Event Summary
**This event will be held in person only.
Every time we search for information on the web, send email, stream a video, buy an airline ticket, query a generative AI model, or use an enterprise cloud application, we rely on a massive, invisible engine: the modern data center. As the foundational backbone of our digital economy, these facilities power the applications driving business growth, scientific breakthroughs, personal entertainment and education, and modern societal advancement. Yet, as our collective thirst for computing scale accelerates, so does the physical footprint and resources utilization required to sustain it.
To realize the benefits of ongoing technology advances in work, education, and play, we must address the facts of its material costs. This session will explore the benefits, impacts, costs, and challenges of the modern data center ecosystem, stripping away both the marketing hype and the alarmist headlines to examine the technologies, economics, and real-world impacts of digital infrastructure. We will confront the tough questions surrounding power grid strain and water consumption while showcasing how forward-thinking tech leaders are engineering their way out of a resource crisis.
Join us for an open conversation about the physical foundation of our digital future. This event is designed for a pro-technology crowd that isn't afraid to look at the math, tackle the bottlenecks, and discuss what it really takes to power the next era of human ingenuity responsibly.
Speakers
Jimmy D. Pike, Founder and Senior Fellow, TASK Consultancy
Jimmy D. Pike is the founder and Senior Fellow of TASK Consultancy, operating as a system architect and technology professional with more than 45 years of industry experience, where he continues to explore and consult on the boundaries of what is possible with AI for both large and small platforms. Most recently, he served on the Board of Directors and as a technology consultant for Strategic Thermal Labs. He retired as a Dell Senior Vice President and Senior Fellow in 2022 after spending more than 20 years with the company, achieving numerous product accomplishments, papers, presentations, and 70 patents. During his tenure, he also spent over a decade as one of the two top-ranking members in Dell’s Technical Leadership Community. As a broad technologist, his expertise spans high-performance computing, machine learning (and more recently AI), large-scale computing/system architecture, and data centers. He was a founding member and Chief Architect of Dell’s Data Center Solutions Group, working extensively in the hyper-scale and cloud space with a focus on Dell's low PUE (power usage effectiveness) and modular data centers featuring advanced liquid and free-air cooling. A 1977 electrical engineering graduate of Mississippi State University, Jimmy has also served in technical and executive roles at Intel, AT&T, Harris, and NCR, and he is highly versed in symmetric multiprocessing and parallel systems across Intel, AMD, ARM, and various GPUs.
Michael Schulte, Senior Fellow, AMD
Michael Schulte is a Senior Fellow with AMD, where he leads research, advanced development, and technology transfer activities in artificial intelligence, domain-specific processing, and high-performance, energy-efficient computing. He was a principal investigator on AMD’s Extreme-scale Computing Projects and AMD’s Chief Engineer for the Frontier and El Capitan exascale supercomputers. He currently works with his team to drive hardware, software, and power-efficiency innovations for AMD datacenter products and large-scale computing systems. Prior to joining AMD, Michael was a tenured faculty member at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Lehigh University. He holds M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, and B.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is an IEEE Fellow for contributions to compute architectures, and is the recipient of an NSF CAREER Award, four AMD Next 5% Awards, and an AMD Way Award. Throughout his career, Michael has had the honor of working with incredibly kind, smart, and talented people.
Attendance Instructions
In-person
ACC Rio Grande: Building 3000
The Center for Government & Civic Service
1218 West Avenue Austin, TX, 78701
Parking map here! Street parking is free after 6 pm.
In-person attendees, please join us from 5:15 to 6:15 for networking and food. We look forward to chatting with you face-to-face!