Intel to open lab on 45th Street; hopes to foster collaboration

By Rob Harrill
News & Information

Intel Corp. is establishing a research laboratory adjacent to the UW campus as part of a plan to foster collaboration between Intel scientists and university researchers exploring the next stage of computing devices, officials announced recently.

An Intel lab will occupy this building on Northeast 45th Street starting in August.

The new lab, expected to open sometime in August, will provide facilities for 25 to 30 Intel scientists, university faculty and students, and visiting researchers. The intent is to foster a free flow of information between the academic arena and the largest maker of computer chips in the world, officials said at a reception in Kane Hall to announce the move.

“We are very pleased that Intel is recognizing that universities, as the idea generators, are the place to be,” said Gaetano Borriello, a professor in the UW’s Department of Computer Science & Engineering who is taking a two-year partial leave of absence to direct the new lab. “Hopefully, this will be a national model that will be replicated elsewhere.”

The main focus of the lab lies in new technologies and usage models for ubiquitous computing environments. Ubiquitous or “invisible” computing seeks to integrate computing devices into normal life in seamless, natural ways and network them together so they can “talk” to one another and cooperate in managing tasks. Potential applications range from “smart houses” that automatically adjust temperature and lighting and restock the refrigerator to laboratories where biologists are able to work while information and sensing systems keep tabs on their activities and experiments and make them available - with results - to other researchers.

“The era of ubiquitous computing is really upon us,” said David Tennenhouse, Intel’s vice president and director of research. “We feel strongly that this is an area that we need to explore.”

Fred Morris, Gov. Gary Locke’s science and technology adviser, praised the arrangement as a key toward economic prosperity.

“Technology is really the foundation of our future, but it’s a very competitive environment,” he said. “We have to be able to act aggressively and innovatively to compete and remain a leader.”

As such, the new lab is being built to be as flexible as possible, according to Ken Smith, Intel lab program manager who is overseeing the setup of the local facility. The design includes a raised floor composed of removable squares, allowing researchers to completely rewire any area of the lab to fit the needs of the moment.

“Since this is cutting-edge research, it’s hard to predict exactly what we’ll be doing four or five years from now,” Smith said. “So we’re making it as flexible as we possibly can to accommodate whatever direction the research takes us.”

The lab will be located on the top floor of the new building at the corner of Northeast 45th St. and 11th Ave. Northeast.