Aalto University and Microsoft to start research cooperation
10.06.2010
Aalto University and Microsoft have launched research cooperation. The decision was sealed on Wednesday on the 9th of June in a meeting in Otaniemi, Espoo with researchers from Aalto University and Microsoft.
The cooperation focuses at this point on two research projects for periods of one and two years respectively. Participating from Aalto University are the department of Computer Science and Engineering of the Aalto University School of Science and Technology, the Department of Design of the Aalto University School of Art and Design, and Helsinki Institute of Information Technology (HIIT), a joint research institute of Aalto University and the University of Helsinki.
"The cooperation between Microsoft and Aalto University started already in January 2008 when Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen and Microsoft Chairman of the Board Bill Gates met. Since then Microsoft Research in Cambridge has followed closely the development of Aalto University and its profile. As the result of this dialogue, two joint research projects are now announced. With this venture we will continue to observe the further intensification of our research collaboration with great confidence", says Government Affairs Lead Max Mickelsson of Microsoft.
Leading researchers of Aalto University have also visited Cambridge and met other representatives of Microsoft Joint Research Institutes in Europe.
The cooperation focuses on two research projects
The cooperation focuses at this point on two research projects: “Crafting New Concepts of Search for the Home Host” and “Denial-of-Service Resistance for Internet Services”.
The objective of the two-year project is to explore new possibilities for making web searches in a domestic environment. The usual way homes do this is through search engines, and the specification of queries, usually through browser application. Yet these search tools are extremely narrow in terms of design, constrained to a PC or a handheld device, and the way they are invoked is quite limited. In fact browsers and search tools have changed very little since their inception. Professor Giulio Jacucci will lead the research project at the Aalto University.
In the one-year project under development are Denial-of-Service resistant protocols and service architectures for the Internet. The aim is to analyse DoS vulnerabilities in Internet services and design protection mechanisms for them. Professor Tuomas Aura will lead the research project at the Aalto University.
"Aalto University will offer to these projects its finest young researchers and postgraduates, and particularly its savvy in mobile computing and the challenges and possibilities it presents", says Vice President Heikki Mannila of Aalto University.
"Our goal in this collaboration is to be allowed to be a part of Microsoft’s vast research network in the field of computer science, and to have a perseverant support resource for fundamental research on selected focus areas. It is extremely motivating to collaborate on work in these rapidly developing areas of ‘grand challenge’ in basic research, such as information security and the interaction between man and machine", continues Professor Heikki Saikkonen of Aalto University.
Further Information:
Heikki Mannila, Aalto University, Vice President of Academic Affairs
heikki.mannila [at] aaltouniversity [dot] fi, +358 50 511 2913
Max Mickelsson, Microsoft, Government Affairs Lead
maxmick [at] microsoft [dot] com, +358 50 499 9776
Directors of the research projects:
Professor Giulio Jacucci
giulio.jacucci [at] aalto [dot] fi, +35850 3841535
Professor Tuomas Aura
tuomas.aura [at] tkk [dot] fi, +35850 3081702
