Microsoft Research Blog

Research Blog

  1. Academia and industry unite to teach big data research 

    December 31, 2014

    Big data—that buzzword seems to dominate information technology discussions these days. But big data is so much more than a clever catchphrase: it’s a reality that holds enormous potential. We now have the largest and most diversified volume of data in human history. And it’s…

  2. Reproducibility as a service: can the cloud make it real? 

    December 11, 2014

    Research published in academic journals is trustworthy. Or is it? This question is being asked more and more these days. While few doubt the integrity of the researchers, many in the scientific community are concerned about the inability to reproduce experiments. If the work is…

  3. Empowering the problem solvers 

    December 10, 2014

    The power of computing can go a long way toward solving some of the world’s most vexing problems. This is why we are committed to fostering the next generation of technology-savvy researchers, through programs such as the Microsoft Research Asia Fellowship Program. Launched in China…

  4. New community promotes research in sign language recognition 

    December 4, 2014

    Sign language has long been a tool used by many of the world’s estimated 360 million people with severe hearing loss. But since the majority of hearing individuals do not understand sign language, the hearing world does not always have the capability to engage in…

  5. Third International Women’s Hackathon continues into December 

    November 14, 2014

    The Third International Women’s Hackathon is now in full swing, having launched on October 11, 2014. A unique crowdsourcing event designed to empower young women leaders in computer science, the hackathon provides a fun and safe environment in which participants explore computing as a means…

  6. A year of research in the cloud 

    November 7, 2014

    A year ago, the Microsoft Azure for Research project began as a small effort to help external researchers and scientists (and even Microsoft) understand how the cloud generally—and Microsoft Azure specifically—could accelerate research insights. Microsoft Azure for Research facilitates scholarly and scientific research by enabling…

  7. Bringing Predictability to Cloud Server Storage 

    October 29, 2014

    Posted by Rob Knies In theory, the logic behind cloud computing seems undeniable: lots of data-center servers providing lots of computing power and storage to lots of customers. It’s the beauty of scale: Everybody wins—right?In practice, as you might guess, things get a bit more…

  8. MOOR brings lab research capability to MOOCs 

    October 27, 2014

    Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have become one of the hottest trends in higher education, providing access to high-quality classes from such elite universities as Stanford and MIT. MOOCs thus offer a new opportunity for self-directed learning for millions of students worldwide. However, most MOOC…

  9. Unraveling the Mysteries of Quantum Computing 

    October 23, 2014

    Posted by Rob Knies For years now, Microsoft researchers have been working with academics and scientists to unlock the riddles of quantum computing, a field that aims to merge the mysterious properties of quantum mechanics with computing. If achieved, a scalable quantum computer could rapidly…