Microsoft Stresses Importance of
Fundamental Research <KOREA TIMES 서지연기자>
REDMOND, Washington _ Building on the fundamentals is key for
any business, but if you want to be successful in information and
technology (IT), research and development is particularly important. Kim Jeong-han,
39, senior researcher at Microsoft Research (MSR) thinks that many
businesses back in Korea still have a long way to go in terms of technology
research, in particular when forming the fundamentals upon which their
business stands. Within the 620-member Microsoft Research division, he specifically works
in a ``theory group'' that concentrates on researching one of the
fundamentals for a software company: mathematics. Of the 200 some odd South
Korean nationals who work at Microsoft's headquarters, most are engineers
and Kim is the only one of them who is a senior researcher. According to
him, the role of the ``theory group'', one of the fundamental research
groups at MSR, is to look over the array of technology projects suggested
by the engineering or marketing departments. Then they have to determine
which are feasible. ``MSR has the largest theory group with around 20
professional researchers. They include permanent members, post-docs and
visitors. In addition, Microsoft Research provides a good research environment so that we
can concentrate on our projects, free from the fundraising hassles that
make university professors sometimes stressed,'' he said. ``Back in Korea, the infrastructure for researching
technology is at the infant stage. For future growth companies need to
invest more into cultivating technology related research,'' he recommended.
He
also said that the future of IT is still bright because there seems to be
no alternative. The grim IT outlook, according to him, is due to a ``speed
gap'' between the super high-tech research centers and the reality of
consumers accepting such new technologies into their daily lives. ``As part
of steps to narrow the gap, leading IT companies, including us here at
Microsoft, will focus more on educating consumers who fall behind the
technology bandwagon,'' he added. Kim was awarded his doctorate from the
State University of New Jersey (Rutgers) in
mathematics in 1993 and stated work for Bell Labs, part of AT & T. He
moved to Microsoft Research in 1999.
<jyseo@koreatimes.co.kr >
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