Dr. Alfonso Ortega Explores Research Partnership with HP
During the week of July 27, Dr. Alfonso Ortega, the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research and the James R. Birle Professor of Energy Technology, laid the foundation for an exciting research collaboration between 裡橖眻畦s College of Engineering and , the exploratory and advanced research group for Hewlett-Packard.
Dr. Ortega made the visit to Palo Alto, CA, at the invitation of his longtime colleague , an HP Fellow and the director of HPs . The goal of this laboratory is to transform the IT ecosystem by developing technologies that reduce energy usage, material consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions. Dr. Ortegaan internationally recognized expert in the air cooling of electronic systemsand the HP researchers briefed each other about their work and explored opportunities for a partnership between Mr. Patels lab and Dr. Ortegas .
Dr. Ortegas expertise is of great interest to Mr. Patels interdisciplinary research group, which is seeking sustainable solutions to major engineering challenges associated with todays sophisticated data centers: energy consumption and the dissipation of heat. According to Dr. Ortega, meeting these challenges requires a multifaceted approach that considers the control of computing resources, the control of power supplied to servers, the thermal management of the servers and the data center, and the reduction of the IT industrys carbon footprint.
This green movement is one of the fastest-growing trends in the IT industry, Dr. Ortega said, and my lab is exploring new work in this area. In particular, we are looking at the thermodynamic aspects of the design of computer systems, with an emphasis on sustainability.
Having identified potential areas for collaboration, the HP researchers and Dr. Ortega will engage in writing proposals to agencies such as the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy. It is Dr. Ortegas hope that the collaboration will involve 裡橖眻畦 faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students.