Richard Farris Rashid served as a VP at Microsoft for many years. He oversaw Microsoft Research's worldwide operations until 2012. Previously, he was the director of Microsoft Research. He joined Microsoft Research in 1991, and was promoted to vice president in 1994. In 2000, he became senior vice president. He has authored a number of patents in areas such as data compression, networking, and operating systems, and was a major developer of Microsoft's interactive TV system.
Rashid graduated from Stanford University in 1974 with degrees in mathematics and comparative literature. He then received a Master of Science and a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Rochester, finishing in 1980. While at Rochester, he and Gene Ball wrote what is probably one of the earliest networked multiplayer computer games, Alto Trek, for Xerox Alto computers.
In 1979, he became a professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University. While a faculty member, he performed research and published numerous papers and articles on topics such as networking, operating systems, artificial intelligence, and programming languages for distributed computing applications. His most notable work was on the Mach kernel.
Wikipedia
Microsoft researcher talks tools, telescope, and iPhone http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10077953-56.html in CNET (29 October 2008)
