{"id":2503,"date":"2011-07-19T16:30:00","date_gmt":"2011-07-19T16:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.msdn.microsoft.com\/msr_er\/2011\/07\/19\/making-the-world-a-better-place-one-fellow-at-a-time\/"},"modified":"2016-09-26T10:39:07","modified_gmt":"2016-09-26T17:39:07","slug":"making-the-world-a-better-place-one-fellow-at-a-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/blog\/making-the-world-a-better-place-one-fellow-at-a-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Making the World a Better Place, One Fellow at a Time"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you wanted to be certain that the best IT minds were focused on research into some of today\u2019s most challenging societal problems, what would you do? How would you ensure that there is a global pipeline of computer-science talent? If you\u2019re Microsoft Research, you would set aside US$1.4 million a year to fund the Microsoft Research Faculty Fellowship program (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

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(opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a> The 2011 Faculty Fellows receive their awards at the Microsoft Research Faculty Summit. Left to right: Microsoft Research Senior Vice President Rick Rashid, Brent Waters, Keith Noah Snavely, Anderson Rocha, Shwetak Patel, Alistair McEwan, Jure Lescovec, Krishnendu Chatterjee, Maria Florina Balcan,\u00a0and Microsoft Research Connections Corporate Vice President Tony Hey. (Courtesy Microsoft Corporation)<\/p><\/div>\n

Now in its seventh year, this program has named 40 academic researchers whose exceptional talent for research and thought leadership make them stand out in their fields. Each Fellow receives up to US$200,000 to pursue breakthrough, high-impact research. The grant is an unrestricted gift, providing the Fellows the freedom to plan their research, hire graduate students, build labs, and acquire equipment. In addition to the monetary grant, each Fellow also receives software, invitations to academic and professional conferences, and the opportunity to work directly with leading computer scientists at Microsoft Research.<\/p>\n

During the 2011 Microsoft Research Faculty Summit (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>, currently in progress in Redmond, Washington (July 18 to 20), we were delighted to announce the recipients of the 2011 Microsoft Research Faculty Fellowships (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>. These stellar researchers were chosen through a rigorous, multi-tier selection process that involved more than 100 expert reviewers. The reviewers looked for future academic leaders who are at the beginning of their careers. Microsoft\u2019s goal is to encourage these early-career faculty and help them work on the kind of high-risk\/high-reward research that often is overlooked by traditional funding mechanisms.<\/p>\n

With these goals in mind, the selection criteria included not only the capability to pursue cutting-edge research, but also the personal leadership skills that are necessary to bring those ideas to fruition and to communicate complex concepts in a way that inspires and intrigues. The review process winnowed the list of candidates down to 18 finalists, who were then interviewed in person by a panel of Microsoft Research executives and researchers, along with faculty members from some of the nation\u2019s leading universities.<\/p>\n

Out of this arduous process emerged eight of the best and brightest young researchers\u2014men and women who not only have interesting research agendas, but who also have demonstrated the potential to do great work throughout their careers. So, without further ado, here are this year\u2019s Microsoft Research Faculty Fellows:<\/p>\n