Princeton University is one of 17 universities that will participate in a new Facebook initiative aimed at developing innovative technologies.
The agreement, announced in December, enables collaborations between universities and Facebook's Building 8, a research and product development team focused on advances in virtual reality, artificial intelligence, connectivity and other areas of invention.
"The agreement with Facebook represents an opportunity for our researchers to partner with industry to push the boundaries of knowledge and technological capability," said Princeton's Dean for Research Pablo Debenedetti, the Class of 1950 Professor in Engineering and Applied Science and a professor of chemical and biological engineering. "The relationship opens up possibilities for Princeton to work with company researchers in the areas that have the potential to enhance our global connectedness and improve wellbeing.
"This is exactly the type of groundbreaking research that is made possible by innovative, forward-looking collaborations between industry and universities. We are very proud of this agreement and of the research that it will no doubt enable."
The other institutions involved in the initiative are Arizona State University, California Institute of Technology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northeastern University, Rice University, Stanford University, Texas A&M University, University of California-Berkeley, University of California-San Francisco, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Waterloo and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
