February 2009
In 1991, Microsoft Corp. became one of the first software companies to create its own computer science research organization. Microsoft Research has developed into a unique entity among corporate research labs, balancing an open academic model with an effective process for transferring its research to product development teams. Today the world-renowned scientists of Microsoft Research make up one of the largest, fastest-growing and most highly respected software research organizations in the world — one that will help define and redefine the computing experience for millions of people for decades to come.
From the beginning, fostering rapid and smooth technology transfer through deep relationships with Microsoft product groups has been a priority for Microsoft Research. Soon after its creation, Microsoft Research established a dedicated technology transfer team to help bridge the long-range research and near-term product development functions within Microsoft. The technology transfer program managers focus on building strong, collaborative partnerships between researchers and product teams to help fulfill a shared vision: seeing their innovative work reflected in improved software products for Microsoft customers. The benefits of this successful partnership can be seen throughout virtually every product Microsoft has delivered, from Microsoft Windows 95 to the 2007 Microsoft Office system, to ClearFlow traffic-based routing and Olympic xRank in Windows Live Search. Technologies developed within Microsoft Research are also released through the Microsoft Store and licensed externally through the company’s intellectual property (IP) licensing program.
Open collaboration has been a priority for Microsoft Research from the beginning as well. Throughout its history, Microsoft Research has published more than 5,100 peer-reviewed publications. Many of these papers have been recognized with best-paper awards and are considered milestones in the field of research. In addition, Microsoft researchers work with scientists around the world to identify the greatest computer science challenges, develop solutions and continually explore possibilities for the future of computing.
Building a Global Think Tank
Today Microsoft Research has more than 850 researchers, including some of the world’s finest computer scientists, sociologists, psychologists, mathematicians, physicists and engineers, working across more than 55 areas of research. Although most of its researchers are based at Microsoft’s Redmond, Wash., headquarters, Microsoft Research has expanded globally to ensure that it can attract the richest pool of talent. Microsoft Research currently operates labs in six worldwide locations.
- Microsoft Research Cambridge. Established in 1997, Microsoft Research Cambridge in the United Kingdom was Microsoft’s first research laboratory to be established outside the United States. Today the lab’s researchers, mostly from Europe, focus on research in the areas of programming languages, security, information retrieval, machine learning, computer vision, operating systems, networking, and computational biological sciences.
- Microsoft Research Asia. The Asia lab, located in Beijing, was founded in 1998 and is Microsoft’s basic research facility in the Asia-Pacific region. Researchers in the Asia lab focus on natural user interfaces, next-generation multimedia, data-intensive computing, computer science fundamentals, and search and online ads.
- Microsoft Research Silicon Valley. The Silicon Valley lab was established in August 2001 on the Microsoft campus in Mountain View, Calif. The lab’s research work focuses on distributed computing and includes Web search, datacenter-scale computing, concurrent programming, computer architecture, security and privacy.
- Microsoft Research India. The India lab opened in 2005 and is located in Bangalore. Researchers in this lab focus on multilingual systems, technologies for emerging markets, digital geographics, cryptography and security, mobility, networking and systems, rigorous software engineering, and algorithms.
- Microsoft Research New England. The New England lab opened in September 2008 in Cambridge, Mass. The lab pursues new interdisciplinary areas of research that bring together core computer scientists and social scientists to better understand, model and enable the computing and online experiences of the future.
Collaborative Research
Microsoft Research collaborates with the world’s foremost researchers in academia, industry and government to move research in new directions across nearly every field of computer science, engineering and general science. Through global and regional initiatives, Microsoft aims to accelerate research and discovery and ultimately to help researchers and scientists address some of the toughest, most urgent societal and technological challenges.
For more information, press only:
Julie Woodbury, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, (503) 443-7000,
juliew@waggeneredstrom.com
Rapid Response Team, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, (503) 443-7070,
rrt@waggeneredstrom.com
For more information about Microsoft Research:
http://www.research.microsoft.com/
