The USENIX Association is one of the premier groups addressing research issues in information technology and systems (e.g., the LISA conference, OSDI, FAST, NSDI, and more). USENIX recently created the Workshop on Sustainable Information Technology (SustainIT 2010). This proposal requests funding to assist approximately 15 U.S.-based graduate students to attend this first workshop. This workshop brings together researchers and industry practitioners in a forum which presents the latest research and practices. The workshop will discuss energy-related issues and their tradeoffs (e.g., security, performance, reliability, etc.--all vs. energy). The workshop especially encourages papers which discuss not just energy issues alone, but how they interact with other dimensions, and look at the overall long-term sustainability of computing. The scope of this workshop is broad, covering research, theory, hardware, software, applications, techniques, etc.--all related to making computing systems greener, from construction to use to disposal. Participation in SustainIT and similar conferences is a valuable and vital part of the graduate school experience. It provides students with the opportunity to interact with more senior researchers in the field, and exposes students to leading edge work in the field. Such a workshop can steer students to a life-long involvement with sustainability topics, and create a new workforce for decades to come. This is all the more urgent given the importance of sustainability for humanity as a whole.
