Center to specialize in e-commerce basic research
The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Microsoft Research (MSR) and Microsoft Online Services Division (OSD) announced today their intent to co-establish the Academic Research Center for E-Commerce Technologies. The new Research Center will promote and fund basic research in areas of computer science, artificial intelligence, game theory, economic and psychology, focusing on the connections between these subjects in the e-commerce domain. The center is the first academic research program by Microsoft Research in Israel, a part of the Microsoft R&D Center in Israel.
Through the five-year joint research and education partnership, Microsoft Research and The Technion will explore scientific and technological insights in e-commerce, such as online advertising and the use of social networks for commerce. Microsoft will invest $1.5 million (U.S.) over the next five years. The center will be located at the Technion campus in Haifa, Israel.
The head of the new center will be Professor Moshe Tennenholtz of the faculty for Industrial Engineering and Management. Prof. Tennenholtz has collaborated with Microsoft Research (MSR) for several years and is considered a world-leading expert in E-commerce. Research will be conducted by scientists and research students from several Technion departments along with MSR researchers.
Yoram Yaacovi, General Manager, Microsoft Israel Research and Development Center “Microsoft understands that academia is at the heart of technological innovation and seeks to catalyze innovation in research and curricula in leading academic institutions worldwide. Today’s announcement reflects Microsoft’s ongoing commitment to partnering with academia in developing new and advanced technologies.”
David Ku, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Advertising R&D: “The joint research center Microsoft Israel is building in collaboration with the Technion is the first of its kind established by Microsoft with Israeli academia – and there are few like it elsewhere in the world. Our goal is to shape a new generation of core technologies for e-commerce that will empower new opportunities for industry and exciting new value for customers. We believe that this cooperation between Microsoft Online Services, Microsoft Research and the Technion has the potential to help usher in the next generation of technology and customer value. “
Professor Boaz Golany, Dean of the Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Management at the Technion: “Microsoft’s decision to establish the research center at the Technion is a very strong statement by one of the giants of global technology regarding the position of the State of Israel at the forefront of information & communication technologies and the strength of the Technion in the areas of science and technology. Our partnership with Microsoft is part of The Technion’s strategy that strives for cooperation with large international companies both because of their ability to support large-scale basic and applied research and because of the fact that in many cases these companies expose our researchers to significant challenges, which by being solved will, to a large extent, determine the technological agenda for the coming decades.”
About Microsoft Research
Microsoft Research is dedicated to conducting both basic and applied research in computer science and software engineering. Researchers focus on more than 60 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 twelve facilities worldwide.
About The Technion
The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology is consistently ranked among the world’s leading science and technology universities. As such, it breeds first-rate scientific and technological innovations, many of which have substantial economic potential, as well as notable graduates that are now leading global tech industries. As Israel’s oldest and premier institute of science and technology, the Technion has been an active and leading participant in Israel’s rapid scientific and industrial growth and has played a pivotal role in transforming Israel`s economy and workforce into a leading high tech/high growth economy