Connect | Virginia // Major Panel: Cool heads prevail - Strategies for efficient cooling in AI-optimized data centers

  • —
  • Main Stage - November 7

Speakers

George Rockett

Co-Founder & Board Member, Yotta Events & Datacenter Dynamics

George Rockett

George Rockett

Co-Founder & Board Member, Yotta Events & Datacenter Dynamics

George started his first technology publication in 1998, focused on the 'plumbing' of the Internet and has been building and connecting digital infrastructure communities all over the world,

George is fascinated by the sheer scale of the digital infrastructure that is yet to be built, one that will support AI and a new world of accelerated computing; it is 'mission critical' to the future of every industry and every person on the planet and must be done sustainably.

View full profile and related articles

Related sessions:

Keynote: From theory to reality - Case studies in AI deployment and expansion

  • —
  • Main Stage - November 7
More details

DCD>Talks about the now and the future of sustainability with Joel Wynn | Southwire

  • —
  • Talks Stage - November 7
Southwire
More details
John Sasser

Chief Technology Officer, Sabey Data Centers

John Sasser Sabey

John Sasser

Chief Technology Officer, Sabey Data Centers

John brings 15 years of management experience to the operations of Sabey’s data center portfolio – with no incidence of facility downtime. In addition to all day-to-day operations, start-ups and transitions, John is responsible for developing the conceptual bases of design and operations for data centers, managing client relationships, overseeing construction projects, and planning for electrical utility capacity.

John and his team have routinely received recognition for continuous uptime from the Uptime Institute. Prior to joining Sabey, he worked for Capital One and for Walt Disney Company and spent seven years with the Navy Civil Engineer Corps. John is also President and founding member of the Western Washington State Chapter of AFCOM, a leading international data center operations industry group.

View full profile and related articles

Phill Lawson-Shanks

Chief Innovation Officer, Aligned Data Centers

CIO-CTO-phill-lawson-shanks-330x495 (1).jpg

Phill Lawson-Shanks

Chief Innovation Officer, Aligned Data Centers

Phill Lawson-Shanks has more than 25 years of experience identifying new opportunities for further growth of leading data center infrastructure, network architecture, and cloud solutions in the U.S. and abroad. As Chief Innovation Officer at Aligned, Phill is responsible for the management of revenue generation and profitability objectives, as well as championing key innovation, technology, and sustainability strategies aimed at maximizing new business development.

Prior to joining Aligned, Phill served as Chief Innovation Officer at EdgeConneX, where he was instrumental in driving strategies focused on creating the next generation of network edge-based data centers for the digital content ecosystem. Throughout his career, Phill has also served in numerous senior executive-level positions at Virtacore, Alcatel-Lucent, Savvis (now CenturyLink Technology Solutions), and MCI (now Verizon Digital Media Services). He currently holds eight active technology patents and serves on the Board of Directors for Netrality Data Centers as well as the Clean Energy Buyers Association (CEBA) Advisory Board.

View full profile and related articles

Danielle Rossi

Global Director, Data Centers, Trane

D Rossi.jpeg

Danielle Rossi

Global Director, Data Centers, Trane

Danielle Rossi is the Global Director, Data Centers at Trane Technologies. She has 19+ years in data center solution design and engineering for hyperscale, colocation, enterprise, edge, and government environments. In her current role, Danielle manages global mission critical cooling products and processes to provide a standardized deliverable for customers executing projects worldwide.

View full profile and related articles

Dagi Berhane

Senior Director, Global Data Center Architecture & Engineering, Salesforce

DagiBerhane_Photo

Dagi Berhane

Senior Director, Global Data Center Architecture & Engineering, Salesforce

Dagi provides architecture/design, engineering and construction leadership / expertise to internal and external resources for the delivery of IT capacity for greenfield, brownfield, retrofit and lease delivery projects globally.

His deliverables include data center site selection, managing efforts of land technical due diligence, engineering/designing/constructing the building shell/core, power, cooling, telecom, and controls infrastructure, environmental and building permitting all to align with Salesforce’s IT capacity roadmap for critical infrastructure builds, M&A, migration, optimization, decommissioning and leases.

View full profile and related articles

Peter Worley

Development Manager, Hyperscale, CloudHQ

peter

Peter Worley

Development Manager, Hyperscale, CloudHQ

Peter Worley is a licensed Mechanical Engineer and Development Manager with more than 10 years of experience in the design, construction and operations of hyperscale data centers.

Peter has held roles on the consultant, developer and owner sides (eg lead engineer, design manager, owner's mechanical SME, construction program manager, and development manager).

View full profile and related articles

As AI and new chip designs emerge, data centers must adapt to accommodate higher densities and processing capacities while maintaining sustainability commitments. This session will delve into the various cooling options available, including air, direct-liquid, immersion, and hybrid solutions, exploring their effectiveness in handling the heat generated by AI chips. Furthermore, it must be asked if air-cooling even has a part to play in the AI data centers of the future.

This panel will examine the accelerated IT and high-performance computing to meet, and discuss strategies for easing the transition from traditional air cooling to hybrid air/liquid infrastructure. Join us to learn about:

  • AI fever: Understand the impact of AI workload growth on data center infrastructure and the need for advanced cooling solutions.
  • Cooling contemplations: Compare the effectiveness of different cooling techniques, such as air, liquid, and hybrid systems, in meeting stringent cooling requirements and reducing energy consumption.
  • Adaptation: Learn strategies for transitioning from traditional air cooling to hybrid air/liquid infrastructure to accommodate the heat generated by AI chips.