By Neil Thompson
At the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel, an inaugural conference was taking place. It was the IEEE Sustain Tech Leadership Forum, and I was lucky enough to attend.
Presented by IEEE’s largest societies (Power and Energy, Communications, Computer, and Signal Processing), the 2-day forum featured a selection of speakers and panels talking about all things sustainability, with ample amounts of downtime for networking.
A highlight of the first day was the pitch competition. Four presenters pitched their innovations with the chance to win writeups in IEEE publications and a cash prize. SWISS VAULT, creator of energy-efficient data storage equipment, emerged as the winner.
Speaking of data storage equipment, did you know it’s possible to dunk data storage equipment into liquid without destroying it? Especially with the advent of generative AI, data centers require a lot of energy to function. Consequently, they produce a lot of heat. Air cooling works, but it isn’t as efficient as liquid cooling. One of the forum’s keynote speakers, Aravind Padmanabhan, took us through the various ways to liquid cool data centers, one of which was immersion cooling. By some estimates, liquid cooling can lead to 50% energy savings. Since only 5-10% of data centers are currently liquid cooled, it’s definitely something to look into.
Another highlight for me was speaking with the founders of EDITH, one of the pitch competitors. Have you ever bought clothing online, realized that you didn’t like it after it came in the mail, and returned it to the seller? The majority of returned clothing gets sent to landfills immediately. If clothing manufacturers had a better sense of what consumers actually want, they’d likely manufacture less clothes and less would end up in landfills. That’s the premise behind EDITH. Consumers access the EDITH platform, specifying the clothes they’re looking for, colors, price points, etc. After taking in the information, EDITH body scanning technology allows consumers to submit a body scan, which EDITH uses to recommend select clothing. No more going to a clothing website and searching for an item, only to be overwhelmed with choices. More tailored searches due to body scanning leads to clothes you’ll actually keep! The website should be up soon.
Did I mention the ample networking breaks? There was more than enough time for people to mingle and get to know each other. I once read that people can only sit and listen for 90 minutes maximum, after which they need a break. None of the panels or speakers were longer than 90 minutes, and there were breaks after every speaker and panel. I wonder if the forum organizers and I were reading the same literature…
The IEEE Sustain Tech Leadership Forum underscored the critical role that technology must play in shaping a sustainable future. The insights shared by the speakers and panelists emphasized that true innovation lies in creating solutions that not only advance technology but also prioritize the well-being of our planet and communities. Kudos to the organizers for putting on the first event. I’m sure attendees are looking forward to the second one.
SANDSWA 