Microsoft Research

Microsoft Research. It is one of the world's largest and most influential corporate research laboratories, dedicated to advancing the state of the art in computer science and related fields. Founded in 1991, its work spans from theoretical foundations to practical applications that shape Microsoft products and the broader technology landscape. With labs across three continents, it fosters a culture of open research and collaboration with the global academic community.

History and organization

The division was established in 1991 by Nathan Myhrvold and Richard Rashid, with its first lab located at the company's headquarters in Redmond, Washington. This founding was part of a strategic vision to invest in long-term, fundamental research akin to historic industrial labs like Bell Labs and Xerox PARC. The organization expanded globally, opening Microsoft Research Asia in Beijing in 1998, which quickly became a powerhouse in areas like computer vision and machine learning. Further labs were established, including Microsoft Research Cambridge in the United Kingdom and Microsoft Research India in Bangalore. The organizational structure is divided into core research groups and interdisciplinary centers, such as those focused on artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and healthcare.

Research areas and projects

Its research portfolio is exceptionally broad, encompassing core disciplines of theoretical computer science, systems research, and human-computer interaction. Major investment areas include artificial intelligence, with seminal work in deep learning, reinforcement learning, and the development of the Cognitive Toolkit. In systems and networking, contributions span distributed systems, operating systems, and the Azure cloud platform. The Microsoft HoloLens project emerged from its work in mixed reality and computer graphics. Other significant domains are computational biology, quantum computing through partnerships with Station Q, privacy and security, and societal impact studies of technology. Projects often evolve into product integrations, such as the Kinect sensor's computer vision algorithms.

Notable contributions and impact

The laboratory has produced foundational advancements that have influenced both academia and industry. In programming languages and software engineering, it created the C# language, the TypeScript programming language, and the Z3 Theorem Prover. Its researchers have made major strides in machine translation, speech recognition, and the Turing-NLG natural language model. The SenseCam project pioneered lifelogging and influenced wearable computing. Work in cryptography led to advances in homomorphic encryption and secure multi-party computation. Its impact is evidenced by thousands of publications in premier venues like ACM SIGGRAPH, NeurIPS, and OSDI, and the receipt of prestigious awards including the ACM Turing Award, the MacArthur Fellowship, and the Nevill Mott Medal.

Collaborations and academic engagement

A cornerstone of its philosophy is deep collaboration with the global academic ecosystem. It runs extensive programs like the Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship, which supports doctoral students worldwide. The Microsoft Azure for Research program provides cloud computing credits to academic institutions. Researchers frequently co-author papers with faculty from universities like MIT, Stanford University, and the University of California, Berkeley. It also hosts hundreds of academic visitors and postdoctoral researchers annually. Collaborative initiatives address grand challenges in areas such as climate change through the AI for Earth program and accessibility via the AI for Accessibility grant program, partnering with NGOs and research institutes.

Leadership and key personnel

Leadership has historically included renowned computer scientists who shaped its research direction. Founding director Richard Rashid was succeeded by Rick and then Peter Lee, who currently oversees the organization. Evelyne Viegas leads the AI for Good Research Lab. The labs have been home to many distinguished scientists, including Tony Hey, a former vice president; Jim Gray, a Turing Award winner known for database systems; and Jennifer Tour Chayes, who led the New England and New York City labs. Other notable figures are Butler Lampson, another Turing Award laureate, and Kai-Fu Lee, the founding president of Microsoft Research Asia.

Category:Microsoft Category:Computer science organizations Category:Research institutes