The Center for Energy Efficient Systems will focus on optimizing energy utilization in electronic systems. SUNY at Binghamton, the University of Illinois, the University of Texas at Arlington and Georgia Tech are collaborating to establish the proposed center, with SUNY at Binghamton as the lead institution
The proposed center will focus on the development of systematic methodologies for operating electronic systems, including data centers, as dynamic self sensing and regulating systems that are predictive and verified in real time. Algorithms will be developed to control cooling resources and to assist expert system schedulers to schedule and/or migrate workload to achieve optimal energy consumption. Thermal management resources will also be allocated dynamically in response to system needs. Problem-oriented research related to Thermal Management and Protocols, Software Systems, Control Systems, and Implementation, will be addressed during the Center's first five year program.
The proposed center will enable a significant reduction in energy consumption in electronic systems, including data centers, thereby potentially reducing electrical power consumption across the nation. This will, in turn, reduce the nations consumption of carbon-based fuels and related emissions. The center will attract a diverse group of students at the undergraduate and graduate levels, by providing industrially-relevant training required by graduates entering the workforce. The center intends to leverage existing programming on its campuses to engage K-12 students in conversation on energy conservation, and is committed to attracting talented and motivated students from all groups.
This award was a Planning Grant for the establishment of an I/UCRC on Energy Efficient Systems. The grant was awarded to a 5 university team (Binghamton University, Villanova University, University of Texas at Arlington, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, and Georgia Institute of Technology) for the preparation of a I/UCRC proposal. A key output of the Planning Grant was the organization of a workshop at Binghamton University in December 2010. From Georgia Tech, three faculty members and two graduate students participated in this event. This two day event included nearly one hundred participants, many from the industry, and resulted in the formation of a preliminary research agenda of interest to the industry. This agenda was presented to the participants and further refined on the second day. As part of the workshop, a student poster session was also organized, where Georgia Tech students also presented posters on work related to data center energy management. Subsequent to the workshop, specific research tasks were defined for the I/UCRC proposal. Industry participants were identified and approached for possible membership commitment. While there was significant interest expressed in the research agenda, some of the approached industries were not able to get all the internal approvals in time for the I/UCRC proposal submission by Binghamton University. Georgia Tech fully expects to join the original multi-university I/UCRC team at a future date if an award is made.
