Google & Microsoft (Madison: employment, universities, centers)

[Megan1967]

Just call us the silicon prairie! Can you believe both of these big-wigs are coming here?! Wonder what kind of impact they will make on Madison?

[Milwaukee Ronnie]

Originally Posted by Megan1967

Just call us the silicon prairie! Can you believe both of these big-wigs are coming here?! Wonder what kind of impact they will make on Madison?

Google and Microsoft have been locating offices near major universities for some time. Both have offices in Ann Arbor and Boulder, for instance. It makes sense for companies like these to locate R&D operations to those places where the best minds in the field are located: major research universities, such as Wisconsin.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by Megan1967

Just call us the silicon prairie! Can you believe both of these big-wigs are coming here?! Wonder what kind of impact they will make on Madison?

If the experience from other such facilities is any guide, not much. They will draw their manpower primarily from the existing university body; they will draw in very few new people or be a major employment engine or anything. It will create some prestige/bragging rights and that's about it.

[remcycle]

Yep, nothing is about right.

These offices are just research centers which will be staffed mostly by UW CS profs and their grad-students.