Google announces its own Focused Research Awards

Google has announced that they are introducing the focused research awards. The awards will be are for two to three years, and the recipients will have the advantage of access to Google tools, technologies and expertise.

The awards announced through Google Facebook page and corssposted with google research blog, has been initially awarded to 12 projects by 31 Professors in 10 Universities spread all over the globe.

To quote Google Research Blog:

Today, we’re announcing the first-ever round of Google Focused Research Awards — funding research in areas of study that are of key interest to Google as well as the research community. These awards, totaling $5.7 million, cover four areas: machine learning, the use of mobile phones as data collection devices for public health and environment monitoring, energy efficiency in computing, and privacy. These are all areas in which Google is already deeply invested, and yet there is a long way to go. We’re excited to see what these projects contribute to the body of research in these important areas.