Gemma Brady

Interdisciplinary MSc/PhD in the Doctoral Training Centre for Low Carbon Technologies

Project Title: Low Carbon Data Centres for High Performance Computing Applications Background

My research will be conducted with the School of Mechanical Engineering and will look at the area of low carbon cooling of Data Centres for High Performance Computing (HPC) applications. Data centres are vital for the running of the digital world that we now live in; however they consume vast amounts of energy. The research that I am going to conduct will involve developing methodologies and tools for assessing the energy efficiency of data centres and the strategies that have been employed to reduce their carbon footprint.

This will be done by focusing on the Houldsworth Data Centre within the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Leeds. The cooling strategy for the data centre will be considered by taking a detailed look at the air flow management strategy and the installed equipment, whilst also analysing the sensitivity of the data centre environment to layout by using CFD models.

Coming from a strong engineering background with a degree in Architectural Engineering, the DTC programme has introduced me to the world of low carbon technologies and prepared me for the research environment. The DTC has the benefit of being set in a multidisciplinary environment which has given me the opportunity to learn more about areas such as policy, economics and the ethics surrounding the move to a low carbon world.

I look forward to starting my research as I will be able use my interest in the built environment and apply the skills that the DTC has provided me with to make a real contribution towards developing low carbon technologies.