The researchers at the joint INRIA-Microsoft Research Centre

His main centers of interest are the design and semantics of programming languages, concurrent theories and their application to security and the methods and tools used in the formal verification of computer programs. Recently, he has worked on the formal verification of the famous 4-color theorem in cooperation with Benjamin Werner, research engineer at INRIA.

His centers of interest are concurrent programming, distributed systems and security. His recent projects focus on the secure implementation of communications abstractions. These projects cover access control for mobile codes, regulations applying to authorizations, private authentication and the checking of cryptography protocols for secure access to internet and web services. Cédric Fournet joined Microsoft Research Cambridge in 1998.

He is a world famous specialist in distributed algorithms. He is also well known as the creator of LaTeX, which is a page layout system used by scientists in a number of fields (information technology, mathematics, physics, etc.) to produce documents containing numerous mathematical formulae. Leslie Lamport joined Microsoft Research in 2001 after working as a research engineer for Digital Equipment since 1985. Leslie Lamport is a doctor honoris causa of Rennes University.

His fields of interest cover programming language design for distributed programming, and in particular the JOCAML language and process calculations for parallel calculations. James Leifer has worked as a research engineer at INRIA since 2001 and completed a PhD at the University of Cambridge (UK) under the tutorship of Robin Milner between 1995 and 2001.

His centers of interest focus on formal mathematics, the theory of types, the theory of demonstration and applications to programme certification.

He contributed to the CAML (garbage collector) programming language.

Stephan Merz is a research engineer at the Nancy INRIA entity (LORIA), working for the QSL project. His centers of interest are the quality and dependability of software and systems, and in particular the logic and formal methods used to develop systems, specifications and verification processes.  He is also the LORIA delegate for international relations.

Convinced that human beings are a critical factor in the development of information technology, she is working on the fit between men and machines and the analysis of specific usages. Her group is working on the future generations of interfaces. Her research focuses on the interaction paradigms, communication mediators, interactive systems engineering and researjoint INRIA-Microsoft Research Centre>

Research Director at the INRIA  Jean-Jacques Lévy was recruited as a young research engineer and obtained a state Doctorate in 1978. He has also worked as a lecturer at the "Polytechnique" since 1992. He has worked on:
operational semantics and the denotation of programming languages, strategies for reduction in lambda-calculations and re-writing systems, CAD of integrated circuits and the semantics of concurrence with applications for distribution and mobility.
He also worked for Xerox PARC in 1984 and for Digital Equipment Corporation in 1988-1989.

Rick Rashid is in charge of the coordination and the influence of the various worldwide Microsoft Research laboratories.
Richard (Rick) F. Rashid was previously in charge of research into operating systems, networks and multiprocessors. In this function, he managed works on technologies including Microsoft Interactive TV and applied for a number of patents in this field. In addition to his duties as the Director of Microsoft Research, he also actively contributed to the Digital Media Division and managed the very first e-business entity.
Rick Rashid was promoted to Vice President of Microsoft Research in 1994, then Senior Vice President in 2000.
Before joining Microsoft Research in 1991, Rick Rashid was a lecturer at Carnegie Mellon University. He supervised the design and implementation of different projects and published several articles on systems, network protocols, programming languages, communications, security and distributed computing.
Rick Rashid became a member of the “National Academy of Engineering” in 2003 in recognition of his work on operating systems and his innovations in industrial research.

Andrew Herbert is a distinguished engineer and managing director of Microsoft Research in Cambridge, England. Initially joining Microsoft Research in 2001, as an assistant director, in March 2003 he succeeded the founding director, Roger Needham.
Andrew Herbert’s research interests include networks, operating systems, programming languages and distributed information sharing.
Before joining Microsoft Research in 2001, he was director of Advanced Technology at Citrix Systems Inc, where he was instrumental in steering the company toward internet thin-client technologies and initiating development of products for web-based application deployment and for the emerging application service provider market.

Michel Cosnard was born in 1952 and obtained a diploma in applied mathematics and information technology engineering from the ENSIMAG, followed by a master's degree in Applied Mathematics from Cornell University (USA) and a doctorate in information technology from Grenoble University. He joined the CNRS as a research engineer in 1979 and in 1987 was appointed professor in information technology at the Lyon Laboratory for Information Technology Parallelism, that he managed until 1997. Between September 1997 and December 2000, he managed the INRIA research unit in Lorraine and the Lorraine Laboratory for Information Technology and Application Research". Since June 2001, he has been the director of the INRIA research unit at Sophia Antipolis and has worked as a lecturer at the "Ecole Polytechnique" associated with the University of Nice - Sophia Antipolis. From 2001 to 2003, he was director of the initiative for the "Globalization of information technology resources and data (GRID)" sponsored by the Ministry of Research. From 2003 to 2004, he was a director of GEIE ERCIM. From 2004 to 2006, he chaired the Sophia Antipolis - Nice pole for education and research and contributed to the creation of the "Secure Communications Solutions" center of excellence.
Michel Cosnard is a world famous specialist in algorithms, in particular in the field of the design and analysis of parallel algorithms and grid calculations.

Since Eric Boustouller joined Microsoft France in 2002, he has occupied the positions of Deputy General Manager, in charge of all major account activities for the French subsidiary (major private accounts, public sector and local authorities) and President since February 2005.
A firm believer in the potential available in France for software, research, education and mathematical skills, Eric Boustouller strongly defends the French software industry and supports the development of innovative organizations and enterprises in France.