Microsoft Appoints First Chief Scientific Officer, Unifies Research Groups

Microsoft is today announcing some big changes for its research group. The move comes after its previous head of research and AI, Harry Shum, announced his departure back in November of last year.

Shum left Microsoft last month. Redmond is now changing things up within its research wing, appointing Peter Lee as the head of Microsoft Research going forward.

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Lee becoming the head of Microsoft Research is part of a much bigger change within Microsoft, reports CNBC. The software maker is also appointing Eric Horvitz as its first chief scientific officer. Horvitz has been working at Microsoft for 16 years as a principal researcher, most recently working as a director at Microsoft’s Research Labs.

“I am excited to share that I have accepted a new role as Microsoft’s Chief Scientific Officer. The focus of the chief scientist position is to provide cross-company leadership on advances and trends related to scientific matters and on important issues and opportunities rising at the intersection of science, technology, and society,” Horvitz wrote in a LinkedIn post, announcing his new position at the company.

Lee, who was previously the CVP for Microsoft Healthcare, will continue leading the department, along with Research. As part of his new role, Lee is expected to better integrate health projects with research.