IUCRC Phase III Villanova University: Center for Energy Smart Electronic Systems (ES2)

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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 diverse group of students at the undergraduate and graduate levels and provides industrially relevant training in their careers beyond graduation. ES2 has also integrated a variety of mechanisms across the partners universities and industry members to increase participation by women and underrepresented students. At the Villanova site, research activities focus on advancing the overall center goals of smart workload and server management, smart integration of controlled on-demand cooling, and smart elimination of energy waste and inefficiencies. Activities are focused in three main focus areas: air- and hybrid air- liquid cooling systems, advanced liquid cooling, and sustainability, including the consumption of water, energy, and the re-use of waste heat. Research in the hybrid air-liquid cooling systems focuses on developing capabilities for simulating and predicting the behavior of components and systems such as heat exchangers that are at the heart of most systems. Of particular interest is in developing compact thermal-fluid models that can be embedded in system CFD computational frameworks. The focus of research in advanced liquid cooling systems is in indirect or direct-to-chip liquid cooling using single phase cooling, i.e., with water, or using two-phase cooling, using refrigerants. Investigations span the entire system from: the chip-scale, to the cold plate and server cooling system scale, to the development of simulation tools for entire systems. New research will be launched in direct immersion two-phase cooling with the goals of understanding and extending the limits of direct immersion cooling of server electronics. A new focus on sustainable data centers will feature new projects in the areas of carbon sequestration and developing innovative tools and metrics to predict and track the impact of data centers on water and energy consumption. The Villanova University ES2 site is committed to research within the overall context of environmental sustainability, with a commitment to use NSF funded ES2 research to initiate, promote, and advance the careers of students, faculty, and researchers from diverse backgrounds, and to disseminate our research to the scientific, engineering, and public communities through innovative uses of print and visual media and public forums.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.