Bowers – Facebook Donates $1.5 Million to the IEE
Facebook donates $1.5 million to UC Santa Barbara's Institute for Energy Efficiency in support of data center efficiency research
A new partnership of UC Santa Barbara’s Institute for Energy Efficiency (IEE) and Facebook will accelerate research into energy-efficient data centers and artificial intelligence (AI). Facebook, a leader in developing, building and operating highly reliable and efficient data centers, will provide a three-year, $1.5 million grant in support of the institute’s pioneering research.
Through this partnership, IEE will investigate advanced energy-efficient data center infrastructure, including low-power optical interconnects for computer networks and machine learning (ML) with reduced carbon footprint. Committed to 100% renewable energy since 2018, Facebook has long believed that the first step is always to use the least amount of energy possible by building and operating the most energy efficient data centers in the industry. Facebook has committed to reaching net zero emissions across its value chain in 2030.
”We are deeply grateful to Facebook for their generosity and support of the university and the Institute for Energy Efficiency,” said Rod Alferness, dean of the College of Engineering. “This gift will drive collaborative discoveries of potentially world-changing solutions to substantially reduce the energy required to drive vital next-generation data centers and applications of machine learning.”
“Facebook is a world leader in data center efficiency, and we are happy to partner with them to further deliver the next generation of technologies to deliver efficiency gains,” said IEE Director and ECE Prof. John Bowers, a distinguished professor of materials and electrical and computer engineering. “They will provide us with the problems that need to be addressed, and we will work together to solve them.”
