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October 30, 2008, 02:36 PM ET
U. of California at San Diego and U. of British Columbia Strike a Deal to Study Green IT
The University of California at San Diego and the University of British Columbia are starting to work together on “green cyberinfrastructure” — computing techniques that will improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. The two institutions have signed a memorandum of understanding that says they will work together on green-IT issues.
Doug Ramsey, communications director for the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology, or CALIT2, says the universities are also hammering out an agreement on how to share money to support green-IT research.
Green IT is becoming a hot topic, and San Diego has shown some leadership on the issue with the opening of a new supercomputer center that is designed to save energy. Research in the field is great, but a lot of institutions can save energy merely by changing basic behavior. It has been reported that some 30 billion kilowatt hours are consumed annually because Americans don’t shut down computers when they aren’t in use. Greater vigilance in turning off idle machines could lead to savings of as much as $3-billion nationwide. Alas, changing behavior is sometimes the hardest task.
Mr. Ramsey said the two institutions would welcome others who want to get involved.
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