SRI is One of "Silicon Valley's 40 Best Places to Work"

In its November 2006 edition, San Jose Magazine ranks SRI as one of the Valley's 40 best places to work in 2006. In selecting SRI, the magazine cited SRI's employee benefits, including tax-free transit assistance, its staff rewards programs, emergency backup childcare program, employee art exhibitions, and our involvement with local schools and our local communities.  Interested in working at SRI? Check out our career opportunities.

SRI is a "Best Workplace for Commuters"

For its commitment in supporting staff members who choose public or carpool transportation, SRI was selected as a Bronze Winner in the 2006 Race to Excellence, part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Best Workplaces for Commuters(SM) program. SRI subsidizes staff's use of public transportation and has a carpool matching service. SRI also qualified in 2003, 2004 and 2005.

SRI Hosts Cafe Scientifique -- A Monthly Science Forum Open to the Public

SRI is host to Café Scientifique Silicon Valley, an informal gathering that brings cutting-edge and topical science to members of the community. All meetings are free and open to the public. Events are held in SRI's International Building at 333 Ravenswood Ave., Menlo Park, on the second Tuesday of most months (get driving directions).  For more information on Café Scientifique Silicon Valley activities and to sign up for email reminders of upcoming events, go to www.cafescisv.org.

Community Teaming Day

SRI staff members volunteer for community programs and activities such as YES Reading, the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition, Acterra: Action for a Sustainable Earth, and Stanford Blood Center. At an annual SRI event, staff at large learn about volunteer opportunities from their co-workers and leaders of community organizations. At the event, staff members donate nonperishable food to the Second Harvest Food Bank, clothing, videotapes, small household items, etc. to Pick of the Litter (an organization whose goal is to save the lives of unwanted, abandoned animals) and books to the Foundation & Friends of the Santa Clara City Library.

Continuing Sponsorship of Student Roboticists

SRI is an ongoing sponsor of the Aragon High School Robotics Team in its bid to compete in the U.S. FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) robotics competition. In 2005, ART placed third in the semifinals of the Silicon Valley regional FIRST competition.

In 2005, an SRI-sponsored team of girls aged 10-13 won the Judges' Award at the FIRST LEGO League robotics competition. The team learns to solve real-world engineering challenges, and develops teamwork and project management skills. Joe Stetter, director of SRI's MicroSystems Innovation Center, gave generously of his time to advise a Virginia team of eight youths competing in NanoQuest, the First LEGO League 2006 Challenge. 

Hundreds of U.S. students also compete in the annual Silicon Valley Botball Robot Tournament. SRI has sponsored several local high school teams in recent years, including Hillsdale, Menlo-Atherton, Gunn, Palo Alto, Woodside, Castilleja, and Carlmont.

Computers Donated to Children in Need

In October 2007, SRI donated two computers and printer equipment to an after-school program for elementary school children in Fremont, California that had been burglarized. The replacement equipment allowed the children to continue their class projects and online learning courses just one week after the crime took place.

SRI-State College Pennsylvania Helps Raise Funds for Cancer Research

About 40 staff members from SRI's State College, Pennsylvania office, along with their families and friends, participated in the Coaches vs. Cancer 5K Run/Walk in April 2007 to raise funds for local families affected by cancer and for national research and prevention efforts.

Aquathon

Teams from all over the San Francisco Bay Area, including SRI (see team photo at right), compete annually in the Corporate Challenge Aquathon, sponsored by the Community Association for Rehabilitation (CAR), an organization that assists infants, children and adults with developmental disabilities. In 2005, SRI received a special award for 15 consecutive years of participation in the Aquathon.

Planting Trees in Menlo Park

SRI supports Trees for Menlo, a nonprofit corporation dedicated to planting trees in the city of Menlo Park, California.

Connecting with Local Teachers

SRI contributes to local education through a partnership with Industry Initiatives for Science and Math Education (IISME). The goal is to provide teachers with hands-on, practical experiences to broaden their perspectives, while SRI gains valuable assistance from a knowledgeable, seasoned educator.

Aiding Emergency Services

• Vehicle Donation to City of East Palo Alto

  SRI had an unused truck, and the City of East Palo Alto's Police Department needed an emergency services vehicle. After some volunteer elbow grease and two small federal grants, the truck (see photo at right) was converted into a mobile command post. The City's shiny "new" truck contains emergency supplies, radio communications, surveillance capability, and emergency lighting.
  
  
• SRI Supports Hurricane Katrina Rescue and Relief Operations
  SRI Senior Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) Specialist Mariano Caunday participated in Hurricane Katrina rescue, relief, and cleanup efforts as a member of the California Task Force 3, National Urban Search and Rescue (CATF-3 US&R) team. On August 31, 2005, Caunday was deployed with CATF-3 to aid in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Other SRI staff members volunteered in hurricane relief efforts and making donations of goods; SRI made a donation to the American Red Cross and matched SRI staff contributions.

Stanford University Blood Drives

Acknowledging the great demand for blood donations and the short supply of donations, SRI encourages staff to donate blood to Stanford Blood Drives.  Blood drives are held every two months and about 30-40 staff contribute each time.

Support for Public Broadcasting

In support of KQED public broadcasting in the San Francisco Bay Area, in 2006 several SRI staff members and their families spent an evening answering incoming pledge calls. SRI has also underwritten programming on KQED 88.5 FM radio and at other NPR affiliate stations.

Research Experience for Undergraduates

Outstanding undergraduate students join SRI’s Molecular Physics Laboratory each summer through the Research Experiences for Undergraduates program of the National Science Foundation. The Lab has hosted students for 15 years. Students come from physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology, and engineering programs from schools across the country.

SRI Supports the Computer History Museum

SRI is a corporate member of the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California and has donated several artifacts to the Museum, including Shakey the robot, a prototype of an early computer mouse, and a one-of-a-kind all-magnetic logic computer. SRI was a Patron Sponsor of the Museum's 2005 Fellow Awards Dinner and Ceremony, which honored SRI alumnus Doug Engelbart, inventor of the computer mouse and other foundations of personal computing. In 2006, SRI celebrated its 60th anniversary with a special event at the Museum. In 2007, SRI sponsored a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the first three-network connection, in which SRI played a major role. Review the Museum’s calendar of events, which features lectures and special events on the past, present and future of the computing world.

Photo: Shakey the Robot is visited by an SRI Centibot at the Computer History Museum.

One Warm Coat

SRI participates in One Warm Coat, a national effort to provide any person in need with a warm coat, free of charge. In 2006, SRI staff members donated more than 100 coats.

Research Subjects Needed

SRI's Policy Division oversees major health and education studies and often needs research subjects from the local area (volunteer and paid). We offer the following volunteer opportunities in our Center for Health Sciences: