Photos are available in the DATE 2024 Gallery.

The time zone for all times mentioned at the DATE website is CET – Central Europe Time (UTC+1). AoE = Anywhere on Earth.

LK02.1 Special Day Lunchtime Keynote: DATA CENTER DEMAND RESPONSE FOR SUSTAINABLE COMPUTING: MYTH OR OPPORTUNITY?

Start
End

Ayse Coskun, Boston University, United States

Ayse Coskun
Abstract

In our computing-driven era, the escalating power consumption of modern data centers, currently constituting approximately 3% of global energy use, is a burgeoning concern. With the anticipated surge in usage accompanying widespread adoption of AI technologies, addressing this issue becomes imperative. This keynote discusses a potential solution: integrating data centers into grid programs such as “demand response”. This strategy not only augments power usage without necessitating new fossil-fuel infrastructure, but also facilitates more ambitious renewable deployment. However, the unique scale, operational constraints, and future projections of data centers present distinct and urgent challenges for implementing demand response. On the other hand, data centers, in contrast to other electricity consumers, boast greater flexibility in power control and offer the potential for collaborative optimization. This intersection of challenges and capabilities opens avenues for designing intelligent solutions that dynamically adjust data center power usage in response to grid requirements while meeting performance demands.

This keynote delves into the opportunities as well as the myths inherent in this perspective on improving data center sustainability. While obstacles such as creating requisite software infrastructure, establishing institutional trust, and addressing privacy concerns are prominent, the landscape is evolving. Noteworthy achievements have emerged in the development of intelligent solutions that can be swiftly implemented in data centers to accelerate demand response. These multifaceted solutions encompass dynamic power capping, load scheduling, load forecasting, market bidding, and collaborative optimization. This keynote offers insights into the exciting journey towards making sustainable computing a reality.

Bio

Prof. Ayse K. Coskun is a full professor at Boston University (BU) at the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, where she leads the Performance and Energy Aware Computing Laboratory (PeacLab) to solve problems towards making computer systems more intelligent and energy-efficient. Coskun is also the Director of the Center for Information and Systems Engineering (CISE). Coskun’s research interests intersect design automation, computer systems, and architecture. Her research outcomes are culminated in several technical awards, including the IEEE CEDA Ernest Kuh Early Career Award and an IBM Faculty Award. Coskun’s team has continuously collaborated with industry and open-sourced impactful software tools to the community (such as PACT and CoMTE). Following her passion in increasing diversity in STEM fields, Coskun regularly participates in outreach programs, and she founded a forum called “Advancing Diversity in EDA” (DivEDA). She currently serves as the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Computer Aided Design. Coskun received her PhD degree in Computer Engineering from University of California San Diego and her BS degree in Microelectronics Engineering from Sabanci University.