Advancing Data Center Design & Engineering East 2026
About the Event
Advancing Data Center Design & Engineering East is a three-day technical conference dedicated to data center design and engineering across the eastern United States. Organised by Advancing Construction, a division of Hanson Wade Group, the gathering convenes more than 100 design directors, electrical engineers, mechanical leads, architects, and hyperscale infrastructure teams. The event takes place November 16–18, 2026, at the Hyatt Regency Dulles in Herndon, Virginia, featuring three days of technical sessions, panel debates, and interactive workshops addressing high-density workload design and Eastern regional utility limits.
Programming Focus
- Designing for Social License: Addressing noise mitigation, water consumption, and visual impacts to secure local approvals and community support across Eastern states.
- Vertical Data Center Architectures: Re-engineering data hall layouts, plant distribution, and cooling systems when land constraints force multi-story configurations.
- Design-Led Supply Chain De-Risking: Early specification management and standardization to counter volatile component lead times.
- Legacy Facility Expansions and Retrofits: Phased load redistribution, live-cutover strategies, and brownfield upgrades to unlock capacity.
- On-Site Generation and SMR Integration: Assessing the technical viability, permitting pathways, and interconnection realities of behind-the-meter small modular reactors and interim generation.
- 800V Distribution Architectures: Future-proofing facility power distribution systems for rising per-rack power densities.
Featured Speakers
Hyperscalers and Operators:
- Siddarth Jeripotula, Data Center Field Engineering Manager, AWS
- Ehab Amin, Senior Data Center Development Manager, East Region, Oracle
- Meloni Boatswain, Director of Data Center Infrastructure Delivery AMERs East, Oracle
- Kushal Pandit, Staff Data Center Engineer, LinkedIn
- Andy Tolbert, Senior Vice President of Engineering, Echelon Data Centres
- John Temple, Director of Data Center Engineering, Hanwha Data Centers
- Rajan Battish, Electrical Engineer, Fluidstack
Engineering, Architecture, and Consulting:
- Jeffrey Gyzen, Principal & Global Practice Group Director, Mission Critical, Arcadis
- Michael Alligood, Lead Data Center Electrical Engineer & PM, ARUP
- Junior Ishak, Senior Electrical Engineer, ARUP
- Ameya Soparkar, Technology Business Leader, ARUP
- Jackson Metcalf, Principal & Project Director, Critical Facilities, Gensler
- Johnathan Woodside, Executive Vice President, Gresham Smith
- Bill Kosik, Sector Lead, Mission Critical, HED
- Justin Redmond, Director of Mechanical Engineering & Partner, PowerCon Engineering
- John Zunino, Electrical Engineer, PowerCon Engineering
- Nicolas Rbeiz, Senior Director, Infrastructure & Capital Projects, Alvarez & Marsal
- Brian Smith, CTO, Nuclear Science & Technology, Idaho National Laboratory
- Christopher Ruppel, Senior Vice President of Power, Keel Infrastructure Corp
- John Clinger, Senior Director of Energy & Data Centers Solutions, ICF
- Michael Hochburg, CEO, FiftySixty
- Rachel Rosenfeld, Senior Counsel, Norton Rose Fulbright
Sponsors
Expertise Partners: ENERVEX, Generac, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL), Special-Lite
Hosting Partner: Amrize
Innovation Partners: EAE, Peak+
Exhibition Partners: Ecolab, Emerson, Optex America, TorcSill
Who Should Attend
- Directors of data center architecture and engineering
- Mission-critical mechanical, electrical, and structural engineers
- Hyperscale and colocation development and capacity planners
- Critical facilities designers, consultants, and technical directors
- Energy strategy and power procurement professionals
Logistics
The event takes place at the Hyatt Regency Dulles, 2300 Dulles Corner Blvd, Herndon, VA 20171. Complimentary registration passes are available to qualified architects, data center operators, hyperscalers, and colocators.