Robert Kleinberg '97, Cornell assistant professor of computer science, has been selected as a 2008 recipient of a $200,000 Microsoft New Faculty Fellowship grant.

Kleinberg works on computer algorithms -- the strategic plans on which programs are based -- for decision making in situations where all the necessary information may not be available. Applications can range from choosing the best route for an Internet message to setting the optimum price for a product offered on eBay to deciding what movies to recommend to a DVD rental customer. These are the same sorts of decisions human beings make, but computers can make them faster and -- at least theoretically -- can be taught to make the best possible decision every time.

"Although I expect this [research] is more likely to be applied to computer systems," Kleinberg said, "one of the goals is also to enable people to make better decisions, with appropriate help from their software."

He plans to use the Microsoft funding either to bring in a new postdoctoral collaborator or to host an interdisciplinary symposium in his research area. "The most important resource that my research requires is interaction with gifted colleagues," Kleinberg said.

After graduating from Cornell with a major in mathematics, Kleinberg received his Ph.D. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2005 and joined the Cornell faculty in 2006. Along the way he developed network-optimizing algorithms at Akamai, a company that provides a mirroring service for online businesses, and that work now moves some information on the Internet a bit faster.

Microsoft established the New Faculty Fellowship program in 2005 to identify and support promising researchers who "have the potential to make a profound impact in their respective disciplines." Five applicants were selected from more than 100 nominations from universities across the United States and Canada. Kleinberg has also received a National Science Foundation Early Career Grant and an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation fellowship.

This is the second year in a row a Cornell faculty member has received a Microsoft New Faculty Fellowship. Last year Adam Siepel, Cornell assistant professor of biological statistics and computational biology, was among the recipients.