About 10 months ago, China’s first planetarium driven by the WorldWide Telescope (WWT) was launched at the Shixinlu primary school. Powered by six high-resolution projectors, the 8-meter dome installation has enabled students not only to see and study the stars and the universe in an…
Call it the invasion of the computer literati: on the last day of June, 78 PhD students converged on Cambridge, England, to begin five days of networking and knowledge exchanges during the Microsoft Research Cambridge 2014 PhD Summer School, our ninth edition of this annual…
Each year since 2005, Microsoft Research has awarded Microsoft Research Faculty Fellowships to promising, early-career academics who are engaged in innovative computing research and have the potential to make significant advances in the state of the art. These fellowships—which include a cash award and access…
On June 4, students, teaching staff, and guests gathered at Stanford University for the final presentations for CS247—Interaction Design Studio. While this core class in the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) track is offered every year, this year it was taught by two industrial researchers—I was invited…
Where would you look to find new approaches to solving today’s economic, scientific, and social problems? If you answered Viña del Mar, Chile, from today through May 9, you’re right—as that’s where and when more than 250 thought leaders are gathered for the Microsoft Research…
Most parents want their children to have access to the best educational opportunities at schools with broad, enriching curricula. Students attending such schools may find themselves challenged with finding sufficient time to study any one subject adequately—in or out of the classroom. MyCloud, an innovative…
The night sky holds a special fascination for children worldwide. They gaze at the moon and stars shining overhead, and wonder what they are and how they got there. This natural curiosity is dampened, however, for children who live in urban areas, where air and…
On March 8, we celebrated International Women’s Day. Every year on this date, thousands of events are held throughout the world to inspire women and celebrate their achievements. Women's equality has made positive gains, but plenty of inequality still exists. International Women's Day commemorates the…
Microsoft Research and Zombie-Based Learning @ SXSWedu I can’t believe how much has happened in just one year. This time last year, we had just released the beta version of ChronoZoom, and the content and development community had created two mini-releases on their own. Key…
As many of you know—especially if you’ve been reading my blog posts—the participation of women in computer science continues to decline. Last year, women accounted for only 14 percent of computer science college graduates in the United States, according to the Computing Research Association. That’s…
The aftermath of a stroke can be overwhelming for any patient—from the physical and emotional toll to the cost of stroke-related treatment. Recent evidence1 points to the advantages of task-specific training as effective rehabilitation, but in practice, this requires simple, repetitive movements, which may bore…
For the past five years, WorldWide Telescope (WWT) has served as an enriching resource in schools, museums, planetariums, and homes all over the world, inspiring students and astronomy enthusiasts with its detailed views of the heavens and interactive educational content. In celebration of its fifth…
