Microsoft names new managing director of research

Microsoft has named a new managing director for its Research division.

The company said that US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program director Dr. Peter Lee would be taking over as managing director of the Microsoft Research Redmond operation beginning in the Spring of 2010.

Formerly a professor at Carnegie Melon University, Lee had previously worked as director of DARPA's Transformational Convergence Technology Office, a project focused on areas such as crowdsourcing, machine intelligence and biosynthesis.

Current Microsoft Research Redmond director Rico Malvar will continue to serve in the roll before moving into the chief scientist role when Lee takes over the managing director position.

"While Microsoft Research’s revolutionary advances affect just about every desktop, enterprise and mobile system in the world, what I find most exciting is Microsoft Research's ability to influence and inspire countless numbers of researchers, students and technology leaders," said Lee.

"This unique combination of world-class research, impact on billions of systems and influential thought leadership is simply exhilarating."

Lee takes over the research role in a time of transition for Microsoft. The company is currently planning to launch a pair of new platforms in the form of its Windows Phone 7 smartphone operating system and the Azure cloud computing platform.