IUCRC Phase III University of Texas, Arlington: Center for Energy-Smart Electronic Systems (ES2)

With the proliferation of automation and electronic devices throughout most major industries, the amount of data being produced and the need to process/manage that data continues to grow. Automated management of data centers, addressing their emerging thermal challenges and improving their energy efficiency form the key to addressing this demand. The Center for Energy-Smart Electronic Systems (ES2), an NSF Industry University Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC), was established in 2011 to address these needs for data centers.

This award provides a Phase III renewal for this 3-site IUCRC, which consists of Binghamton University, Villanova University and University of Texas at Arlington. ES2's vision is to develop systematic methodologies for operating electronic systems, including data centers, as dynamic, self- sensing and regulating systems that are predictable and verified in real time.

The focus in Phase I and Phase II has been to develop new energy-optimization and thermal management models and designs, as well as tools and algorithms enabling electronic data systems to operate more efficiently and securely. Phase III will further expand on these methodologies to progress closer to a full realization of the ES2 vision. The Center brings together computer scientists, electrical engineers, and mechanical engineers in a synergistic multidisciplinary team to advance industrially relevant research in this area.

ES2, in promoting significant reductions in energy consumption in electronic systems, will contribute to the national agenda of eventually reaching net-zero carbon emissions. Reducing energy costs in data centers will help to allow computing services to be more deployable and accessible for a larger population segment. ES2 continues to attract a strong group of students at the undergraduate and graduate levels and provides industrially relevant training in their careers beyond graduation.

The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) site has grown its facilities, specifically hardware, to support ES2, often in collaboration with the Center’s industry members. Currently there is a modular data center laboratory consisting of a direct/indirect evaporative cooling unit that has been developed in collaboration with a Center partner; in Phase III this will be augmented with a second spray-based indirect evaporative cooling unit.

In Phase III, there will be a considerable focus at UTA on immersion cooling, an important industry sector that is predicted to experience significant growth in the next five years. Immersion cooling applications span high-performance computing, edge computing, and cryptocurrency mining, amongst others. UTA has invested in significant infrastructure to support this important area of research, including resources for a newly renovated state-of-the-art immersion cooling lab as well as a PIV for experiments related to immersion cooling.

As such, in Phase III, UTA will be conducting both experimental and computational immersion cooling research. The test laboratories also offer educational value by serving as a practical demonstration of technology and heat transfer principles for both undergraduates as well as high school students participating in UTA’s summer programs. These facilities support the educational and workforce development missions of ES2; the UTA site has a strong track record of providing highly trained STEM graduates to industry, including many of the Center’s members.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.