IBM AND UNIVERSITI BRUNEI DARUSSALAM TO COLLABORATE ON CLIMATE MODELLING RESEARCH

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 14 (Bernama) -- IBM Malaysia Sdn Bhd and Universiti Brunei
Darussalam will join hands to undertake a climate modelling research that will
investigate the impact of climate change on flood forecasting, crop yields,
renewable energy and health of rainforests in the region.

This will help Universiti Brunei accelerate its research capabilities in
biodiversity, energy and agro-technology, they said in a joint statement
Thursday.

Universiti Brunei will acquire an IBM Blue Gene supercomputer, the first in
the South East Asia region, to provide high performance computing power for the
collaboration work.

Researchers from IBM and Universiti Brunei will work together to develop
climate models based on regional climate data. The new hydrological models will
be incorporated into weather models to enable flood forecasting and predict
climatic impact on rainforests.

This research collaboration reinforces Universiti Brunei's mission to be a
first-class international university, priding them as a research-driven
educational enterprise.

It also has potential to drive new breakthroughs in the understanding of
regional climate change and translating knowledge into improved flood
forecasting and higher crop yield, said IBM managing director Ramanathan
Sathiamutty.

"We are excited to collaborate with Universiti Brunei on this initiative
that can help increase innovation and entrepreneurship in Brunei, while
providing IBM an opportunity to expand its research expertise and capabilities
to the region," he added.

-- BERNAMA