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There are numerous reasons for why people choose
where they prefer to work. Geography, family, career choice, career
stage, recreation—all are legitimate justification for the professional
decisions an individual might choose to make. As Microsoft Research
celebrates its 15th anniversary, a few of its employees from its labs
worldwide took a few moments to explain why they have chosen to work
where they do.
Antonio Criminisi, researcher, Cambridge
 Wouldn't it be great to have your best hobby as your everyday job?
And what about getting paid for what you really enjoy doing? Wouldn't it
be great to do research in areas that could potentially improve the life
of less fortunate people? To all of that, add being surrounded by—and
learning from—some of the smartest people in their fields. Yes, it
sounds wonderful, and I should know: At Microsoft Research Cambridge, I
have that job. Oh, and I almost forgot: Microsoft Research has the power
to turn my best ideas into reality. That's why I work for Microsoft
Research.
Curtis Wong, principal researcher, Redmond
 I’ve
worked for a number of cutting-edge technology companies over the past
20 years, and the last two companies I worked for were featured in an
article called Fortune Magazine Visits 25 Cool Companies. Why did
I leave one of the coolest companies to come to Microsoft Research?
The obvious reason is that Microsoft Research is even cooler than
where I was before! I was attracted to Microsoft Research because there
were so many brilliant, accomplished people who were tackling the really
hard problems in their fields to make a difference for Microsoft.
I think what keeps me here is the creative freedom to explore topics
that I think are interesting and will be important to Microsoft down the
road. I've been at Microsoft Research eight years, and I've always had
the freedom to pursue projects I was passionate about, and that was long
before Google promoted its "0 percent time."
Dan Ling [Microsoft Research corporate vice president] has always
been incredibly supportive of my spare-time projects, which range from
exploratory research with
Jim Gray on SkyServer to
serving on the boards of the Seattle Art Museum, the Rhode Island School
of Design, and PBS in Washington, D.C.
It’s really satisfying to be supported doing cutting-edge research,
as well as helping the larger community of nonprofit organizations to
make a difference.
 I
traveled 8,300 miles to Bangalore to join
Microsoft Research India. Every mile was worth it. I was a post-doc
at Columbia, researching how people in the developing world use
technology, particularly mobile phones, to start and grow small
businesses. The topic fascinated me, but the commute was terrible! It’s
tough to keep tabs on a rapidly changing subject from far away. I had
resolved to get “into the field,” as the social scientists say.
So I was thrilled to learn about the 2005 launch of Microsoft
Research India, which opened with
Technology for Emerging Markets as a core research area. When
P.
Anandan [managing director of the lab] happened to visit New York, I
got to make my pitch. I’m now happily ensconced at the lab and still
studying small businesses. But today, the data is right outside my front
door, amid the exciting jumble that is Bangalore.
The lab culture is great. It’s a fun, interdisciplinary group,
drawing on a rare mix of institutional wisdom and startup energy. I also
enjoy working as part of the broader Microsoft organization. It’s nice
to know that my research can have an impact, because my colleagues
actually create the information and communication technologies that help
people change the world.
Tom Healy, lead
program manager, Redmond
 It
enters my thoughts, sometimes at odd moments, how I’m very grateful and
privileged to work in Microsoft Research. It is an amazingly vibrant
organization. Technology innovation can, and does, make a positive
difference in the lives of people all over the world. It feels good to
be a part of that.
Working in External Research & Programs provides a twofold advantage.
I work with universities that are pursuing cutting-edge research. The
university faculty and students are enthusiastic and creative. It’s
infectious. I also have the benefit of engaging with the world-class
researchers in Microsoft Research, incredibly talented people who are
leaders of their respective fields. Academia and Microsoft Research are
both envisioning the future of computing. That point of intersection is
fascinating.
I’ve been in Microsoft Research Redmond for seven years. Before that,
I lived all my life on the East Coast, working in somewhat stuffy
technology companies. My wife and I moved 3,000 miles, leaving our
family and friends and not knowing a soul in Seattle. But we knew it was
absolutely the right thing to do. The opportunity to work at Microsoft
Research was unique. There have been no regrets—other than the Seattle
rainy season. But, then again, you don’t have to shovel rain.
Frank Seide, researcher/project leader, Asia
 It’s
simple. Microsoft Research gives me an opportunity to pursue my research
interests for practically any relevant topic and a chance to see
the fruit of my work in actual products.
Rick Rashid [Microsoft Research senior vice president] described his
approach: Hire the best talent in areas we care about, let them do what
they are good at, stand back, and be amazed by what they come up with.
This is, indeed, the culture I found at Microsoft Research.
Bill Gates’
vision of computers being able to see, listen, speak, and learn is
reflected throughout the organization. Microsoft is committed to my
area, speech recognition, and has provided me with all resources
necessary. I could not imagine working for a lab with publication
restrictions.
While I feel that scientific impact and product impact are equally
appreciated, Microsoft Research has unique mechanisms to make technology
transfer as easy as possible. First, the organization created a
dedicated team of “matchmakers” to connect us with product people.
Research and tech transfer are as much social events as they are about
technology, and within Microsoft, product people love to talk to
Research and often generate new research ideas. There’s lots of startup
mentality and technology enthusiasm here.
Second, to free researchers from having to write product code or
polish demos, the
Beijing lab created a dedicated development team for building
prototypes and technology transfer.
As a consequence, the results of years of my research are going into
several products and promise to have a positive impact on the lives of
millions. This is, for me, the most rewarding aspect of working for
Microsoft Research.
A.J. Brush,
researcher, Redmond
 Working
at Microsoft Research is my dream job. I know that sounds hokey, but
it’s true. As a researcher at Microsoft Research, I have the freedom to
do cutting-edge research on how technology can help solve everyday
problems that I find personally compelling—for example, helping people
cope with too much e-mail or more easily manage their work and family
calendars.
I also have the privilege of working with amazing colleagues, who are
generous with their time and expertise. I have found that if I want to
talk with an expert in another research area, he or she typically sits
down the hall and is more than willing to chat.
Finally, perhaps my favorite aspect of my job is that, by being at
Microsoft Research, I get to interact with the amazing people who build
Microsoft products. I enjoy drawing inspiration from the problems they
face and sharing my research findings with them. Through these
partnerships, my research has the potential to impact millions of
people—what could be more exciting than that?
Michael Schroeder,
assistant managing director, Silicon Valley
 I’d
been interested in working for Microsoft for some while. When, in the
summer of 2001, Rick Rashid asked Roy Levin and me to start a new lab
for him in Silicon Valley, it didn’t take long to say an enthusiastic
“yes!”
I flew down to the Bay Area on a Wednesday morning from Ashland,
Ore., where my family was attending the Shakespeare festival, had a
short interview with Rick, and flew back in time for the evening play,
having accepted the job in principle.
The five years since then have been everything they promised to be.
One doesn’t get the opportunity to build a new computer-research lab
very often, and to do it in such an environment as Microsoft Research,
that is so supportive of research and researchers, is a real treat.
Why do I like working here? It’s because Rick and the senior
management of the company really believe in research and the value it
brings to Microsoft. And they understand how to run a world-class
computer-research establishment effectively. The combination of
financial and moral support, freedom of action, openness to the outside
professional community, access to the product groups, and opportunity
for impact is unmatched.
The researchers here are the best in the world and are working
enthusiastically and productively. It is my privilege to help tend one
of the gardens where their innovations are grown.
Hugues Hoppe,
principal researcher, Redmond
 I
joined Microsoft Research in 1994, having just finished a dissertation
on surface modeling in computer graphics. At that time, 3D graphics were
only practical on expensive graphics workstations. It was very
forward-looking of Microsoft to allow me to use such non-PC,
non-Windows® systems.
Now, a decade later, high-end graphics are affordable to virtually
everyone and are even integrated into the Windows Vista™ shell. The
transformation in graphics performance has been tremendous and exciting.
As researchers, we have had to completely rethink our basic
algorithms to work efficiently on highly parallel processors. And this
revolution towards parallelism is likely only beginning.
I really enjoy participating in the academic community, publishing
research papers at the vibrant SIGGRAPH conference and collaborating
with professors and students.
At the same time, it has been very satisfying to contribute
technologies to Microsoft product groups such as DirectX® and Xbox®.
Our annual TechFest event lets us calibrate “lofty” research ideas
with “real world” practicalities and establish contacts throughout the
company.
My favorite activity is to brainstorm with colleagues on new research
directions. And, what makes graphics research particularly satisfying is
the end result: a visual demo that makes people ask, “How did you do
that?”
Baskaran Sankaran, assistant researcher, India
 Microsoft
Research gives me unlimited opportunities to explore the unexplored,
where my research work has the potential to significantly impact the way
people work and communicate today. I get chance to listen, interact,
discuss, and understand the work of researchers, which undoubtedly helps
me to gain invaluable and deep knowledge in my area of interest. The
exposure I get here by working with researchers helps me sharpen my
ideas, analysis, and research skills, while their unlimited passion for
discovering new things by continuous experimentation motivates me to go
deeper and beyond defined limits.
At the same time, being part of such a large and diverse research
organization lets me learn something about newer areas from researchers
both inside and outside of Microsoft Research. Think of the joy of a
language-technology researcher who learns a thing or two about bizarre
topics such as social networking or software security or “acoustic
communication in crickets” or sensor networks.
To me, this is the most exciting, challenging, and defining period in
my career.
Jin Li, senior
researcher, Redmond
 At
the time I joined Microsoft Research, I looked at other prominent
research labs, such as IBM and HP, and faculty opportunities at top-tier
universities, but Microsoft Research looked like the best of the bunch.
And I do not regret my decision after all these years.
One of the unique combinations you get at Microsoft Research is the
freedom of research and the resource support. You get to work on
anything that interests you, at a pace you set yourself. You can choose
to collaborate with various internal and external groups. You can attend
conferences, teach a short course or tutorial, or lead interns. You can
do all these without the tedious burden of writing grant proposals. If
management feels that the resource you asked for is important for your
project, you will get it, be it for traveling, students/development
support, or equipment. The resource support you get from Microsoft
Research is superb.
Working in Microsoft Research also gives you the satisfaction that
your work, once incorporated, will always have a huge impact, given the
large installed basis of various Microsoft products. We also get
fantastic support from both the Microsoft product groups that we work
with and the program-management and research software-engineering team
within Microsoft Research during the process of tech transfer. We are
not alone in implementing complex features ourselves.
Plus, Seattle is a great city in which to live.
Daniel Robbins,
user-interface designer, Redmond
 When
I came to Microsoft Research 10 years ago, it was to combine my
pragmatic product-group experience with my academic roots. At Microsoft
Research, I potentially could have an impact on the world at large.
Ten years ago, we were pondering what the “killer” 3D application
might be. Now, I find myself using my background in sculpture and
industrial design to bring rich interactive experiences to a broad
ecosystem of devices—from wall-sized displays to cell phones.
I work with the brightest people, the nicest people, and the people
with the broadest array of interests.
I stay here because I am always finding new projects to involve
myself in, whether it be novel uses for an industrial laser-cutter,
zoomable interfaces on a Smartphone, or high-level interface discussions
with new product groups.
My collaborations range from my hallway to buildings across campus to
conferences around the world. My work and the people I work with garner
great respect, and we have helped create some of the seminal work in our
field of human-computer interaction.
 I
started working for Microsoft Research about eight years ago by joining
the lab in Cambridge, which was in its nascent days at the time. One
could not know then how this Microsoft lab, the first of its kind
outside the States, would shape up. It was curiosity and enthrallment
with the new beginning that prompted my decision to apply and join.
I continue to work here because the same sense of dynamic and
creative energy persists. The portfolio of my research projects grows
with inspiration and enthusiasm—mine and my colleagues’. Both the
freedom to choose research topics and the ownership I can assume to
deliver on my commitments are great motivators for me. Over the years,
I’ve seen this very mechanism transform people into leaders and make
them reach for new challenges.
It is also inspiring that Microsoft Research raises no walls to
confine us. I connect with a wider academic and professional community,
and that openness gives my work a higher cause. I often imagine us
researchers on a vessel moving steadily forward, looking ahead and
continuously re-examining the course we are taking. While we head toward
the future as an unreachable horizon, we are shaping that future along
the way.
David Lomet,
principal researcher, Redmond
 Accepting
Microsoft Research’s job offer 11 years ago was both painful and easy.
The pain: leaving a great Digital job, but they were exiting the
database business. I could have worked at Oracle, but they had no
research.
By good fortune, Microsoft became interested in databases
concurrently with Digital’s exit. With people I knew already at
Microsoft (actively recruiting me), and the opportunity to start a
database research group, Microsoft Research was an exciting opportunity
and an easy choice.
Another huge plus was the entrepreneurial organization Rick Rashid
had built at Microsoft Research: researchers choose the project and
figure out how to succeed, measured by publication and product impact.
How has it worked out? After a lonely, yearlong effort, my initial
hiring has led to a world-class database group in Redmond—and new
colleagues and friends. My research now impacts millions of SQL Server™
users. Helping Bill Gates prepare his 1998 SIGMOD keynote was an
unforgettable experience. Working down the hall from a billionaire,
Charles Simonyi, was eerie. The Microsoft Research intern program makes
summers hum with activity and fun.
What next? Research remains exciting, tech transfer is still a
challenging and glorious opportunity, and working with colleagues and
interns is great. How lucky I’ve been!
Soumyajit Deb, assistant researcher, India
 Working
at Microsoft Research India for the past year has been an amazing
experience for me. Since my graduate-school days, I have been thoroughly
impressed by the steady flow of extremely high quality work out of
Microsoft Research. Now, after spending a year at Microsoft Research
India, I can wholeheartedly say that it is easily the best place to be
for me.
The complete freedom of thought that Microsoft Research grants
everyone in choosing their research direction is probably the single
most valuable thing to me. This, backed by a stimulating work
environment where one gets to meet a motley of the very best people from
diverse backgrounds, helps foster creative thought. Getting to meet and
collaborate with some of the best researchers from around the world also
helps broaden my horizons.
I also like the fact that Microsoft Research actively encourages
everyone to publish in the best journals and conferences the world over.
This, coupled with all the available resources in the world at our
disposal, excellent benefits and perks, appreciation for good work,
having the fortune of the brightest interns working with us, and the
fantastic parties easily makes Microsoft Research the best place for a
researcher.
Behrooz Chitsaz, director of IP Strategy, Redmond
 I
joined Microsoft in October 1991—as it happens, just one month after
Microsoft Research was launched. I spent 11 years working on products
such as Microsoft Exchange and the Windows Active Directory®. It is very
satisfying to know that the components I worked on continue to be used
by millions of people around the world every day.
During my years in the product groups, I had numerous interactions
with Microsoft Research and all the exciting work it was doing in a
broad range of areas of computing, such as graphics, natural-language
understanding, security, and new types of devices.
In my current position, I was able to initiate a new program within
Microsoft Research whereby we can bring our innovations to market by
partnering with other companies.
If I had to sum up why I enjoy working at Microsoft Research, it
would be the freedom to innovate and the freedom to bring that
innovation to masses of people all over the world. The process of
executing on innovation can be challenging, but Microsoft Research, as
an organization, has the passion and tenacity to make that happen. I am
thrilled to be a part of this organization.
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