SRI International expands staff to 9, expects 8-10 more

There is a reason SRI International is growing in Ann Arbor. Actually there are a lot of reasons, and that’s a big part of why the newly established research institute is hiring. “Ann Arbor has a lot of talent,” says Kenneth Augustyn, director of the Ann Arbor office of SRI International. “A lot of it is in little companies and some of it is in bigger companies.”SRI started off as an acronym for Stanford Research Institute in 1946 before becoming independent of the prestigious university in 1970. The University of Michigan had a similar entity at the same time that also eventually went independent before becoming a part of General Dynamics. Five people left General Dynamics to start up a similar research institute under the SRI International brand in January of 2008. That group has since established itself and grown to nine people in the 3,444 square feet it is leasing on Ann Arbor’s northeast side. SRI International’s Ann Arbor office is expanding into another 2,682 feet across the hall so it can hire even more people. Augustyn expects the office will add another 3-4 people this year and 5-6 more next year.SRI is based in Menlo Park, California. Its Ann Arbor office is part of the institute’s Engineering & Systems Division that conducts research for applications that impact everything from solar panels to radar. Future expansion plans for the office are expected to include xperimental laboratory and test facilities.Source: Kenneth Augustyn, director of the Ann Arbor of SRI InternationalWriter: Jon Zemke