While the core mission of Microsoft Research is to advance the state of the art in computer science, it’s no surprise that nearly every year nascent technologies from the company’s research division make their way into new products.

The Road from Cairo

According to Rashid, the mere fact that he can mention research coming from Cairo, Cambridge and other areas of the globe reflects another evolution he’s seen at TechFest through the years. The organization he founded as a single person nearly 20 years ago has grown to represent more than 800 Ph.D.s and hundreds of support staff in locations around the world: Redmond; Silicon Valley, Calif.; Cambridge, Mass.; Beijing, China; Cambridge, England; and Bangalore, India. "When we started TechFest we basically just had a research lab here in Redmond," Rashid says. "One of the real benefits of TechFest today is the opportunity to bring our researchers from all over the world to interact with our teams here and share the technologies they are developing." The international flavor of Microsoft Research today has added new perspectives and allowed the organization to tap into research talent around the world, but even with TechFest becoming such a melting pot, the core mission of Microsoft Research remains the same around the globe: continued investment to advance the state of the art in technology. According to Rashid, that commitment is a big part of how Microsoft has remained successful as an innovation company 30 years after its original entry into the commercial market. And, like Ballmer, he believes it is more important today than ever, given current conditions around the world. "You want to be prepared for change and you want to be a catalyst for change, but you don’t know what the future holds," asks Rashid, "how will we get out of an economic downturn? By creating new products, by generating new ideas, by taking advantage of opportunities that people may have not been expecting. We may not know what’s down the road, but looking at the work on display here this week, it’s clear we’re getting there."