Ion Stoica
Assistant Professor of Computer Science, UC Berkeley
Faculty Affiliate Researcher, Intel Research Berkeley

Currently I'm collaborating on two projects with Intel Research Berkeley-PIER [Peer-to-Peer Information Exchange and Retrieval] and BVR [Beacon Vector Routing], a project that's focused on routing in sensor networks. It's always great to have a lab with first-rate researchers close by. This provides more opportunities for collaborations and for interesting work.

One of the main benefits of having the Intel lab near the Berkeley campus is the resources it offers to both students and faculty. For instance, when one of my students was working on a problem related to routing in sensor networks, he was able to spend time at the lab and develop his algorithms on their testbed, and to collaborate with the lab's researchers.

The environment of the Intel lab is extremely collaborative and the physical space is very open, which encourages collaboration. Of course, the ability to publish the results of research done in the lab also makes it very attractive and, in fact, is a necessary condition for collaborating.

We promote the fact that Intel Research Berkeley is close to campus when recruiting faculty and students. For the last two years, on visiting days for potential graduate students, we've held a reception at the lab, to allow recruits to see the space for themselves and observe all of the cool research going on. The Intel lab is a big asset to us.