GLOBAL CHALLENGES

Waterways Getting a Healthy Boost from IBM, Grid Project

Dennis McCafferty | Date: 09-29-10 | Comments

The declining health of our water resources often results in deadly consequences on a global scale. To combat this crisis, IBM is collaborating with scientists throughout the world to work on multiple projects�with the help of a super-sized computing grid.

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Waterways Getting a Healthy Boost from IBM, Grid Project
When it comes to the supply and health of our water, the statistics are unsettling. In the last 100 years, global water usage has increased at twice the rate of population growth, and the United Nations predicts that nearly half of Earth's population will experience critical water shortages by the year 2025. Scientists estimate 7 million Americans are sickened by contaminated tap water every year; that nearly 40 percent of rivers fail to meet current clean water standards. That water pollution is linked to the deaths of more than 14,000 people on Earth every day.

These startling statistics are why IBM is helping scientists on a global scale come up with solutions via the World Community Grid, slashing the time required to conduct online research simulations and crunch numbers. A global grid of 1.5 million PCs owned by 600,000 volunteers produces the necessary processing power, allowing researchers to perform computations at times when the machines would otherwise be underutilized. This essentially makes the Grid one of the world's fastest supercomputers. IBM has donated the server hardware, software, technical services and expertise to build the infrastructure for the Grid. The company also provides free hosting, maintenance and support.

The World Community Grid connects IBM servers with volunteer computers and research organizations to create a powerful computing network (source: IBM).

"I can think of few endeavors more important than making sure people across the globe have ready access to clean water," said Stanley S. Litow, IBM's vice president of Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs, and president of the IBM Foundation. "I would even suggest that it's a basic human right and a hallmark of sophisticated and compassionate societies everywhere."

Here are three water-focused projects that are benefiting from the effort:

● In China, the "Computing for Clean Water" initiative at Tsinghua University is making use of the Grid to develop ways to filter and scrub polluted water, as well as convert saltwater into drinkable freshwater. The effort will seek to reduce the pressure and energy required to force water through microscopic, nanometer-sized pores in tubes made of carbon, whose tiny holes prevent harmful organic material from being transmitted. Scientists need to produce millions of computer simulations to model how water molecules interact with one another and against the walls of these carbon nanotubes, which is where the Grid comes in.

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