CENTER FOR ENERGY-SMART ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS (ES2)

ES2

The Center for Energy-Smart Electronic Systems (ES2) is a National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) established to develop methodologies, tools and systems that will maximize energy efficiency for the operation of electronic systems, including data centers, “from the chip to the cooling tower.”

These efficiencies will be achieved through allocation and distribution of IT load, integration of controlled on-demand cooling and elimination of energy waste and inefficiencies.

This holistic approach to the development and design of energy-smart electronic systems could translate into millions of dollars in savings and a “greener” industry.

ES2 AT A GLANCE

3

Faculty Researchers

14

STUDENT RESEARCHERS

5

Number of current research projects

4

University partners

  

OUR RESEARCH

Each year, ES2 university partners select from project proposals submitted by industry members. Priority is given to projects that will further the objectives of ES2 and its industrial advisory board member companies.

Villanova University projects reflect our researchers’ areas of expertise, including:

  • Thermal management
  • Electronics cooling
  • Fluid mechanics
  • Convective heat transfer
  • Waste heat recovery
  • Sustainable energy technology
  • Multiscale systems
  • Computational fluid dynamics
  • Modeling

The following current projects are led by Villanova University researchers:

  • Models and Metrics for Dynamic Air and Hybrid Liquid Cooled Data Centers Based on Computational and Experimental Approaches
  • Data Center Environmental Burden Reduction through Water and Carbon Recovery

 

  

Director
Alfonso Ortega, PhD
James R. Birle Professor of Energy Technology in the Department of Mechanical Engineering

Phone: (610) 519-7440

ES2 RESEARCHERS

Dr. Alfonso Ortega

Alfonso Ortega, PhD
ES2 Site Director

Dr. Ortega is the James R. Birle Professor of Energy Technology in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. He is internationally recognized for his work in data center energy and thermal management, electronics cooling, convective heat and mass transfer, experimental methods in thermal sciences and energy technology.

Dr. Gerard F. “Jerry” Jones

Calvin H. Li, PhD

Dr. Li is an associate professor of Mechanical Engineering and director of the Nanoengineering Multiphase/Interfacial Energy Transport Lab. His research areas include experimental two-phase mass and heat transfer at multiscale, numerical simulation of phase change and interfacial phenomena, and machine learning (ML) in understanding the big data for experiment and numerical simulations. Dr. Li teaches a variety of courses in the areas of thermodynamics, heat transfer, fluid mechanics and sustainability energy.

Dr. Aaron Wemhoff

Aaron Wemhoff, PhD

Dr. Wemhoff is a professor of Mechanical Engineering and director of the Methods for Systems Analysis Laboratory. He performs research in energy sustainability and teaches courses in the areas of thermodynamics, heat transfer and fluid mechanics. Before joining Villanova University, he spent three years as a staff engineer at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.