Peter Lee, Head of Microsoft Research, to Speak at 12th Annual Future in Review Conference

Global Thought Leaders Converge to Work on Solving Some of the World’s Greatest Challenges in Real-Time

Peter Lee, Corporate Vice President and Head of Microsoft Research, will be a featured speaker at the 12th annual SNS Future in Review (FiRe) technology conference, May 21-23, 2014, discussing “The Next-Generation Internet Assistant” with host Ed Butler, Senior Presenter for the BBC. Lee’s team has been involved in engineering the just-announced Cortana, Microsoft’s personal digital assistant for Windows Phone 8.1, the next major update for its mobile operating system.

In his role at Microsoft Research, Lee oversees operations comprising more than 1,100 scientists and engineers across 13 labs worldwide. Under his leadership, the organization conducts both basic and applied research across disciplines including algorithms and theory, human-computer interaction, machine learning, multimedia and graphics, search, security, social computing, and systems, architecture, mobility, and networking. Microsoft Research collaborates with the world’s foremost researchers in academia, industry, and government on initiatives to advance the state of the art across the breadth of computing.

Lee’s prior position was at DARPA, where he founded and directed a major technology office that supported research in computing and related areas in the social and physical sciences. One highlight of his work was the DARPA Network Challenge, which mobilized millions of people worldwide in a hunt for red weather balloons — a unique experiment in social media that fundamentally altered the thinking throughout the Department of Defense on the power of social networks.

“We are delighted to have Peter Lee with us as a keynote interview at FiRe. As we watch the New Microsoft emerge rather quickly under CEO Satya Nadella, it will be people like Peter who provide the ideas and technology to make it happen. This is an exciting time for those watching Microsoft closely, and learning their future research plans should be a priority for everyone interested in technology,” said Mark Anderson, FiRe Chair and CEO of the Strategic News Service.

Future in Review is a gathering of world-class thought leaders, convened each year with the goal of providing the most accurate look forward in technology. FiRe is a world leader in exploring how technology drives the world economy, and in using technology to solve major social challenges. These goals have been consistently achieved through FiRe’s collaboration across technology-driven industries and through active support from the global FiRe community. Now in its 12th year, FiRe 2014 will take place May 20-23 at the Montage in Laguna Beach, California.

To register for FiRe 2014, and to see bios of speakers and other participants, go to www.futureinreview.com.