A Letter from Lab Director
IBM Research has made the kind of discoveries that have shaped the future of business, government, academia and society for more than 60 years, When it opened in 1995, IBM Research-China was the first-ever research organization established by a multinational company in China. It has since grown to include scientists and technologists working at sites in both Beijing and Shanghai, working in partnership with globally recognized clients, universities and governmental bodies.
By executing a balanced research agenda, we not only help our clients solve their greatest challenges today, but also developing the technologies that will help the world work better in the future. By actively contributing to new academic curriculum development and talent incubation at universities, we help prepare Chinese students for the challenges and opportunities which come hand-in-hand with social advancement and globalization. And by extending our work outside the walls of our research facilities to explore how technology can make health care systems smarter, business supply chains “greener,” and natural ecosystems healthier, we are truly making the world our laboratory.
The work at IBM Research - China ranges across a wide spectrum of disciplines, including:
- Next Generation Computing Systems: optimizing for Smarter Planet solutions including the convergence of wireless and IT
- Distributed Computing: managing service and massive data on cloud infrastructure
- Information and Knowledge Management: developing cyber-physical information systems with focus areas on semantic web, knowledge representation and reasoning
- Human Computer Interaction: supporting the convergence of human and digital worlds
- Service Sciences: focusing on the development of the service economy from service lifecycle and ecosystem management perspectives
- Mathematics and Operations Research: solving complex business problems via analytics and optimization
At the same time, we promote integration across disciplines to address the growing demand for common platforms to build a smarter planet. Therefore, we are focused on the following research areas:
Business Analytics and Optimization seeks to assist individuals and organizations in raising their business acumen in today’s information-driven world by developing intuitive ways for users to acquire and processes information. With years of experience in information intelligence, knowledge management and mathematical modeling, we have accumulated the capacity to analyze and enhance information to enable optimal -- and more predictive -- business decision-making.
Cloud Computing research aims to allow many users to benefit from information technology innovations more efficiently and economically. One key area of research is the construction of a platform for large-scale cloud computing, in order to tap into its boundless potential for creating a highly distributed, globally available set of computing resources.
The Intelligent Internet of Things (IIOT) lays the foundation for a smarter plane -- it is the avenue through which the world’s communication sensors are utilized to assist users in detecting and integrating the information from both natural systems and computing systems, enabling us to manage the planet and its resources more carefully. Through research and extensive partnerships, we are working to build a reference architecture based on open technology standards which enables the free flow of data across multiple types of devices, in support of clients’ industry needs and business models.
At IBM Research – China we are especially concerned with the influence of technological innovation and the demand for information technology as driven by social and economic development in the country. As China rises to the center stage of the global economy, we believe that the success of solutions in China will also bring success to the greater world. We have selected the following three important applications of our smarter planet agenda to support these goals:
Smarter City: The benefits of a smarter planet are often achieved when disparate but related systems are integrated. This “system of systems” view is particularly important when addressing the challenges faced by the world’s cities. We are using technology in many aspects of city planning, including: healthcare, transportation, water resource management, and food safety. Our ultimate goal is for cities to grow and operate in a “smarter” – better managed, less costly - manner.
Smarter Energy and Utilities: Efficient use of resources and the exploration and full application of new sources of energy are the core demands of sustainable development. The power industry is critical to the national economy and to the livelihood of individuals, and our research on smarter energy and smarter electric grids promotes the integrated use of new energy to realize green energy generation, high efficiency transmission, dynamic distribution and smart electricity usage, thereby optimizing the whole energy chain.
Smarter Supply Chain: While China is the world’s production powerhouse, it is also confronted with a high percentage of logistical cost in its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The advent of a low-carbon economy has also created an urgent need to improve the costly and inefficient logistical supply chain. These circumstances result in areas of significant opportunity for our research.
The building of a smarter planet depends on cross-disciplinary know-how and a combination of cross-sector technology, knowledge, and expertise. Adhering to our core values of openness, collaboration and innovation, IBM Research - China intends to collaborate with partners from different fields to provide breakthroughs and innovation to society overall, thereby making our planet a smarter and better place to live.
Dr. Thomas Li
VP, Director of IBM Research – China
CTO, IBM GCG