At a joint press conference later today, Brown University and Microsoft Research will unveil plans for the Microsoft Center for Research on Pen-Centric Computing, which will promote and fund research aimed at improving pen-based operation of Tablet PCs, Pocket PCs, Palm Pilot personal digital assistants, electronic whiteboards and conventional desktop computers. The center is the first academic research program in the nation dedicated to pen-centric computing innovation.

Through the three-year joint research and education alliance, Microsoft Research and Brown University will explore and develop new ways to use pen-like styluses to operate computing devices. Under the alliance, Microsoft Research will invest $1.2 million (U.S.) over the next three years.

“Pen-based computing has the potential to alter the way students and teachers interact,” said Rick Rashid, senior vice president of Research at Microsoft Corp. “And together with Brown University, we will create new ways of combining the pen and the computer to positively affect not only the educational process, but our working methods and our culture.”