Funding Years: 2026-2028
OFFRAMP-AI will develop and evaluate strategies to reduce (“off-ramp”) the sustainability burdens and infrastructure risks created by hyperscale AI data centers, with particular focus on power grid resilience, climate sustainability, and environmental justice. The team will study how data center growth relates to and interacts with extreme weather, electricity system reliability, community environmental justice experiences, and regional resource constraints, including energy and water impacts. They will also assess the extent that emerging computational approaches, including quantum computing, can deliver comparable operational decision support at substantially lower energy demand than hyperscale AI. By integrating power systems engineering, computer science, atmospheric science, economics, and social science, OFFRAMP-AI will forge new pathways for decision-makers and communities to rapidly anticipate risks, make informed decisions in timecritical environments, and support equitable outcomes.
Principal Investigators:
- Tim Hansen, Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Jacob Fooks, Research Associate, Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA)
- Stephanie A. Malin, Professor, Sociology
- Steven Miller, Professor, Atmospheric Science
- Carlos M. Ortiz Marrero, Assistant Professor, Computer Science
- Zongjie Wang, Assistant Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering