Although the virtual world can’t operate without the data centers that house oceans of internet information, these giant computerized hubs create problems in the real world. They consume 3 percent of the globe’s electrical power and pump as much carbon into the air as all airlines combined, contributing to climate change. But because they’re also crucial to higher education, UMD faculty members Michael Ohadi and Farah Singer and graduate students in mechanical engineering are working closely with President Wallace Loh’s Energy Initiatives Implementation Task Force and IT facility managers around campus to assess energy needs and conservation opportunities in campus data centers and server rooms. Campus IT system owners can save energy by co-locating servers in data centers with efficient cooling systems, consolidating physical data storage onto fewer machines through a process known as virtualization, and keeping server rooms free of objects that block cool air flow.
This story was featured in the 2018 SustainableUMD Magazine.