China. Its research areas include video object motion tracking and recognition, efficient modeling and photorealistic rendering. Researchers have undertaken projects including ones funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and have published papers in ACM Multimedia, SIGGRAPH, CVPR, ICIP, Computer Vision and Image Understanding, International Journal of Computer Vision, International Journal of Visualization and Computer Vision, Journal of Software, among others. The lab was upgraded to become a China Ministry of Education Key Lab in 2004.
Microsoft Intelligent Information Processing Laboratory, Xi’an Jiao Tong University
Xi’an, China
Created in June 2007, the Microsoft Intelligent Information Processing Laboratory is a joint initiative between Microsoft Research Asia and Universities in China. The objectives are to do the fundamental research in the areas of intelligent computing, software systems, and network information processing. Some of the projects being explored include: Data Mining Principles and Methods based on Perceptual and Cognitive Understanding, Machine Learning Theory and Algorithm under the Framework of Lipschitz Space, and other initiatives.
Microsoft Digital Cartoon and Animation Laboratory, Beijing Film Academy
Beijing, China
Founded in October 2006, the laboratory is jointly managed by Microsoft Research Asia and the Beijing Film Academy. Research areas include digital cartooning and animation, gaming and graphics. The lab has conducted groundbreaking research in those fields, especially in the animation of Chinese traditional art. The cartoon movie “Huan Xiao Man Wu,” produced with the participation of the lab, was named as one of the Best Cartoon Movie Nominees at the China Huabiao cinematic ceremonies in Beijing in 2007. The lab helps transfer Microsoft technologies in Graphics and Computer Vision into Digital Entertainment Products.
Microsoft Human-Centric Computation and Interface Technologies Laboratory, Chinese University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong, China
Established in May 2005, the Human-Centric Computation and Interface Technologies Laboratory has research areas including: visual computing, wireless and network communication, speech processing and multi-model interaction as well as multi-media signal processing and retrieval. Microsoft Research Asia collaborated with the Chinese University of Hong Kong to work on these areas and try to make the computer "see" users, "understand" what users say, and "perceive" user intentions and actions. Lab members have published many significant papers, including some at SIGGRAPH, WWW, CVPR, ICCV, HLT, IEEE Trans. on PAMI, IEEE Transactions on Multimedia, among others. Lab members have won "Best Paper" awards at IEEE NOMS 2006 and IFIP Performance 2005.
Microsoft Intelligent Computing and System Laboratory, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Shanghai, China
Founded in September 2005, the Microsoft Intelligent Computing and System Laboratory explores ways to make breakthroughs in traditional digital computing within the area of intelligent information processing. Areas of research are computing of artificial intelligence and artificial intelligence search. Projects explored include: Theories and Models on Brain-like Computing, Theories and Methods on Computer Vision based on Human visual information processing, Brain – Computer Interface Technology, and more. Through the joint lab, several researchers at Microsoft Research Asia have been invited to become adjunct professors at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and are co-supervising PhD students at the university.
Microsoft Institute of Japanese Academia Research and Collaboration
Tokyo, Japan
Microsoft Institute for Japanese Academic Research Collaboration (IJARC) was established in July 2005 as a platform for academia collaboration between Microsoft and Japanese academia. Microsoft Research Asia works with faculty and students to bring opportunities and connections with the MSR lab in Beijing and also in Redmond, Cambridge, and other locations. To help Microsoft better understands the needs of Japanese academia and identifies opportunities and priorities, IJARC has an Academic Advisory Committee (AAC) which has one director and six advisors. Currently, these members are from University of Tokyo, University of Kyoto, University of Osaka, Keio University, Waseda University, and Tokyo Institute of Technology.
Microsoft–Queensland University of Technology Centre for eResearch
Brisbane, Australia
The Centre, created in October 2006, explore the following research areas: Urban Planning, Water Management and Climate Change, with the Microsoft component focused on the development of computing tools and techniques to enable and accelerate scientific research. The Centre will start by examining three areas of research closely: bioinformatics tool development, sensor networks, and parallelism. The Centre will continue to evolve and adjust to other research requests as they present themselves. Learn more…
Microsoft Statistics and Information Technology Laboratory, Peking University
Beijing, China
In April 2005, Microsoft Research Asia collaborated with Peking University to set up a joint laboratory for solving problems in information technology by using statistics, mathematics, and computing technologies. In addition to fostering a new generation of talent with skills and knowledge in statistics and information technology the project aims to integrate advanced statistical methods with other disciplines. The lab also collaborates with the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the United States to do remote sensing and detection of the Beijing atmosphere. In addition to doing research, the lab also organizes an annual summer school to cultivate talent in statistics and information technologies. More than 100 faculty members and students have benefited from the summer school.
European Institutes
BSC–Microsoft Research Centre
Barcelona, Spain
The BSC-Microsoft Research Centre is a research venture jointly created by Microsoft Research Cambridge and the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre. Established in January 2008, the center will focus on the way microprocessors and software for the mobile and desktop market segments will be designed and interact over the next 10 years and beyond. The vision of the centre is of a top-down computer architecture in which software requirements drive the hardware innovation forward rather than letting the hardware design drive software development. Initial projects conducted at the centre will include fundamental and applied research in transactional memories, writing of parallel programs for multi-core processors, and hardware support for managed runtimes. Partnerships like this assist Microsoft Research in supporting the global research community and ultimately assisting researchers and scientists to address some of the toughest, most urgent societal and technological challenges worldwide. Learn more…
Microsoft Research–INRIA Joint Centre
Saclay, France
The Microsoft Research-INRIA Joint Centre was founded by INRIA (the French National Research Institute for Computer Science and Applied Mathematics), Microsoft Corporation, and Microsoft Research Cambridge. The Centre's objective is to pursue fundamental, long-term research in formal methods, software security, and the application of Computer Science research to the Sciences. Learn more…
Microsoft Research–University of Trento Centre for Computational and Systems Biology
Rovereto, Italy
This Centre, established on February 2005, contributes to the future of life and natural sciences through connecting models and experiments by means of new conceptual and computational tools integrated in a user-friendly environment equipped with templates of major biological components for drag-and-drop modeling of (artificial) organisms or populations and used by a large part of life scientists to predict the behaviour of multi-level, multi-scale biological systems in a modular, compositional, scalable and executable manner. COSBI also strives to contribute to the future of computer science by developing a novel generation of operating systems and programming languages that enable simulation-based research within a quantitative reference framework that connects in-silico replica and actual systems by means of the new quantitative conceptual and computational tools above. Learn more…
Latin America Institutes
Latin American Collaborative Research Federation at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and Universidad de Chile
Santiago, Chile
Established in May 2007, this Research Federation is designed to stimulate Latin American academic collaborative research in Information and Communication Technologies as an enabler of economic and social development. The Research Federation will be housed at the Catholic University of Chile in association with University of Chile. Microsoft Research provides universities in the region with a collaborative environment to promote cross-country research and education solutions. A Joint Steering Committee provides the governance for the Federation.
Microsoft Research–FAPESP Institute for IT Research
São Paulo, Brazil
Created in April 2007, the objective of FAPESP (Foundation for the Support of Research in the São Paulo State) is to establish a network of researchers able to create new expertise to help expand IT capabilities and, therefore, meet the social and economic challenges of rural and urban underprivileged communities in Brazil. Learn more...
North America Institutes
Center for Collaborative Technologies, University of Washington
Seattle, Washington, United States
Established in July 2007, the Center for Collaborative Technologies will focus on advancing the collaboration technology for the ConferenceXP platform with the goal of establishing it as a widely-used collaborative tool for distance learning and research support. The ConferenceXP project began in 2002 and provides infrastructure to supports three primary scenarios: real-time research collaboration, wireless-enabled classrooms, and highly interactive distributed learning environments. The project enables researchers and developers to develop collaborative tools and applications without having to build them from scratch. The Center is jointly managed by UW and Microsoft Research to develop the next versions of ConferenceXP. Learn more…
Games for Learning Institute, New York University
New York City, New York, United States
The Games for Learning Institute (G4LI) at New York University (NYU), is a joint research endeavor with Microsoft Research, New York University and a consortia of universities. Launched in October 2008, the multidisciplinary, multi-institutional gaming research alliance will provide the fundamental scientific evidence to support games as learning tools for math and science subjects among middle-school students. The partners include Columbia University, the City University of New York (CUNY), Dartmouth College, Parsons, Polytechnic Institute of NYU, the Rochester Institute of Technology, and Teachers College. The institute will identify which qualities of computer games engage students and develop relevant, personalized teaching strategies that can be applied to the learning process. Ken Perlin, professor of computer science in NYU’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences is the G4LI director; Jan Plass, associate professor of educational communication and technology at NYU’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development is the co-director. While NYU will serve as the hub of the G4LI in its Computer Science Media Research Laboratory at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at NYU, the multi-institutional institute will have a myriad of partners conducting research. Learn more…
IPRE – Institute for Personal Robots in Education at Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, Georgia, United States
The Institute for Personal Robots in Education at Georgia Tech, created in July 2006, focuses on using easy-to-use robotics technology to revitalize the undergraduate computer science curriculum, specifically the introductory courses — where the greatest rate of attrition occurs. Microsoft provides funding. Georgia Tech and Bryn Mawr are matching funds from Microsoft to help develop and evaluate robotics technology that will bring measurable gains in Computer Science enrollment and retention. The curriculum developed will continue to evolve and develop and eventually adopted by other universities with computer science programs. Learn more…
Microsoft-Carnegie Mellon Center for Computational Thinking, Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University collaborated to create the Microsoft-Carnegie Mellon Center for Computational Thinking in March 2007. It represents a long-term partnership between Microsoft Research and Carnegie Mellon’s Computer Science Department and will support research in emerging areas of computer science, particularly those that can influence the thinking of other disciplines. Learn more…
Microsoft Center for Research on Pen-Centric Computing, Brown University
Providence, Rhode Island, United States
The Microsoft Center for Research on Pen-Centric Computing at Brown, established in March 2006, examines and facilitates research focused on improving pen-based operation of Tablet PCs, Pocket PCs, Palm Pilot personal digital assistants, electronic whiteboards and conventional desktop computers. The Center is the first academic research program in the nation dedicated to pen-centric computing innovation. Through the three-year joint research and education alliance, Microsoft Research and Brown University will explore and develop new ways to use pen-like styluses to operate computing devices. Learn more…
UPCRC – Universal Parallel Computing Research Center, University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California, United States
The Universal Parallel Computing Research Center (UPCRC) at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), is a joint research undertaking between Microsoft and Intel aimed at accelerating developments in mainstream parallel computing, for consumers and businesses in desktop and mobile computing. Launched in March 2008, it is located inside Soda Hall on the UC Berkeley campus. This center is led by David Patterson, UC Berkeley professor of computer science. The UPCRC at UC Berkeley will work in conjunction with eight principal investigators and six co-principal investigators from the UC faculty, supporting approximately 50 Ph.D. students and post-docs. Research at this center may lead to specific projects in the areas of personal health, auditory systems, photo searching, speech recognition and others. Learn more…
UPCRC – Universal Parallel Computing Research Center, University of Illinois
Champaign, Illinois, United States
The Universal Parallel Computing Research Center (UPCRC) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) is a joint research undertaking between Microsoft and Intel aimed at accelerating developments in mainstream parallel computing for consumers and businesses in desktop and mobile computing. Launched in March 2008, it is co-directed by Marc Snir, professor of computer science, and Wen-mei Hwu, professor of electrical and computer engineering. This center will leverage UIUC’s broad-based faculty, who have expertise across the entire problem chain facing parallel computing. The faculty has demonstrated excellence in the most critical areas of parallel computing (e.g., architecture and compiler support) and the ability to take a unique multi-disciplinary approach. The combination of the Illinois faculty accomplishments in these areas with the Illinois history of innovation in parallel computing made Illinois an ideal partner for this research undertaking. Learn more…
Past Institutes
Microsoft Center for Interaction Design and Visualization at the University of Maryland
College Park, Maryland, United States
The Center, created in November 2003, explores the ways humans interact with computers, focusing on the design, implementation and evaluation of new interface technologies that are potentially useful and appealing to a wide range of people. Some of the projects explored include: DataLens. Other projects include: Piccolo, Launch Tile & Applens, Routelens, CrossY, One-handed interface design for mobile devices, Paper-based interface, and advanced pen-computing. See Human-Computer Interaction Lab at the University of Maryland
Highlight
News from Microsoft Research-Sponsored Institutes
- Games for Learning Institute, New York University—with consortium of academic partners
