More than just a search engine, Google also funds research projects at major universities and research organizations.
Just recently, the billion dollar company announced its first-ever round of Google Focused Research Awards for researchers working in key areas that relate to Google's business operations.
Nearly $6 million in awards has been allocated to research projects in the following four areas: machine learning; the use of mobile phones as data collection devices for public health and environment monitoring; energy efficiency in computing; and privacy.
The grants are for 2-3 years of research, are unrestricted, and also provide recipients with free access to Google tools, technology, and expertise.
Amongst the winning recipients were 10 universities include Rutgers University, Princeton University, Stanford University, and Cambridge University.
Such grant funding is the first of its kind from a technology firm as big as Google.
For more details, visit:
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/announcing-googles-focused-research.html