Sustainability Fellowship Supports Professor's Data Center Research
The Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems (BBISS) has named Assistant Professor Ahmed Saeed a faculty fellow.
Fellows serve as strategic advisors, helping to build a community of scholars and students focused on sustainability at Georgia Tech. Each fellow serves a three-year term with the possibility of renewal.
Saeed has been researching data centers for nearly 10 years. He has recently focused on data center policies and ways to make their infrastructure more energy efficient.
Saeed said that policy is particularly important now because of the rise in data center development to support the growth of artificial intelligence (AI). This has also been a major driver of his interest in sustainability research.
In October of last year, Saeed participated in a town hall panel discussion in DeKalb County, Ga., on data centers. His role on the panel was to explain the role of data centers and why they have become essential infrastructure.
“Data centers are not a net negative. They’re now an essential part of our infrastructure. To scale and support more services, we need more data centers,” Saeed said.
“And just like when we build new roads or bridges, we have to be clear on the impact they’re going to have on the lives of the people living around them.”
Another research interest of Saeed’s is the role of satellites in the future of the internet and data infrastructure, and how to make these systems more sustainable.
One downside of satellite launches is that they release large amounts of pollutants into the atmosphere. Saeed’s research involves making existing satellites more efficient, reducing the need for new launches.
Saeed said he is hoping the BBISS fellowship will broaden his network with like-minded people on and off campus.
