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Nokia Bell Labs Is Moving to Helix in New Brunswick
- as-j 3y agoIt's not immediately clear to me from the article, but this is the city of New Brunswick, NJ, USA, domain makes more sense now. It's not New Brunswick a Canadian province which I first thought of.
- cf100clunk 3y agoYep, me too. I hope there will be a retitle to New Brunswick, NJ.
- Obscurity4340 3y agoI was wondering what the Irvings gang was up to lately
- xattt 3y agoStill the potato-forestry-oil cartel as usual.
- timbit42 3y agoThe oil refinery is up for sale though.
- Obscurity4340 3y agoThey're just so darn relateable, ya know?
- Cyph0n 3y agoWait until you hear where Ontario International Airport (IATA: ONT) is located.
- notatoad 3y agoi think most people know that ontario airport is not in ontario, because the airports that are actually in ontario are better known and not called "ontario airport". just like most people would understand that if you said "london international airport, airport code CXYU" you probably don't mean heathrow.
- Cyph0n 3y agoWell, guess I wasn’t “most people”. Also, I only included the IATA code to show that the code matches the name and isn’t random/unrelated (like CYXU).
- ojbyrne 3y agoIt’s too bad that this New Brunswick isn’t in California, so we could get the full match like Ontario, Ca.
- SpecialistK 3y agoIrreverent story: cast members at Disney parks show a hometown on their name tags. On my first trip to Disneyland, I'm very glad my shyness prevented me from asking the random teenager what part of the province they were from.
- motohagiography 3y agoWas confused as well, and thought what an interesting idea, to do advanced research in he middle of nowhere like that. New Brunswick Canada doesn’t figure in the popular imagination at all other than as the family fief of an industrial fortune, like if the Waltons operated Arkansas as a kingdom. Why not build an Arcadian research campus that far from everywhere? Take some equity in the results to fund it, do some skunkworks projects, keep it out of the press and politics and away from bureaucracy. Sounds ideal.
- disillusioned 3y agoOn the public side of things, this essentially describes the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, which was itself born out of the Hanford Site and its attendant plutonium-specific Manhattan Project-related research needs... took a town of 300 people which ballooned up to 25,000, essentially operating as an Army town in service of the Manhattan Project.
- 15457345234 3y agoIt's a good place to watch the aurora from, apparently!
- gerdesj 3y agoOh do come on! There are loads of towns, cities, hamlets, villages, bergs, burys ... etc that have the same name in many places. It doesn't help putting New on the front to differentiate either. Its not as though we do that here in the UK either (much): Newton Abbot, Newcastle, New Forest, New Market. I drive through a Newtown on the A303 in the Blackdown hills. Oh, perhaps we do. Here in the UK, I believe Whitchurch is the most often seen name for a collection of habitation structures (best I can do at the moment). We very rarely have white churches - so I have no idea what that is all about. Perhaps the Whit- is actually wit: "wise/clever" cf: witten and whist. I should drop this in, given the name: I live very close to Brunswick street in Yeovil, UK (http://www.yeovilhistory.info/brunswick-street.htm http://www.yeovilhistory.info/brunswick-street.htm) The first Brunswick was probably in Germany. -wick and similar are a common place suffix in English, German and Dutch (ie the Germanic languages) for a farm or market place. Ipswitch, for example, was once known as gipeswic. Norwich is a northern wick (cf Norvik) Probably best to read the entire article.
- gnabgib 3y agoThere are only three New Brunswicks in the world, one Canadian Province (American: state, European: Country) - the default Wiki match for "New Brunswick"[0], and two American towns (56k New Jersey, and an unrecorded number in Indiana). There are many places called Brunswick[1]. Brunswick is indeed from Germany, in honour of George III established in 1784[2]. Yes, your town of forked river/Gifle has a street name origin for the same reason, but it wasn't complete until at least 60 years later, and was originally named New France Street[3]. Bit of a miss on Whitchurch, ringing in with only 14[4] uses in the world, while Newtown[5] can be found 80 in places, excluding variants like Sturminster just down the road from you[6]. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Brunswick https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Brunswick [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brunswick https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brunswick [2]: https://natural-resources.canada.ca/earth-sciences/geography/origins-canadas-geographical-names/origin-names-canada-and-its-provinces-and-territories/9224 https://natural-resources.canada.ca/earth-sciences/geography... [3]: http://www.yeovilhistory.info/brunswick-street.htm http://www.yeovilhistory.info/brunswick-street.htm [4]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitchurch https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitchurch [5]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newtown https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newtown [6]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturminster_Newton https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturminster_Newton
- ChrisArchitect 3y agoYep same. Took me a while reading this to realize this is not New Brunswick, the province in Canada.... Had me scratching head (of course it isn't but confused if they were leaving new jersey state or what). A "..., NJ" couldn't have killed them anywhere?
- lotsofpulp 3y agoI love when local news tv station websites just say “KXYZ” all over the header and footer and whatnot, and never clearly mention which city and state they are in. And every single one does this from what I have seen. I have to search the KXYZ to find out which city it is.
- anjel 3y agoSame!
- binary132 3y agoIf they don’t specify the country or state then obviously it should be assumed to have been written by Americans ;)
- CSMastermind 3y agoThe relevant portion of the article: > The move also means that Nokia Bell Labs will be leaving its iconic campus in Murray Hill, one that began as the Bell Telephone Laboratories in 1925 — and one where researchers are credited with the development of the transistor, among other major innovations. Ten Nobel Prizes have been awarded for work completed there. For those looking to learn more about Bell Labs the typical book recommendation is The Idea Factory: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/303275/the-idea-factory-by-jon-gertner/ https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/303275/the-idea-fac...
- SOLAR_FIELDS 3y agoI guess one upside is that the building is probably newer
- troelsSteegin 3y agoA shout out for the former Bell Labs in Holmdel, now perhaps better known as a location for "Severance". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_Labs_Holmdel_Complex https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_Labs_Holmdel_Complex
- Dowwie 3y agothat's good news for Rutgers
- joezydeco 3y agoThe demolition of the Naperville building is halfway done. Pour one out for ihnp4.
- acjohnson55 3y agoI grew up about 10 mins from that building. It was epic when it was built, but pretty much underutilized from day 1, IIRC. I now live about 10 mins from this new building. I hope it fares better! The site has been a hole in the ground for several years now, and I've been wondering what would get built and who would occupy it.
- joezydeco 3y agoThis is a fun little tidbit I found about the Naperville site: "The Indian Hill Lab at Naperville is built on the site of an ancient Potawatomi signaling hill. On the prominence where Indians once sent up smoke signals, Bell Labs' scientists are building electronic equipment which has and will revolutionize telephone service. It is doubtful that Indian Hill developments will produce anything of such generalized use as the transistor."
- stn8188 3y agoWhile this seems a little sad given the history at Murray Hill - and it's an absolutely incredible building to visit - hopefully this is going to bring benefit to Rutgers and their engineering department as well as the technology sector in New Jersey in general. As a Rutgers ECE grad myself, it feels like there's a special hub of exciting engineering jobs here, so I'm glad that if Bell Labs is making a move, they aren't leaving the region (unless the Central Jersey [0] argument is considered). On another note, if anyone is interested in the amazing history of Bell, I highly recommend the book "The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation" by Jon Gertner. [0] https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/local/2019/12/10/nj-gov-phil-murphy-declares-central-jersey-exists-he-didnt-need-to/4385140002/ https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/local/2019/12/10/...
- syntaxing 3y agoI once interviewed with Nokia Bell labs for the robotics team and got pretty close to the offer stage. But I ended up withdrawing from the process since the interview process was ridiculously tedious. I went to an onsite with a couple of whiteboarding sessions (they made me program on the computer for one of them), I had to talk to the CEO (or president, I forget), and it literally took me 9-5 for it but felt worth it cause the hiring manager was impressed. Afterwards, they wanted me to do another remote coding interview with a fellow researcher as a follow up, and after that another interview with some senior researcher for another follow up. When they asked me to set up a time for the senior researcher, I just couldn’t do it anymore. I really hope things has changed since then.
- atleastoptimal 3y agoHas Nokia Bell labs since the acquisition produced anything even within an order of magnitude as significant or impactful as Bell labs did during its heyday? What is it with incumbent old companies far past their prime paradoxically having much more stringent high standards for hiring? Is it a coping mechanism to believe that they are still at the caliber they once were by treating getting a job at their company like some necessarily arduous odyssey?
- pengaru 3y ago> What is it with incumbent old companies far past their prime paradoxically having much more stringent high standards for hiring? Is it a coping mechanism to believe that they are still at the caliber they once were by treating getting a job at their company like some necessarily arduous odyssey? I don't think it's some grand mystery; they're past their prime, not in a phase of aggressive growth. Layoffs at these places are far more likely than new hires. If a new hire is made, it's exceptional, and naturally involves a lot of deliberation/friction.
- jpmattia 3y agoLeaving Murray Hill? Holy moly, I'm kinda dying to know what motivated that. Full Disclosure: Bell Labs alum from the late 90s.
- lotsofpulp 3y agoI assume downsizing to reduce expenses. The current property is huge: https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZjVa4Azzd47qemg86?g_st=ic https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZjVa4Azzd47qemg86?g_st=ic
- bill-wetzel 3y agoThis is a really stupid idea. Murray Hill is a sprawling campus in a suburban area with plenty of on-site parking and a stone's throw away from I-78, a major interstate highway. New Brunswick is a densely-developed city, lots of traffic, and parking is a hassle with metered on-street parking and for-fee parking garages. The point of proximity to Rutgers University is a weak argument because Murray Hill is less than 20 miles from New Brunswick, not at all onerous for university linkage and a lot less than the distance from MIT to many of the high-tech businesses on 128 and 494 around Boston.
- afavour 3y agoPersonally I would far prefer the dense city to the suburban area requiring parking.
- lotsofpulp 3y ago> The point of proximity to Rutgers University is a weak argument because Murray Hill is less than 20 miles from New Brunswick, The time to travel and the standard deviation is relevant, not the 20 miles. In northern New Jersey, 20 miles could be 1 hour or 20min. Looking at Google Maps driving time at Sunday 3:23AM, it takes 30min from Rutgers NB to Nokia in New Providence, NJ. Which I am sure is much longer and volatile during times of congestion.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- OldGuyInTheClub 3y agoCrap. I loved that campus.
- r_klancer 3y agoWell the Bell Labs Holmdel complex is often used as an example of the death and creative reuse of the suburban office park, and I guess this is the flip side. In the long run I guess splendid isolation turned out to be no match for being in a walkable city with a research university, research hospitals, major pharma headquarters (J&J) right in town, and a train station across the street that goes right to New York, EWR, and Princeton. Still, I'm suffering a bit of vertigo that Bell Labs (or what's left of it) is moving to where the old Rutgers Bookstore and Albany St parking garage used to be (!) and that suddenly the gritty, grungy New Brunswick I used to bum around 20 years ago looks more like Kendall Square, where I work now. (And which also didn't used to look like it does now, I suppose.) (Disclaimer: this is a super local story for me; my dad worked at Bell Labs in Holmdel, and I'm a third generation Rutgers grad whose mom grew up walking into downtown New Brunswick, and I probably spent way too much of my early 20s at the Starbucks on George Street and the Melody Bar, both RIP.)
- euroderf 3y agoI worked in N Jersey in the late 70s and I had coworkers who'd worked for Bell. They said that most tech people in Jersey had been thru Bell at one time or another. Does this match your experience of the area ?
- stn8188 3y agoIt really blew my mind how much Bell Labs influenced the area. I had my internship at Ericsson in Piscataway (formerly Telcordia, formerly part of Bell). I later worked for a defense contractor that came out of the Bell/Lucent/Alcatel-Lucent line. It feels like everyone I crossed paths with knew everyone else, and that they all had roots in some part of the Bell System.
- agapon 3y agoHoes Lane!
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- PeterStuer 3y agoClarification for EU readers: This is not about Nokia Bell Labs Antwerp.
- SSLy 3y agoworkaround for the xenophobic site setup: https://web.archive.org/web/20231209231804/https://www.roi-nj.com/2023/12/08/real_estate/nokia-bell-labs-is-moving-to-helix-in-new-brunswick/ https://web.archive.org/web/20231209231804/https://www.roi-n... @dang: please swap, the site is blocking EU.
- epgui 3y agoI briefly got super excited because I thought this was about the Province of New Brunswick, in Canada... :( Still cool I suppose! :)