Erin Renshaw

Microsoft Research

One Microsoft Way

Redmond, WA 98052

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I am a Research Software Design Engineer in the Knowledge Tools Group of Microsoft Research. I have worked on a variety of projects, ranging from image compression to building tools to help people deal with large amounts of data.

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My academic background is in chemistry and physics. I first became interested in computing my sophomore year at the University of Washington when I did a research project in process analytical chemistry. I implemented a prototype pattern recognition system for use in industrial applications.

I received my Ph.D. in Nuclear Chemistry from Indiana University in 1994. My thesis explored mechanisms for medium-energy nuclear reactions (i.e., how does the nucleus break up into pieces when energy is brought into the system?) Since I was an experimentalist, I did a lot of programming to acquire and analyze data. In the process, I learned I liked the programming much more than the physics.

I have been at Microsoft for almost twelve years. Prior to joining Microsoft Research, I worked in two product groups, testing and writing code that shipped in a variety of products, including Encarta, Windows (HTML Help), and most recently, Office XP (Microsoft Office Document Imaging.)

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