Workplace & Commuting

SRI is a "Best Workplace for Commuters"

For its commitment in supporting staff members who choose public or carpool transportation, SRI was once again recognized as a "Best Workplace for Commuters" for 2010 . SRI was also 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 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 Ranks as a Best Place to Work in the San Francisco Bay Area
In 2006, for the third straight year, SRI has ranked as one of the top places to work in the Greater Bay Area, in rankings sponsored by the San Francisco Business Times, East Bay Business Times, and Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal. The award is based on an employee survey on key areas such as communication within the company, work environment, compensation and benefits, promotions, and recognition.

Education

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.

Tech Museum of Innovation Field Trips for Students
SRI is a sponsor of The Tech Museum's Field Trip Opportunities program for Title 1 schools. The program makes it possible for students to visit The Tech for free and to benefit from science, technology, and engineering education. The field trip program focuses on under-served, economically disadvantaged, and under-performing schools in the San Francisco Bay Area. Title 1 schools receive federal funding to improve academic achievement. SRI's sponsorship funds museum admission, viewing of an IMAX film related to the science curriculum, 90-minute hands-on engineering and science labs for 112 students, and teacher materials and coursework support.

Continuing Sponsorship of Student Roboticists

SRI sponsors student robotics teams, which learn to solve real-world engineering challenges and develop teamwork and project management skills. For example, 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. 

An SRI-sponsored team of girls aged 10-13 won the Judges' Award at the FIRST LEGO League robotics competition.  Joe Stetter, director of SRI's Microscience and Engineering Laboratory, advised a Virginia team of eight youths competing in NanoQuest, the First LEGO League 2006 Challenge. SRI has also sponsored local high school teams in recent years, including Hillsdale, Menlo-Atherton, Gunn, Palo Alto, Woodside, Castilleja, and Carlmont, who compete in the annual Silicon Valley Botball Robot Tournament.

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 supporter and 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 is an ongoing sponsor of the Museum's Fellows Awards program, which in 2005 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.

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

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.

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.

Volunteer Opportunities

Bay Area Twins Needed for the Twin Research Registry™ at SRI International

Are you a twin or do you know any twins? You can help researchers advance science!

The Twin Research Registry at SRI International, established in 1995 by SRI's Center for Health Sciences, seeks fraternal and identical twins in the following age groups

for a seasonal flu vaccine study, led by Stanford University and sponsored by the National Institutes of Health.

Twins who qualify will participate in a study which requires three brief visits at Stanford: the first, about one-hour long, to receive the flu shot. And two subsequent 20-minute follow-up visits, which will help determine immune response. The free seasonal flu vaccine twins will receive is the licensed, approved vaccine that will be given to the public this flu season.

The goal of this study is to ultimately help scientists develop more effective vaccines.

All information is kept strictly confidential and compensation will be provided.

By joining the Twin Research Registry at SRI International you will also have the opportunity to participate in other studies and receive periodic newsletters. Call 1-800-SRI-TWIN or e-mail us at sri.twin@sri.com. You can also register at www.sri.com/twin.

Twins and multiples are uniquely valuable to research on the balance between genetics and environment, and their impact on health.

SRI's Policy Division oversees major health and education studies and often needs research subjects from the local area (volunteer and paid). Visit our web pages on a regular basis to learn about current and future opportunities.

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 springtime 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.

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, SRI helped raise almost $20K during their two-and-a-half-hour fundraising effort on December 2, 2008. SRI was the only company with volunteers present that night. SRI has also underwritten programming on KQED 88.5 FM radio and at other NPR affiliate stations.

Health & Human Services

Aquathon

Teams from all over the San Francisco Bay Area, including SRI (see team photo at left ), compete annually in the Corporate Challenge Aquathon, sponsored by abilities united (formerly CAR), an organization that assists infants, children, and adults with developmental disabilities.

The 2009 Aquathon took place on September 12, at San Jose State University's Aquatic Center. This year swimmers and their supporters raised $166,000, which will positively impact the lives of thousands of individuals in the Bay Area, who have disabilities.

Hundreds of infants have gotten a good start in life through early intervention, families received afterschool care and respite for their children, adults are employed in the community with some even living on their own, and thousands of individuals live with less pain and greater mobility through aquatic therapy. Read more about this inspiring intiative on the abilities united web site and learn how you can support this organization and participate in future editions.

In 2005, SRI received a special award for 15 consecutive years of participation in the Aquathon.

Relay for Life for the American Cancer Society

Once again, SRI International sponsored the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life Menlo Park, held April 25-26 at Menlo College. Twenty teams participated, including teams from Morgan Stanley, Menlo College, Sacred Heart School, Menlo Park Police, and the Menlo-Atherton High School Key Club.  The SRI team has raised more than $4,600. 

The Relay helps the American Cancer Society fund programs that provide cancer patients with transportation and logistics assistance, such as Road to Recovery, as well as emotional support such as Reach to Recovery® for women and Man to Man®.

In 2008, a team of 24 SRI staff members and their families and friends supported the Relay For Life, an overnight walk-a-thon event held at Burgess Park in Menlo Park, CA. For the sixth year in a row, SRI was also an event sponsor. The team raised $4,050 for the American Cancer Society. In previous years the SRI team raised $3,850 in 2007, more than $2,000 in 2006 and more than $9,500 in 2005.

SRI Supports Wounded Warrior Project

SRI's Marc Reed with Michael during the Tampa marathon

On March 1, 2009, Marc Reed, a research engineer at SRI St. Petersburg and a serious runner, participated in the Tampa Marathon to raise funds and awareness for the Armed Forces Foundation and the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), as part of the Wheelchairs for Warriors initiative.  The WWP helps severely disabled veterans stay active and participate in sporting events they are no longer able to join on their own. Reed ran the 26-mile race, accompanied by wind and rain along with cheering crowds, while pushing Michael, a disabled U.S. Navy veteran, in a custom-fitted wheelchair purchased with funds donated by SRI and others.

SRI hopes that Reed's efforts to secure the money to purchase this special wheelchair — and for running the race as a team with Michael — will inspire other athletes to pair up with wounded veterans in other sporting events, and allow disabled veterans to live with improved mobility.

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 2008, SRI staff members are continuing to donate coats for those in need.

The Children's Health Council
SRI is a corporate sponsor of the Annual Summer Symphony for the Palo Alto, California-based Children's Health Council. The Children's Health Council is dedicated to helping children and youth attain their full potential in life by providing appropriate mental health, developmental, and special education services.

SRI in 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.

Holiday Giving

Every holiday season, SRI staff members donate to the Second Harvest Food Bank. SRI has also supported the Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula and Peninsula Volunteers, which provides services to senior citizens. Staff help make wishes come true by donating gifts for the Family Giving Tree.

Environment

SRI State College Wins "Waste Watcher" Award

SRI's State College, Pennsylvania facility was recognized in 2008 for its outstanding recycling program by the Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Waste Industries Association, and the Keystone Chapter of the Solid Waste Association of North America. SRI staff members in State College recycle cans, glass, cardboard, and plastic bottles and bags. Paper is shredded and sent to a local recycling center for area farms to spread on their fields, and food scraps are collected for composting.

Planting Trees in Menlo Park

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

SRI Receives Clean Air Awards

The American Lung Association of Santa Clara-San Benito Counties (California) selected SRI as a "Clean Air Hero" for 2001, citing SRI's decades-long commitment to research and technology development to improve air quality. SRI also received a Clean Air ENVY award from the American Lung Association in 1998 for our efforts on "Getting Off Road and On Line".

Civic Activities

SRI Wins Award from Menlo Park Chamber of Commerce

In recognition of SRI's innovations that are part of everyday life, SRI was honored in 2006 with a Golden Acorn Award from the Menlo Park Chamber of Commerce. SRI was the first organization to win in a new category, Innovation and Technology Advancement.  The civic Golden Acorn Awards are given annually to recognize community service and business excellence in the city.