Posted on November 3, 2012, Saturday

JOHOR BAHARU: NanoMalaysia Bhd and IBM Malaysia yesterday inked an agreement for research collaboration in nanotechnology design and development over a two-year period.

NanoMalaysia chairman Prof Emeritus Datuk Dr Zawawi Ismail said this strategic cooperation would leverage world-class technology and expertise from IBM, complementing Malaysias nanotechnology ecosystem.

This will go a long way to raise the bar on intellectual property development and the nanotechnology industry as we journey through a knowledge-based economy and contribute one per cent of the countrys Gross National Income by 2020, he told reporters yesterday.

The announcement and document exchange was held during the Iskandar Malaysia Sustainability Summit 2012 here. NanoMalaysia was represented by Zawawi and IBM Malaysia by its managing director Ramanathan Sathiamutty.

NanoMalaysia Bhd is a corporate entity under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.

The collaboration, said Zawawi, includes research into the use of Malaysian-made Graphene and Aerogel for commercialisation, as well as testing IBMs anti-microbial star polymer tachnology for healthcare applications.

Both companies will also collaborate in areas such as energy storage, electronics, healthcare and computational science, he said, adding that the project was mooted by Malaysias Global Science and Innovation Advisory Council (GSIAC).

The GSIAC initiative is jointly led by Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT) and the New York Academy of Sciences, and is chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Meanwhile, Sathiamutty said yesterdays announcement presented an opportunity to boost scientific research in the country and introduce innovations that would help elevate Malaysias role in an interconnected world. Bernama

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NanoMalaysia, IBM inks pact for collaborative nanotechnology design