And Now, a Word From Our Sponsors...

I've just returned from a week in the Bay Area, primarily to visit my "corporate sponsors"; Cisco and Yahoo have both provided research money this year, and I felt I owed them a visit before classes start. I also visited Microsoft Silicon Valley; even though I still haven't figured out how to get research money out of Microsoft, I've "consulted" there from time to time, and recently co-wrote a paper with several people there after my last visit.

The main purpose of the visit was to talk to people and try to come up with new things to work on. Corporate money seems to synchronize with annual budgets. If you want another check next year, you need to convince them that funding you is still worthwhile. (That's not unusual; I understand if I ever get a DoD-based grant, it will be similar.) I should point out that all research money I've gotten from Cisco and Yahoo is given as a gift -- no requirements (and much less in overhead taken by Harvard!). It's just that it's nice to get these gifts annually, like a research anniversary present, and that means maintaining the relationship.

I like to think that getting corporate money is a simple winning proposition. I get access to interesting problems; I get to work with talented people; and I get research money for doing what I would be doing anyway. But perhaps I'm deluding myself? Perhaps I'd be working on other grander problems if my agenda wasn't influenced by the vision of others? In my own personal case, I really doubt it, and it feels like a pure jackpot to me, but it's something every researcher probably has to think about.

I'd certainly advise that people interested in "practical algorithms" and "algorithm engineering" should seek collaborations with (and funding from!) such industrial sources. In my experience, it takes some work. (But then again, so does writing NSF grants.) Usually the funding comes after a successful collaboration, not before, or there has to be a clear champion in the organization who can make the case that your work is related to something going on at the company. Building such relationships takes time, and doesn't happen overnight. But it's very worthwhile.

To provide evidence, I'll spend some upcoming posts discussing problems I've recently collaborated on with people at Cisco, Microsoft, and Yahoo.