Microsoft said Tuesday that it has partnered with Intel Corporation to fund two new research centers focused on parallel computing. The two companies said they will fund a research centers at the Unvirsity of California, Berkeley, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Microsoft and Intel said they would commit a combined $20M to the two centers over the next five years. The companies said that the centers will focus on advanced parallel programming applications, architecture, and operating systems software. The parallel computing center at UIUC will also received $8M from UIUC, and UC Berkeley has applied for $7M in funding from a state matching industry grant program.