Microsoft hires Cray scientist
Seattle PI | at | by Mike
Microsoft has hired supercomputing pioneer Burton Smith to bolster the company's development of products for high-performance computing.
Smith, chief scientist at supercomputer maker Cray Inc., will be a technical fellow, said Lou Gellos, a spokesman for Redmond-based Microsoft. His last day at Seattle-based Cray will be Dec. 7.
Hiring Smith gives Microsoft the principal architect of Cray's supercomputer system and the head of a project aimed at developing new supercomputers. Smith's appointment follows the appointment earlier this year of Ray Ozzie, creator of Lotus Notes, as Microsoft's chief technology officer. Chairman Bill Gates this month urged software makers to build more programs for supercomputers.