Monday, February 4, 2008

Microsoft to conduct online computing research in new Cambridge lab

The research division of Microsoft Corp. reports plans to open a Cambridge laboratory in July that will combine research of computing with research of online experiences.

The facility, called Microsoft Research New England, is expected to eventually house 50 workers at One Memorial Drive -- the same building in which Microsoft recently established a product development center. The research facility expands the software maker giant's presence in Massachusetts that already includes 580 workers in at least three Bay State locations, including Beverly, Cambridge and Waltham.

The Cambridge facility would also be the company's sixth research center and its first on the East Coast, company officials said.

Jennifer Tour Chayes, a former University of Washington and University of California professor, has been appointed the new laboratory's managing director. Chayes, who joined Microsoft Research in 1997, has led group in the areas of mathematics, theoretical computer science and cryptography, officials said.

Plans call for the Cambridge facility to initially focus on core computer science, especially more algorithmically oriented areas, coupled with the social sciences. It will also include a small group focused on design, according to Microsoft officials.

Last month, Microsoft made an offer to acquire Fast Search & Transfer ASA, a Norwegian search technology company that operates a U.S. headquarters in Needham. The deal is expected to be completed during the second quarter this year.

In September 2007, Microsoft and Waltham-based Novell Inc. announced the opening of a joint laboratory in Cambridge to resolve interoperability issues between proprietary software and open-source software. The laboratory, part of an agreement Novell and Microsoft announced in November 2006, is located in Novell's Kendall Square facility.

In April 2007, Microsoft moved its SoftGrid business -- which resulted from its acquisition of Softricity Inc. in 2006 -- from Boston to the new Cambridge home of the research lab. In Beverly, Microsoft develops collaboration software that came from its purchase of Groove Networks Inc., which was bought by Microsoft in 2005 for an undisclosed amount.

Microsoft Research, which was founded in 1991, operates laboratories in Redmond, Wash.; Silicon Valley; Cambridge, England; Beijing; and Bangalore, India.