Blog archive

Twins hold a special place in medical science by uniquely providing insight into how behavior and genetics affect disease, aging, and response to medical treatments. Through twin studies, scientists understand the interplay between genetics and the environment in ways that the study of unrelated people–or even other types of siblings–is unable to do. Because identical…

This composite image of the world, called the “Black Marble,” was taken with the day-night band of NASA’s Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS). The day-night band sensor in the instrument was designed and developed by SRI using the latest extended dynamic range charge-coupled device (CCD) technology that can capture the finest details, even in…

We all have our share of anniversaries to remember, but here’s one that has impacted all of our lives: on December 9, 1968, Douglas Engelbart and his SRI team delivered what has come to be known as the “Mother of All Demos.” Hard to believe, but in one presentation, Dr. Engelbart and his Augmentation Research…

There’s a common perception that people with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) are more likely than the general population to gravitate toward science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. It turns out the perception is true. Our study results, published online in the November 1 issue of Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, confirmed for the first…

Many of today’s high-wage jobs and fastest growing occupations require science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills. There is general agreement that strengthening STEM teaching and learning is key to workforce readiness and growth of the U.S. economy. Tomorrow’s thinkers will need STEM skills to develop innovative solutions to the world’s increasingly complex problems. Yet,…

Today is Election Day—and no matter who wins, our energy problems will continue to be a prominent but unfortunately neglected issue. To date, the political debate has been oversimplified and presented as a battle between the moral imperatives of protecting the environment and the critical need to preserve our economic interests. Too often, our difficult…

When I describe to friends and colleagues what I do for a living, I typically get a response like, “So, you are really no different than a pharmaceutical company.” Exactly. And not at all. SRI International has played a major role in the development of therapeutics for a wide range of diseases over the years…

Innovation is one of those words greatly in danger of overuse and exaggeration. These days, you hear the term mentioned in almost every corner of industry and even in reference to culture, society, and our personal lives. At SRI, we don’t use the word “innovation” lightly. We have a clear and crisp definition for what…

Energy supply is perhaps the largest global problem facing us today, yet the public is largely unaware of the scale of the problem. Meeting the future global demand for energy is a daunting challenge and will affect the lives of billions of people. Therefore, the public must engage in making decisions to determine how we…

We are very excited to publicly announce the Lola project, and the future of Virtual Personal Assistants for banking. This project, which we’ve been working on with BBVA for several years now, is the first application of what we see as the next generation of virtual personal assistant technology beyond Siri.

Imagine a pile of a bright white powder weighing about 120 kg—if you’re an average-sized, healthy adult, that powder represents the total amount of a fuel molecule called ATP that you use every day for routine activity; indeed, for life itself. Recent work in SRI’s Cancer Biology Program indicates that an enzyme that regulates ATP—the cell’s fuel…

In the last 17 years, SRI has earned more than $200 million in gross royalty and equity value from our licensing and venture portfolio. We have started more than 50 ventures with four IPOs—with a total market capitalization that exceeds $29 billion, and with many successful private company exits, most notably, Siri. We are known for being an engine…