Webinar | Data Center Modeling 101
In today’s modeling landscape, the explosive growth of data centers has placed them at the forefront of simulation challenges and opportunities. For this 101 level-setting webinar, IBPSA-USA’s Education Committee invited four professionals experienced with various types of modeling for data centers to walk us through the what, why, and how. We’ll give an overview of what data centers are, what types of simulation are used to study them, what standards and green building certifications are relevant, and what types of questions are typically answered by modeling.
This course is eligible for 1 AIA CEU. Note that since this is a paid webinar, it won’t be posted on our YouTube page until 6 months after the webinar date.
Dr. Wangda Zuo
Dr. Wangda Zuo is a Professor of Architectural Engineering at Penn State University with a joint appointment at the National Laboratory of the Rockies. For over 15 years, his research has focused on advanced modeling and optimization of data center cooling systems. His team developed the data center package in the Modelica Buildings Library and a Fast Fluid Dynamics tool for computer room airflow modeling. He is a Fellow of ASHRAE and IBPSA and recipient of the IBPSA-USA Outstanding Researcher Award and the 2025 IBPSA Innovative Application Award. He co-founded Glacian Technologies to apply Physical AI to data center cooling optimization.
Ben Brannon
Ben Brannon is a Senior Sustainability and Building Performance Engineer at Arup with over 10 years of experience in mechanical and building simulation consulting. A licensed PE and ASHRAE BEMP, his work spans the commercial, healthcare, educational, and science/tech sectors with a core focus on energy modeling and resilient design. He contributed to the development of future climate data for the WeatherShift™ application and has published extensively on climate-responsive design in peer-reviewed journals. His recent work focuses on the intersection of decarbonization and digital transformation, leveraging BIM and scripting to automate engineering workflows. He is a frequent contributor to international simulation conferences and a specialist in utilizing high performance systems to enhance human well-being in the built environment.
Allen Mei
Allen Mei, a Principal at Clearbrook Energy Solution in Connecticut, is a licensed Professional Mechanical Engineer and an ASHRAE BEMP. He specializes in building performance simulations, including energy modeling, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), daylight analysis, and energy code consulting. He has contributed to over 2GW of data center development projects. His work in this sector includes site entrainment studies, equipment yard layout optimization, internal data hall thermal and airflow modeling, and short break analysis. Additionally, Allen leverages energy modeling to help data center design teams optimize their designs, ensure compliance with energy codes, and achieve sustainability certifications.
Dr. Irina Susorova
Dr. Irina Susorova is Sustainable Design Engineer Leader at HKS Architects with over 10 years of experience in building performance analysis with a focus on operational carbon reduction, decarbonization, and building enclosure thermal performance. She is a licensed architect, BEMP, CMVP, and BECxP. Irina’s in-depth knowledge of architecture, buildings systems and controls, data analysis, and research methods allows her to effectively promote energy efficiency solutions in the built environment and to bridge the gap between building performance in design and operation. As an industry expert, Irina has worked in all building sectors providing energy modeling and recommendations from early-design models into predictive models for new construction and as-built operational energy models for existing constructions. Irina has also conducted multiple peer reviews for energy code compliance and is an active TAG member for 2024 Washington State Commercial Energy Code.
