The Academic Relations team has partnered with Technology and Operations on a new initiative called Yahoo STAR (Yahoo Servers To Academic Researchers) under which Yahoo is refurbishing and donating decommissioned servers to university researchers. Before Yahoo STAR, these retired servers were simply disposed of, but through this cooperative program they are finding second lives at top universities as enablers of cutting-edge academic research in disciplines of direct relevance to Yahoo. With the delivery of 257 machines to Carnegie Mellon, shipments under Yahoo STAR now total over 1,500 servers valued at well over $600,000 to 31 leading researchers at 23 of the top universities in the country. The machines are enabling research that was previously impossible in areas such as data-intensive computing and data center power management/efficiency, as well as providing unprecedented hands-on education opportunities. Such enhanced capabilities will result in greater collaboration between these top researchers, and Yahoo scientists and engineers, and will greatly enhance Yahoo’s ability to successfully recruit the graduate students who work with the donated computers. The program has been extremely well-received by faculty and students, and has tremendously enhanced Yahoo’s campus presence and visibility.