On Wednesday, March 4, the GW Alliance for a Sustainable Future, the Sustainability Research Institute, the George Mason University (GMU) Institute for a Sustainable Earth, and the REACH Center hosted an interdisciplinary campus event, From Cloud to Community: Exploring the Health and Sustainability Impacts of Data Centers, examining how data centers intersect with energy use, water demands, and community health. Faculty and experts from GW and GMU shared presentations showcasing research on data‑center growth and its health and environmental implications, followed by an engaging discussion with attendees.
“This research is happening across our institutions, and the field is advancing quickly. Gatherings like this are more important than ever,” said Robert Orttung, professor of sustainability and international affairs and director of the Sustainability Research Institute. “Bringing research leaders and experts together gives us a chance to examine challenges from multiple perspectives and, ultimately, helps us develop solutions that benefit everyone.”
One of the research efforts highlighted at the event, held at the Milken Institute School of
Public Health, came from Dr. Payman Dehghanian (GW School of Engineering and Applied Sciences) and Dr. Kelvin Fong (Milken Institute School of Public Health), who are examining climate‑mitigation strategies and the health impacts of data‑center growth. Their work takes place in Loudoun County, VA, where rapidly rising electricity demand is frequently met by fossil‑fuel power plants, increasing air and water pollution. Their team is developing a framework that aligns data‑center energy demand with renewable‑energy generation profiles to reduce reliance on polluting power sources. Their project will also quantify resulting improvements in community health and environmental justice outcomes, offering a potential model for more sustainable data‑center development.
“We’re bringing together data sources from engineering and health, which is not always easy. Doing so will require collaboration and new techniques to analyze these data,” said Dr. Payman Dehghanian, associate professor at the GW School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. “Gatherings like this help us build support and connection, and they make it easier to overcome those challenges.”