IBM R&D lab will reduce impact of major disasters

14 Oct 2011
The University of Melbourne has welcomed the new IBM Research and Development - Australia, which will help the community better prepare for and better cope with major natural disasters and lead to a more sustainable future.

The lab is IBM’s first continuous exploration, whole-of-University relationship and will see IBM researchers from labs around the world exploring research opportunities with University of Melbourne researchers from across all schools and faculties.

University of Melbourne Vice-Chancellor Professor Glyn Davis said the centre, which was opened in Lygon St, Carlton, today (Friday 14 October), would bring together leading minds globally, combining our technologies in the interests of a safer and more sustainable world.

"In recent years we have experienced a range of natural disasters, throughout the world, from floods and bushfires in our own backyard, to cyclones, tsunamis, severe storms, typhoons, earthquakes and landslides," he said.

"These events can cause immense hardship for individuals and communities and can result in significant loss of life."

"No single organization can tackle the impact these disasters have on the world. Instead we need to combine our technologies, our resources and capabilities and bring together leading minds from around the world to research solutions that reduce the risk and impact of these devastating events.

"Universities, industry, government and research institutes need to work together to find solutions to these complex global challenges.

The lab will engage with researchers from leading institutions including the University, CSIRO, National ICT Australia (NICTA) and Australian business. It will further strengthen the partnership forged between the University of Melbourne and IBM in 2007.

It is the first IBM laboratory to bring together research and development in a single organization focused on nurturing a smarter planet and will focus on three key areas:

- Innovation in areas related to resource discovery, production, supply chain and operations using advanced techniques in monitoring, analytics and automation of resources including oil, gas, minerals, water and food.
- Expand and integrate expertise in the management of natural disasters including real time event processing, weather modeling, traffic management and mobility in event of evacuation and communication and emergency responses.
- Extending the work begun in the IBM Collaboratory to translate life sciences research into clinical applications.

IBM Senior Vice-President and Director of IBM Research, John E. Kelly III, said research and development played a vital role in IBM’s strategy for growth.

"R&D plays a vital role in IBM’s strategy for growth," he said. "The lab will work with Australia’s top scientists and engineers from academia, government and industry to extend IBM’s global R&D footprint and increase its impact on our clients and make the world work better. We look forward to working with the Australian technical and scientific community on some of the most pressing problems and greatest opportunities of our time."

Last year more than 297,000 people lost their lives to natural disasters, a figure only surpassed in 1970, when a tropical cyclone killed 300,000 people in Bangladesh and in 1983/84 when droughts and associated famines caused more than 450,000 deaths across Africa, according to the Annual Disaster Statistical Review 2010 report from the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED)*.

The report found that in 2010, there was a total of 385 reported disasters, 42 more than were reported in 2009.

"The tragic bushfires in Victoria on Black Saturday resulted in the death of 173 Australians - our largest loss of life from any natural disaster in Australia’s recorded history - and destroyed more than 2000 homes and 3500 structures," Professor Davis said.

"In Queensland, three-quarters of the state was declared a disaster zone in early 2011 with 70 towns and more than 200,000 people effected and 35 people killed.

"Earlier this year we also saw hundreds of lives lost and countless more people effected by the destruction of the earthquake in Christchurch, while thousands more people were killed when the tsunami struck Japan and in 2010, 222,570 people were killed in an earthquake in Haiti.

"These are devastating figures. The only way we can hope to minimize the impact of these natural disasters, reduce the loss of human life and human suffering, is by bringing together the relevant experts to research real solutions and approaches that will better prepare us for the onset of such events and allow us to better respond."

The opening of the IBM research laboratory coincides with the development of the National Disaster Management Research Initiative at the University of Melbourne, which will bring together researchers from across the university, and beyond, with expertise in disaster management.

* Guha-Sapir D, Vos F, Below R, with Ponserre S. Annual Disaster Statistical Review 2010: The Numbers and Trends. Brussels: CRED; 2011