OM DENNE EPISODE
In this episode I talk with Dr. Kelley Mullick a data centerexpert and the CEO and co-Founder of Avayla Consulting Group. The focus of thisepisode is on the technology and methods used to cool data centers. We startthe episode discussing Kelley’s academic background as a chemist and breakinginto the data center field at Intel.
Then we get into data center cooling. Kelley explains themetrics used to evaluate the thermal performance of data centers, the overallincrease in compute power usage in the AI age, common cooling methods such asair and liquid cooling, how data center operators determine the optimal coolingmix for their facility, the costs of retrofitting a data center with moreadvanced cooling technology and much more. I hope you enjoy!
ARTICLES & PAPERS:
Kelley’s PhD dissertation: https://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1324247960
CPU Cooler: Liquid Cooling Vs. Air Cooling: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/gaming/resources/cpu-cooler-liquid-cooling-vs-air-cooling.html
Alibaba is developing its own immersion cooling tech: https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/alibaba-is-developing-its-own-immersion-cooling-tech/
Hybrid Liquid Cooling Is the Only Way to Stop AI fromBoiling Over by Kelley Mullick: https://thesiliconreview.com/2025/11/hybrid-liquid-cooling-is-the-only-way-to-stop-ai-from-boiling-over
Cool It: Team Tackles the Thermal Challenge Data CentersFace: https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/liquid-cooling-doe-challenge/
Americans Oppose AI Data Centers in Their Area: https://news.gallup.com/poll/709772/americans-oppose-data-centers-area.aspx
How is Switch Building AI-Ready Sustainable Data Centres?: https://datacentremagazine.com/news/how-is-switch-building-ai-ready-sustainable-data-centres
BOOKS:
Nancy Drew Series
MUSIC INTRO/OUTRO:
massobeats - chamomile (https://youtu.be/YFuAgsA4bNI)
CONNECT:
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrian-dolinay-frm-96a289106/
GitHub: https://github.com/ad17171717 X:https://twitter.com/DolinayG
Odysee: https://odysee.com/@adriandolinay:0
Medium: https://medium.com/@adriandolinay
PODCAST:
Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-aspiring-stem-geek/id1765996824
Audible: https://www.audible.com/podcast/The-Aspiring-STEM-Geek/B0DC73S9SN
iHeart Radio: https://iheart.com/podcast/202676097/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/60dPNJbDPaPw7ru8g5btxV
|-Video Chapters-|
0:00 – Intro
1:32 – Kelley’s interest in STEM and the arts
2:23 – Studying chemistry in undergrad and grad school
6:17 – Defining what a data center is
7:13 – Kelley’s time at Intel
9:33 – Why compute needs to be cooled
10:33 – Metrics to measure the thermal performance of a data center
13:39 – Colocation operator vs hyperscalers
14:55 – AI and increased compute power usage
20:15 – Components outside of compute that contribute to a data center’sthermal load
20:48 – Data center cooling methods
26:16 – How data center operators determine the optimal cooling architecture
29:17 – Data centers outside of the United States
31:40 – The potential best path for data center cooling
34:28 – Feasibility of retrofitting data centers with more advanced cooling
37:54 – The public’s view on data centers
40:43 – Kelley’s ideal data center policies
44:25 – Things to do in Ohio
46:48 – Book recommendations
48:16 - Conclusion
