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Sun Labs Previews Future Of Network Computing

The top minds at Sun Microsystems Inc presented a rare display of innovations from supercomputing, sensor technology and next-generation storage to security, speech recognition and advanced search during Sun Microsystems Laboratories (Sun Labs) Open House, hosted by the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif.

The event featured talks by 10 of Sun's leading research scientists and more than 40 technology demonstrations for customers, partners, media and analysts. It provided attendees with the chance to learn more about new, innovative technologies developed at Sun Labs and by members of Advanced Development teams from across the company.

Established in 1991, Sun Labs' charter is to pioneer advanced technologies that solve difficult problems for customers and transfer them to Sun's core product units. Today, the research organization is one of the company's most prized assets as it continues to break barriers and develop new technologies in computing, silicon design, software and networks for business and entertainment applications. Sun Labs' researchers have contributed to more than 12 percent of Sun's patents and this R&D work has generated more than $2 billion in revenue from projects that have transferred to product units.

"Sun Labs has played a major role in many landmark innovations in technology and product improvements, including Java technology, SPARC and Solaris OS," said Glenn Edens, senior vice president and director of Sun Labs. "We felt it was time to let people see and meet some of the brilliant people and projects inside Sun Labs."

One of the highlights of the Open House was Sun's High Productivity Computing (HPCS) project focused on developing the architecture for next-generation supercomputers. Partially funded by a $50 million award from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the U.S. Department of Defense, the HPCS project has already yielded a breakthrough in silicon design with the potential to move data at 60 to 100 times as fast as current top speeds.

Some of the other featured projects showcased during the Open House included:

Since taking the helm last fall, Edens has accelerated Sun Labs' focus on research that leads to new product opportunities for Sun, including customer pilot projects to test new technologies and approaches. One important new initiative is the creation of "micro-business units," which address new market opportunities, and focus projects which generate small, but significant amounts of revenue for the company.

"Smart innovation involves research projects that revolutionize technology and drive revenue for Sun," Edens said. "With the quality of Sun Labs' talent, those are achievable objectives."

With an extensive background as a researcher, entrepreneur, corporate strategist and consultant in telecommunications, entertainment and computer technology design, Glenn Edens manages research and development at all three Sun Labs locations in: Mountain View; Burlington, Mass.; and Grenoble, France.

In 1979, Glenn co-founded Grid Systems Corp, the company that developed the first laptop computer. He also founded WaveFrame Corp, which developed the first all-digital audio workstations for the motion picture, television and recording industries. From 1992-1998, Glenn was at Interval Research Corp in Palo Alto, Calif., managing research and the transfer of research results into external product companies. He has also held positions at Hewlett-Packard, NBI, Apple Computer, National Semiconductor and Xerox Corp.

About Sun Microsystems Inc

Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision -- "The Network Is The Computer" -- has propelled Sun Microsystems Inc to its position as a provider of industrial-strength hardware, software and services that make the Net work. Sun can be found in more than 100 countries and on the World Wide Web at http://sun.com/.