Researchers Gain Free Access to Microsoft Cloud Resources

Scientists in Japan will be gaining free access to cloud computing resources in a joint grant program set up between Microsoft and Japan's National Institute of Informatics. The initiative is part of a project being promoted by the institute to encourage researchers to explore the use of the cloud for supporting data retrieval from new kinds of information systems that require high performance computing.

Microsoft will be donating access to its cloud computing and storage service, Windows Azure, to researchers participating in a project called the "New IT Infrastructure for the Information-Explosion Era." Microsoft staff will provide cloud-oriented expertise and work with grant recipients in the use of common tools, applications, and data collections that can be shared with the broad academic community.

The latest partnership mirrors one announced earlier in 2010 by Microsoft with the National Science Foundation. In that agreement, the company began providing individual researchers and teams of researchers with cloud computing resources by way of an application process managed by the NSF.

"It is essential that future academic research should form strong 'symbiotic style' relationships with other academic areas," said Masao Sakauchi, director general at the institute. "Cloud computing is a powerful tool that allows researchers to collaborate and share computing resources and research results necessary for this type of collaborative research. I appreciate that Microsoft has given us a valuable opportunity to prove this vision."

"Cloud computing can transform how research is conducted, accelerating scientific exploration, discovery and results," said Dan Reed, corporate vice president for technology strategy and policy and director of the eXtreme Computing Group in Microsoft Research. "These grants will also help researchers explore rich and diverse multidisciplinary data sets on a large scale."

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • MathGPT

    MathGPT AI Tutor Now Out of Beta

    Ed tech provider GotIt! Education has announced the general availability of MathGPT, an AI tutor and teaching assistant for foundational math support.

  • person signing a bill at a desk with a faint glow around the document. A tablet and laptop are subtly visible in the background, with soft colors and minimal digital elements

    California Governor Signs AI Content Safeguards into Law

    California Governor Gavin Newsom has officially signed off on a series of landmark artificial intelligence bills, signaling the state’s latest efforts to regulate the burgeoning technology, particularly in response to the misuse of sexually explicit deepfakes. The legislation is aimed at mitigating the risks posed by AI-generated content, as concerns grow over the technology's potential to manipulate images, videos, and voices in ways that could cause significant harm.

  • white desk with an open digital tablet showing AI-related icons like gears and neural networks

    Elon University and AAC&U Release Student Guide to AI

    A new publication from Elon University 's Imagining the Digital Future Center and the American Association of Colleges and Universities offers students key principles for navigating college in the age of artificial intelligence.

  • abstract technology icons connected by lines and dots

    Digital Layers and Human Ties: Navigating the CIO's Dilemma in Higher Education

    As technology permeates every aspect of life on campus, efficiency and convenience may come at the cost of human connection and professional identity.