Calling all climate change scientists


In response to President Obama's call to action on the Climate Data Initiative, we invite scientists studying climate change issues to submit proposals for accessing massive supercomputing power to advance their research.

Published on: 29 Jul 2014

Extreme weather events caused by climate change, such as floods and droughts, can have a drastic impact on food production. For example, production costs for maize and other grains could double by 2030. How can individuals, communities, organizations and governments prepare to handle future climate impacts on food security and other key issues? To address this challenge, President Obama today announced the second phase of the Climate Data Initiative calling on private and philanthropic organizations to develop data-driven tools to plan for and mitigate the effects of climate change. In response, World Community Grid invites scientists studying issues affected by climate change, such as the resilience of staple food crops, and watershed management to submit research proposals. In addition, IBM is participating in a roundtable discussion convened by the White House today to discuss joint efforts to further advance the Initiative's goals.

To date, over 300,000 World Community Grid volunteers have already provided sustainability scientists with the equivalent of almost 100,000 years of computing power to support researchers in numerous fields, including energy, water and agricultural science:
  • The University of Virginia’s Computing for Sustainable Water project is shedding new light on the effects of human activity on the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Organizations and policymakers will be able to use this data-driven insight to guide their efforts to support the restoration and health of the area.

  • The University of Washington’s Nutritious Rice for the World project studied rice proteins that could help farmers breed new strains with higher yields and greater disease and pest resistance. New crops like these will be vital in areas that face changing climate conditions.

  • In what we believe to be the most extensive quantum chemical investigation to date, Harvard University’s Clean Energy Project has discovered 35,000 materials with the potential to double carbon-based solar cell efficiency after screening more than two million organic materials on World Community Grid. These discoveries could result in solar cells that are cheaper, easier to produce and more efficient than ever before.

We invite sustainability researchers who could benefit from massive supercomputing power to advance their work to submit a project proposal. In addition, anyone can contribute to understanding climate change and mitigating its impacts by joining World Community Grid and supporting our current research projects. Take a minute right now to start supporting cutting-edge climate science.

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