Time to be green
Rushika Bhatia
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Time to be green

As the world’s appetite for better, faster and stronger IT resources grows so does the strain on energy output. With emissions from IT reaching unprecedented levels, the time for a greener solution is upon us. Amongst other incentives, more energy-efficient hardware and software is the path forward says leading expert Dr. Mohamed K. Watfa, Associate Professor in the Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Wollongong in Dubai.

Dr. Mohamed K. Watfa, Associate Professor in the Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Wollongong in Dubai

The world’s rapid population growth, predicted to rise from the current estimated seven billion people to approximately nine billion by the middle of the century, has led to resource scarcity and the depletion of renewable resources. Most importantly expensive oil prices threaten major economic disruption in the short run while global warming will definitely have a major impact in the long run. In 2009, we might have seen the first signs of a crisis. We might have seen the beginning of the end. The unbearable prices of a barrel of oil helped tip the economy into recession and the continuous usage of gasoline will likely prevent a normal recovery in the near future.

Technology considerations for 2011

So, what lies beyond the wall of tomorrow? What can we do about this and what technological skills are needed for the next stages of consolidation and growth? As we wake up every morning and start using our energy consuming personal computers, we are effectively turning up the planet’s thermostat. Experts estimate that carbon dioxide emissions related to the operation of servers and PCs account for about 1% of the annual global total. In fact, computer emissions are comparable to the level of greenhouse gases being produced by all the world’s airplanes as they travel from one continent to another.

Those shocking facts show where the future of IT lies: more energy-efficient hardware and software, zero-emissions machines, green data centres, and ubiquitous infrastructures. It is expected that the $500 million spent on green and energy efficient IT services today will grow to $5 billion by 2013. The financial payback is even more compelling, a fact that attracted leading companies such as Microsoft and Google to build green data centres near cheap hydroelectric power sources in the Pacific Northwest. The world’s fifth-largest commercial airline, Continental, has also saved more than $2 million through server virtualisation. So, what can we do to be part of this revolution?

Leading by example

The University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD) has already started investing its resources and skills by funding research projects addressing energy efficiency issues both in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the world. As an example of cutting edge local research dealing with some of the future priorities following the economic recession of 2009, an ongoing research project at the UOWD, deals with energy efficient protocols used in the current Internet. The world is only beginning to grasp the complex consequences of the exploding growth of the Internet which makes it difficult to understand its current impact, let alone its future impact.

The relationship between the Internet and energy usage would have profound implications for long-term economic and energy forecasting in this country and would affect key national issues such as how costly it will be for the UAE to reduce energy consumption by the internet and therefore reduce its emissions of heat trapping gases that scientists believe contribute to global warming and climate change. It was estimated that the internet consumes about 9.4% of the overall electricity consumed; a fact which really kept a lot of researchers astonished especially when the energy demand of the internet is growing much faster than the total energy demand.

Our research project at UOWD systematically investigates the energy efficiency issues in the current Internet architecture and proposes a new energy flow model. Also, UOWD has taken actions to raise awareness to students about the methods of saving electrical power and capacities of renewable sources of energy and has linked research outputs with some of the courses offered.

Putting IT in the green

To conclude, the future is in deep need for the development and deployment of renewable energy solutions to help climb the hole that the recession has dug for us. Technological skills utilizing diversified, fundamental, scientific, energy engineering concepts and phenomena relationships will be in great need. Computer scientists and engineers with energy awareness and skills will be on demand. Technological companies all over the world will try to set the wheels back in motion by minimising the costs associated with electrical components and thus prioritise green solutions and associated skills in the their development life cycle.

About:
Dr. Mohamed K. Watfa is currently an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Wollongong in Dubai. Prior to this, he was an Assistant Professor at the American University of Beirut. He has also held a position as a lead network engineer at different networking companies. Dr. Watfa received his Ph.D. in 2006 from the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma, USA and was one of the youngest PhD holders to graduate from the university.

Dr. Watfa’s research interests include energy management, wireless sensor networks, intelligent systems, wireless networking, resource management and performance measures. He is the author of a number of books and the guest editor of a number of international journals and has more than 40 journal and conference publications ranked among the top in his research domain. He is a professional member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

For more information on Dr. Watfa, please visit his personal website at: http://mohamedwatfa.synthasite.com