Comments on: Upheaval at MERL: Mitsubishi Electric Breaks Up Famous Computer Science Lab

By: Peter F Baekkelund CHA

Peter F Baekkelund CHA — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 18:14:01 +0000

Merl developed high tech drinking glassware. I am seeking a manufacturer and research organization willing to study my idea proposal under a CDA. Can anyone guide me to a source? Thank you

By: AQUOS

AQUOS — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 20:55:16 +0000

A company is not a university. If the so-called “fundamental” research would help the company in either short or long run.

By: Shuchin Aeron

Shuchin Aeron — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 16:27:23 +0000

Funding fundamental research by big companies is a matter of philanthropy that has been practiced over centuries. Though there is an agreement that it should benefit the company directly, yet in the case of MERL it was that the company was not able to keep up in its product line with the advances followed in the lab. It could have more profitably and successfully created another company out of the labs with total focus on technical and research consulting. Cambridge has lost one of its major fundamental research units.

By: Geoff Arnold at geoffarnold.com writes:

Geoff Arnold at geoffarnold.com writes: — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 15:08:01 +0000

[...] When I was working in Sun Labs in Burlington, we interacted with MERL all the time. One example: we organized joint programs for interns working at the various research labs in the Boston area. Both of our labs were working on software agent technology; theirs was called COLLAGEN. You can look it up on the web, but be warned: most of the links to merl.com seem to be dead. Sic transit… [...]

By: F. A, Corgan

F. A, Corgan — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 12:22:24 +0000

No, just another example of NIH syndrome on the part of upper-level management. And it is a Japanese company, not an American company, so how does that mean the US is losing its role in research?

By: M. W. Mislove

M. W. Mislove — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 09:35:30 +0000

Its astounding that the CEO of a major corporation’s research lab can have such a naive and narrow view of basic research. The drunk and the lamppost comment reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of how new results are found, and of the serendipitous nature of basic research. On the other hand, one could argue they’re just following IBM’s lead, which over the course of the last 17 years has gutted what was then the leading industrial research lab and turned it into a product development facility. This sort of attitude toward basic research within industry is one of the reasons why the US will continue to lose its role as a leader in technology.

By: Conor Stokes at Mess with your Junk writes:

Conor Stokes at Mess with your Junk writes: — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 07:51:47 +0000

[...] One of the places of my past is changing and may soon be no more.I did a paid trainee-ship at MERL… [...]