Advancing Data Center Cooling Innovation East 2026
About the Event
Advancing Data Center Cooling Innovation East 2026 is a three-day conference organized by Advancing Construction (Hanson Wade Group), running September 21–23 at the Hyatt Regency Dulles in Herndon, Virginia. The event brings together more than 80 mechanical, thermal, and cooling engineers from hyperscalers, colocation providers, developers, engineering firms, and contractors for technical sessions, workshops, and peer networking. It is the first edition of this event series focused on Eastern U.S. markets, where hot, humid summers, dense urban environments, and constrained power grids shape cooling strategy differently than in Western hubs.
The conference opens September 21 with a pre-conference workshop day, followed by two main conference days. Speakers represent companies including NVIDIA, Meta, LinkedIn, Equinix, Microsoft, JLL, PCL Construction, Arcadis, Syska Hennessy, Ramboll, Highland Associates, Shumate, Tetra Tech, and The George Washington University.
Programming Focus
- Hybrid cooling system design balancing air and liquid approaches for shifting AI workloads
- Two-phase cooling evaluation: performance advantages, deployment trade-offs, and adoption roadmap
- Free cooling strategies and economization across Eastern climate conditions
- Liquid cooling deployment: water loop constraints, structural loads, chilled water integration
- Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for capacity planning and thermal optimization
- Software-driven cooling optimization and workload-aware placement
- Adapting mechanical infrastructure for next-generation hardware (800V DC, Vera Rubin chip architecture)
- Commissioning and controls for liquid-cooled systems
- Water use trade-offs: PUE vs. WUE across evaporative, air-cooled, and hybrid strategies
- Site selection for managing climate, water availability, and power constraints in the East
- Regulatory and permitting pressures in dense urban environments
- Academic research and future engineering standards for data center cooling
Featured Speakers
End-Users, Hyperscalers, Colocators, and Developers:
- Jay Gite — Senior Thermal Product Design Engineer, NVIDIA
- Sahil Deshpande — Software Engineer, Meta
- Kushal Pandit — Staff Data Center Engineer, LinkedIn
- Maryam Zahedi — Staff Mechanical Engineer, Equinix
- Matthew Haight — Senior Mechanical Subject Matter Expert, CleanArc Data Centers
- Kevin Shipley — Senior Mechanical Engineer, Microsoft
- Duane Warren — Engineering Director, JLL
Contractors and Designers:
- Rajat Bhagat — Senior Mechanical Engineer and Data Center Design, Arcadis
- Bill Kosik — Sector Lead, Mission Critical, HED
- Ashim Sanyal — Mission Critical Senior Mechanical Engineer, Highland Associates
- Rajendra Vaidya — Director, PCL Construction
- David Eisenband — Global Senior Manager, Ramboll
- Scott Rahn — Senior Vice President, Industrial Manufacturing, Roeslein and Associates
- Stephen Spinazzola — Director, Shumate
- Daren Shumate — Principal, Shumate
- Todd Czworniak — Technical Manager, Syska Hennessy
- Steven Straus — Mechanical Engineer, Tetra Tech
- Oscar Gross — Vice President, Mission Critical Solutions, Tetra Tech
Supporting Voices:
- Saniya LeBlanc — Data Center Modelling and Simulation, The George Washington University
Sponsors
Expertise Partner: Parker Hannifin
Exhibition Partners: Allegheny Surface Technology, AXH Air Coolers
Who Should Attend
- Mechanical, thermal, and cooling engineers at hyperscalers and colocation providers
- Data center developers and facility managers focused on Eastern U.S. markets
- Architects, engineers, and contractors working on AI-ready data center builds
- Engineering and construction firms with data center cooling practices
- Technology and solution providers targeting the mechanical cooling segment
Logistics
Venue: Hyatt Regency Dulles, 2300 Dulles Corner Blvd, Herndon, VA 20171. Free registration passes are available for hyperscalers, colocators, and data center operators.