Jersey City, N.J. — November 24, 2008 — ISO announced today it has acquired Atmospheric and Environmental Research, Inc. (AER), a premier environmental and scientific research and predictive modeling company. Terms were not disclosed.
Climate change and its impact on economic growth and stability is an emergent risk factor in the 21st century. AER provides industry-leading solutions for sensing, simulating, modeling, and predicting weather-related phenomena in the atmosphere, ocean, and space. AER provides its services to federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to enable high-priority, mission-critical programs. AER also supports Fortune 500 defense contractors, research institutions, and commercial entities in the financial and energy industries.
AER has leveraged proprietary partnerships and technologies developed over three decades to create and refine advanced computer models, analysis tools, and databases that provide enhanced understanding of and predictions about the atmosphere, ocean, and climate.
AER will complement ISO’s AIR Worldwide Corporation (AIR) subsidiary, which offers analytical tools and software systems to help customers estimate and manage the risks associated with natural and man-made catastrophes, weather, and climate.
“We are extremely pleased to join the ISO family of companies,” said Cecilia Sze, AER’s president and CEO. “We look forward to developing new modeling and analytic solutions with ISO and AIR to further the understanding of the global environment and to enable better decision-making in response to weather and climate risks.”
AER scientists serve with fellow university and government colleagues on numerous committees, such as those of the National Research Council, as peer reviewers of research proposals, and journal publications, and on graduate student thesis committees. AER scientists also actively participate in such professional organizations as the American Meteorological Society and the American Geophysical Union; and routinely publish the results of their work in scientific research journals. AER scientists contributed to reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Control (IPCC) that helped IPCC share the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore.
“The acquisition of AER further supports our objective to expand ISO’s reach in the energy, financial, and government markets and enhances our ability to measure and assess the impact of climate change on insured risks,” said Frank J. Coyne, ISO’s chairman, president, and chief executive officer. “AER’s scientific expertise, coupled with AIR’s advanced risk modeling solutions, offers a unique opportunity to produce new products for environmental modeling and prediction.”
“With the addition of AER to the growing ISO enterprise, we continue to add resources and expertise to allow our customers to deepen their understanding of how emerging issues — such as the earth’s atmosphere and global climate change — impact risk and risk-management strategies,” added Coyne.
AER will continue to operate from its corporate headquarters in Lexington, Massachusetts. Its location facilitates collaboration with faculty members and scientists at Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and other research institutions in the greater Boston area. Additional AER offices are located on the grounds of Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford, Massachusetts; Omaha, Nebraska; San Francisco, California; Norman, Oklahoma; and Suffolk, Virginia.
About AER
Atmospheric and Environmental Research, Inc. (www.aer.com), established in 1977, is an environmental research, development, and predictive modeling company. In support of business and government decision-makers, AER develops science-based information and services, including quantitative probabilistic medium-range, seasonal, and hurricane forecasts and consultation for trading and planning in the energy and financial markets.
About ISO
A leading source of information about risk, ISO provides data, analytics, and decision-support services to professionals in many fields, including insurance, finance, real estate, health services, government, human resources, and risk management. Using advanced technologies to collect, analyze, develop, and deliver information, ISO helps customers evaluate and manage risk. The company draws on vast expertise in actuarial science, insurance coverages, fire protection, fraud prevention, catastrophe and weather risk, predictive modeling, data management, economic forecasting, social and technological trends, and many other fields. To meet the needs of diverse clients, ISO employs an experienced staff of business and technical specialists, analysts, and certified professionals. In the United States and around the world, ISO helps customers protect people, property, and financial assets. For more information, visit www.iso.com.
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Contacts:
ISO
Susan Kenney/Sarah Malinowski
MWW Group (for ISO)
(201) 507-9500
skenney@mww.com
smalinowski@mww.com