Microsoft plans to open a research lab in Cambridge, Mass., in July, its sixth research center and its first on the East Coast.

Microsoft Research New England will bring together computer and social scientists to study the computer and online needs of the future. The location will let Microsoft work with New England’s large community of scientists, faculty members and students. Microsoft also expects new companies to be spawned.

“Every time the doors of a new basic-research facility open, new avenues for research, collaboration and innovation also open up,” said Rick Rashid, senior vice president of Microsoft Research. The lab “will create additional opportunities for researchers to pursue their passions in the Cambridge area.”

Focusing on Algorithms

The facility will focus initially on two key areas: core computer science, especially algorithmically oriented areas, and the social sciences, with a particular emphasis on building connections between the two areas. It will also include a small group focused on design.

Algorithms form the operational core of search engines, spam filters, online advertising engines, social networks and many other features of the online world. Social sciences, including economics, psychology and sociology, analyze how and why people value things and study how people interact.

Research in the New England lab will use social sciences to understand what people want in the online world, theoretical computer science to devise algorithms to make that happen, and design to add aesthetics and functionality to the process. The possibilities range from enhanced online social networks to new types of applications such as filter engines and new business models for fraud-resistant monetization of online activities.

Microsoft’s Expanding Research Presence

Microsoft already has labs in Redmond, Wash.; Silicon Valley, Calif.; Cambridge, England; Beijing, China; and Bangalore, India. The newest lab continues Microsoft’s long-standing commitment to investing in basic research at a time when many companies and government…

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