Microsoft Taps Peter Lee as New Managing Director of Microsoft Research Redmond

Rico Malvar to become chief scientist of Microsoft Research.

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Jul 15, 2010, 09:00 ET

REDMOND, Wash., July 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Dr. Peter Lee will join Microsoft Research as the managing director of Microsoft Research Redmond, reporting to Senior Vice President of Microsoft Research Rick Rashid. Lee is a leading figure in computer science research, particularly in areas related to software security and reliability, and has held key positions in both government and academia, most recently at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

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"Peter has long played a strong leadership and service role within the research community, both at DARPA and Carnegie Mellon University," Rashid said. "His extensive background in both research and service to the community will allow him to continue the tradition of excellence in research at Microsoft and help lead us to new heights."

At DARPA, Lee challenged conventional Department of Defense (DoD) approaches to computer science research by infusing new energy into its relationships with academia and industry and reinforcing the agency's unique role at the intersection of research and application. One of the highlights of his work at DARPA was the DARPA Network Challenge, which mobilized millions of people worldwide in a hunt for red weather balloons — a unique experiment in social media and open innovation that made an impact on thinking throughout the DoD.

Before joining DARPA, Lee was head of Carnegie Mellon's nationally top-ranked computer science department and had previously served as the university's vice provost for research. At CMU, Lee carried out research in language design, program analysis and verification. He is well-known for his co-development of proof-carrying code techniques for enhanced software security, and, more recently, has tackled problems as diverse as programming for large-scale modular robotics systems, shape analysis for C programs and proof-carrying code techniques for ultrasecure file systems.

He is past chair of the board of directors for the Computing Research Association and an elected fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery. He served as a member of the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board of the National Research Council, and was also the principal investigator for the Computing Community Consortium's Computing Innovation Fellows Program, which, during the past two years, has provided postdoctoral fellowships for 100 top Ph.D.s in the computing field.

"Microsoft Research is an incredible place. The researchers are truly world-class and doing work that is expanding the frontiers of knowledge," Lee said. "And, while Microsoft Research's revolutionary advances affect just about every desktop, enterprise and mobile system in the world, what I find most exciting is Microsoft Research's ability to influence and inspire countless numbers of researchers, students and technology leaders. This unique combination of world-class research, impact on billions of systems and influential thought leadership is simply exhilarating. I can hardly wait to get started."

Lee will be joining Microsoft Research in the fall of 2010. Until then, Rico Malvar will continue as the managing director of Microsoft Research Redmond. When Lee comes on board, Malvar will take on a new role for Microsoft Research as chief scientist, in which he will help with the strategic direction across Microsoft Research's worldwide locations.

About Microsoft Research

Founded in 1991, Microsoft Research is dedicated to conducting both basic and applied research in computer science and software engineering. Researchers focus on more than 55 areas of computing and collaborate with leading academic, government and industry researchers to advance the state of the art. Microsoft Research has expanded over the years to eight locations worldwide and a number of collaborative projects that bring together the best minds in computer science to advance a research agenda based on their unique talents and interests. Microsoft Research has locations in Redmond, Wash.; Cambridge, Mass.; Silicon Valley, Calif.; Cambridge, England; Beijing, China; and Bangalore, India, and also conducts research at the Cairo Microsoft Innovation Center in Egypt; European Microsoft Innovation Centre in Aachen, Germany; and the eXtreme Computing Group in Redmond. Microsoft Research collaborates openly with colleges and universities worldwide to enhance the teaching and learning experience, inspire technological innovation, and broadly advance the field of computer science. More information can be found at http://www.research.microsoft.com.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

SOURCE Microsoft Corp.