Microsoft is set to hold its annual research conference, detailing lab projects as well as ongoing projects sponsored by the software titan at universities.
The Faculty Summit, which will take place at the company's Redmond, Wash., headquarters, will focus on the state of computer research, current engineering trends and Microsoft's .Net initiative. Speech recognition and natural language processing, two areas of intense research at Microsoft, will also likely be discussed. More than 300 academic researchers are expected to attend.
Chairman Bill Gates will deliver a keynote speech on Monday. Rick Rashid, head of Microsoft Research and a former professor at Carnegie Mellon, will also speak.
Like other major technology companies, Microsoft has built an extensive network of relationships with universities worldwide and underwrites many academic research projects. Intel, for example, opened three "lablets" at the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Washington and Carnegie Mellon University last year. These small laboratories are independent of the university but staffed with professors on leave and doctoral candidates.
Typically, academic institutions conduct more of the "pure" research while company labs focus on projects that could lead to tangible products.
There are benefits for both sides. Most technology companies simply can't afford to employ all the researchers they need, while universities are clamoring for funds.
Last September, at the tenth anniversary of Microsoft Research, the company showed off a number of projects, including: