Paul Oka is a principal program manager in the External Research and Programs group at Microsoft Research.

Paul is currently located in Cambridge, MA at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a visiting engineer and is the co-chair of the Microsoft/MIT alliance with the goal of enhancing university education through information technology. In 2006 Paul helped launch the Microsoft Pen Centric Computing Center at Brown University and  in 2007 launched the Center for Collaborative Technologies at University of Washington to continue the development of the ConferenceXP platform.

My professional interests are in ubiquitous computing and how we communicate instantly with the people without limitation of time and location. Today mobile devices are helping us be productive no matter where we are.

Here are the projects I am currently working on:

• Microsoft Center for Research on Pen-Centric Computing promotes and funds research projects that improved pen-based interactions. This is a joint effort between Brown University and Microsoft Research. 
• Center for Collaborative Technologies applies technology to educational and collaborative scenarios. This is a joint effort between University of Washington and Microsoft Research.
• The Institute for Personal Robots in Education (IPRE) applies and evaluates robots as a context for computer science education. IPRE is a joint effort between Georgia Tech and Bryn Mawr College sponsored by Microsoft Research
• Social Learning in Physical and Virtual Worlds at the Media Lab at MIT.
• iCampus is an alliance forged between MIT and Microsoft Research with the goal of enhancing university education through information technology.