From wide-ranging enhancements for the upcoming Microsoft® Windows Vista™ operating system to data-mining innovations in SQL Server™ to powerful anti-spam filters in Microsoft Office Outlook®, Microsoft Research teams have delivered hundreds of product innovations to Microsoft Corp. customers since 1991. Today at an event marking the research organization’s 15th anniversary of turning ideas into reality, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates appeared on screen as Microsoft Research Senior Vice President Rick Rashid and leaders from academia and industry gathered at the company’s Redmond lab to recognize these successes and preview new areas where Microsoft Research continues to influence the future of computing.

“From the beginning, Microsoft Research has provided an open, collaborative environment where the brightest minds in computer science can work together to tackle the hardest problems in computing and explore new ideas for reinventing the PC,” Gates said. “During the past 15 years, Microsoft researchers have contributed amazing breakthroughs and insights that have advanced the state of the art in dozens of technology fields. Their work is a clear reflection of Microsoft’s commitment to innovation.”

With more than 700 researchers at five laboratories worldwide, Microsoft Research contributes to Microsoft products as well as long-range technology advancements, often in collaboration with the academic community. Microsoft researchers have made a significant global impact on the collective knowledge of the greater software community, openly sharing their research findings and new discoveries by publishing more than 3,700 academic papers across 55 fields.