Mike Freedman to Join Microsoft Research

REDMOND, Wash., July 3, 1997 — Microsoft® Research today announced that Mike Freedman, professor of mathematics at the University of California at San Diego, will join Microsoft Research, Microsoft’s 6 year-old basic research arm. Freedman will work in the newly formed theory group led by senior researchers Christian Borgs and Jennifer Chayes.

“I have tremendous respect for Mike,” said Nathan Myhrvold, Microsoft’s chief technology officer. “A mathematician of his caliber will add a new dimension to our work on the theoretical underpinnings of fundamental problems in computer science.”

Freedman is a recipient of the Fields Medal, the National Medal of Science and the American Mathematical Society’s Veblen prize. Freedman is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Mathematical Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

“I am very excited to be joining Microsoft,” said Freedman. “I am deeply impressed by Microsoft’s commitment to mathematical research across traditional boundaries. The Microsoft Research theory group is the ideal place for me to pursue my interests in topology, physics and complexity.””Mike’s work in the field of four-dimensional topology is unmatched,” said Chayes, senior researcher and co-head of the theory group. “The addition of Mike to the group will enhance our ability to tackle the great challenges ahead of us.”

The theory group is a new group within Microsoft Research devoted to the analysis of fundamental problems in theoretical computer science using techniques from statistical physics and discrete mathematics. Among the group’s long-term goals is an understanding of so-called

intractable problems. Insights gained from the work of the theory group may someday yield both good sources of codes for cryptographic applications and new methods of solution for problems such as scheduling.

Founded in 1991, Microsoft Research is dedicated to conducting both basic and applied research in computer science and software engineering. The goal is to develop new technologies that simplify and enhance the user’s PC experience, reduce the cost of writing and maintaining software, and facilitate the creation of new types of software. Microsoft Research started with a handful of researchers and has grown steadily to include more than 200 computer scientists and engineers in a wide variety of areas ranging from speech technology to data mining to 3-D graphics.

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