Microsoft Research Blog

Research Blog

  1. A Hybrid Approach to Direct Search Answers 

    May 8, 2012

    Posted by Rob Knies   You might have noticed in your most recent Bing search that, these days, you often can get an answer to your query without having to click through to one of the search results.For example, I recently wondered about this year’s…

  2. Start Spreading the News … Announcing Microsoft Research New York City! 

    May 2, 2012

    Posted by Jennifer Chayes, Microsoft distinguished scientist and managing director of Microsoft Research New England and the newly announced Microsoft Research New York City One of the wonderful elements of basic research is that you never know where it will take you. In this case,…

  3. Get a Jump on Space Day 

    May 2, 2012

    Looking for a fun, educational, and inexpensive way to observe Space Day? The Museum of Flight in Seattle is throwing an early-bird celebration the evening before, and the Microsoft WorldWide Telescope team will be celebrating with them. On Thursday, May 3, the museum is offering…

  4. From Smartphone to Smart Home: Automating the Modern Home 

    April 26, 2012

    For baby boomers who grew up watching The Jetsons, the idea of the fully automated home was the futuristic stuff of cartoons. Today, the technology is available to make a Jetsonesque home a reality, by using inexpensive network devices that remotely control locks, lights, thermostats,…

  5. ChronoZoom Arrives in Asia 

    April 23, 2012

    With spring in the air, I am excited to be heading to Seoul, South Korea, to attend the Second Congress of the Asian Association of World Historians, which runs from April 27 to 29, 2012. There, I will have the honor of overseeing the Asian…

  6. Great Story Just Out on Bill Buxton 

    April 20, 2012

    Posted by Rob Knies   Distro, a magazine-like publication from the folks at Engadget, just published its 37th issue, and featured on the cover and in a fascinating Q&A is Bill Buxton, principal researcher at Microsoft Research.The publication is available as a .pdf file, which…

  7. Open Data for Open Science—an Eye-Opening Event 

    April 19, 2012

    Punctuating the gray skies and rain that typify spring in the Pacific Northwest, the first week of April brought a sunny gathering of data scientists and engineers from multiple disciplines to Microsoft’s Redmond campus, where the second annual Open Data for Open Science workshop, or…

  8. Research Bolsters Windows Phone Translation 

    April 18, 2012

    Posted by Rob Knies   Eager for foreign travel but worried about foreign languages? Fear no more, thanks to the Translator App for Windows Phone, updated April 16 and featuring several contributions from Microsoft Research. The app, powered by the same state-of-the-art technology used in…

  9. Bahl Accepts Alumni Honor 

    April 17, 2012

    Posted by Rob Knies Victor Bahl, director of Microsoft Research’s Mobile Computing Research Center, has enjoyed an illustrious career, one that is being honored April 17, when he will be one of six recipients of the Distinguished Alumni Awards presented by the University of Massachusetts…

  10. Microsoft and Computer Science Educators—Inspiring the Next Generation 

    April 12, 2012

    Microsoft believes fervently in the promise of technology. It only follows that we have great interest in inspiring the next generation of computer scientists who will be technology leaders of tomorrow—possibly even as Microsoft employees. So it’s no surprise that Microsoft is a major supporter…

  11. A ‘Lifetime’ of Service Recognized 

    April 10, 2012

    Posted by Rob Knies For more than half his life, Kevin Schofield of Microsoft Research has been an active participant in the Association for Computing Machinery’s Special Interest Group on Computer Human Interaction (SIGCHI). He’s a champion of the group’s research, and his contributions underscore…

  12. Inspiring Computer Science Students in Our Backyard 

    April 5, 2012

    As Microsoft’s “point person” for increasing women’s participation in computing, I am passionate about attracting talented young women to careers in computer science. Perhaps you’ve seen these statistics, which underscore the need: The percentage of computer science graduates who are women has declined from 37…