Data Center Mechanical and Electrical Design and Operation

Day One

Welcome and Student Introductions                       

Tab 1 – Introduction to the IT Industry                                   

• Technology trends
• Historical servers, storage, network improvements
• Future trends driving the industry
• Technology uses
• Data generation
• Artificial intelligence and machine learning
• Technology supporting infrastructure
• Data center facility types
• Electricity usage and sustainability
• Network and usage

Tab 2 – Properties of Moist Air                                     

• Temperature and humidity
• Enthalpy and pressure
• Psychrometric chart
• Sensible and latent heat
• Mixing of two air streams

Tab 3 – ASHRAE and Environmental Criteria           

• ASHRAE Technical Committee 9.9
• ASHRAE air cooling environments
• ASHRAE air contamination guidelines
• ASHRAE liquid cooling environments
• ASHRAE data center standards

Tab 4 – Defining Uptime Expectations                         

• Standards and guidelines
• Best practices
• Mechanical system topologies
• Electrical system topologies
• Performance analysis and optimization
• Risk and availability assessment

Tab 5 – Data Center Architecture                                 

• Data Center layout
• Planning a data center floor (Cold Aisle / Hot Aisle)
• Raised floor vs. non-raised floor
• Cabling
• IT placement

Day Two

Tab 5 – Data Center Architecture (continued)             

• Air cooling
• Air flow configurations
• CFD analysis

Tab 6 – Data Hall Design Considerations                     

• Owner’s Project Requirements (OPR)
• ITE Load
• Pysical arrangement
• Uptime expectation
• Data Hall Cooling
• Perimeter cooling
• Liquid cooling
• Data Hall power distribution
• Power Distribution Units
• Critical power distribution

Tab 7 – Mechanical System Design                               

• Data Center cooling loads
• Mechanical plant equipment
• Chillers
• Heat rejection systems
• Economizers
• Performance metrics
• Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE)
• WUE and CUE

Tab 8 – Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)

• Technologies
• Topologies
• Electrical capacity management

Day Three

 Tab 9 – IT Equipment             

• IT equipment and workloads
• IT equipment thermal design
• Air cooling implementations
• Liquid cooling implementations
• IT interaction with data center
• X factor reliability analysis
• Pressure, DT, airflow 

 Tab 10 – Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM)                     

• Define and reference
• Goals and use cases
• Reporting structure

 Tab 11 – Electrical Codes and Standards                                                  

• NFPA 70, National Electrical code
• NFPA 70E, Standard for Electrical Safety in the workplace
• NFPA 75, Standard for the fire Protection of Information Technology Equipment
• IEEE Std. 1100, IEEE Recommended Practice for Powering and Grounding Electronic Equipment (IEEE Emerald Book)

Tab 12 – Electrical System Design

• Utility service and voltage classes
• Standby power and emergency generators
• Primary power and transfer switches

Tab 13 – Case Studies                                                     

• Tier IV with 2,400 kW IT Load (NJ)
• Conversion from existing Tier II
• Tier III with 2,400 kW IT Load (MN)
• Equipment galleries
• Tier III with 6,400 kW IT load (CO)
• Modular data halls
• Tier III with 8,200 kW IT load (NC)
• Capacity increase after initial build

Registration Date/Time:
11/11/2025 8:0am Central Time

Event Dates/Times:

• 11/11/2025  8:30am - 4:30pm Central Time
• 11/12/2025  8:30am - 4:30pm Central Time
• 11/13/2025  8:30am - 4:00pm Central Time

• Program Director

  Mark Malkin

• Mark Malkin

  Program Director and Teaching Faculty

  Mark P. Malkin, PE, is a program director in the Office of Interdisciplinary Professional Programs in the College of Engineering at UW-Madison. He is a registered Professional Engineer with over 25 years of experience in university facilities project management and HVAC systems design. His course offerings include HVAC, plumbing and fire protection fundamentals, building code reviews, and design and operation of science labs, data centers, museums and libraries. Mark received his bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University, and his MS in Mechanical Engineering from UW–Madison.

• Richard Schlosser

  Senior Electrical Engineer

  Richard Schlosser, principal at TiePoint-bkm Engineering in Baltimore, Maryland, is a registered professional engineer with more than 35 years of experience designing and commissioning Tier III and Tier IV power systems for computer and computer-related facilities. He served as a technical advisor to the Site Uptime Network for more than ten years. Richard holds a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering degree from Johns Hopkins University and a Master of Engineering degree from the University of Wisconsin—Madison.

• Stephen O'Neal

  Senior Global Mechanical Engineer

  Stephen M. O’Neal, PE, Senior Global Mechanical Engineer at Amazon Web Services in Herndon, Virginia, is a Professional Engineer with more than 10 years of experience focused on data center and critical infrastructure projects. Stephen specializes in central plant and complex expansion projects within live facilities. Stephen holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh

• Dustin Demetriou

  Senior Technical Staff Member, Sustainability Data Center Innovation

  Dustin W. Demetriou, PhD, is a Senior Technical Staff Member at IBM Corporation where he leads the sustainability and data center innovation team. He has more than 15 years of experience focused on data center optimization and advanced electronics cooling technologies. He is the current Vice Chair of the ASHRAE TC 9.9 IT Subcommittee and the past Chair of ASHRAE TC 9.9. Dustin received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from Manhattan College, and MS and PhD in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Syracuse University.

If you are planning to attend an Interdisciplinary Professional Programs course, payment is required at the time of registration. Below are the payment options:

Pay by Credit Card

Enroll online and pay by credit card.

• Search for the course on the website and then click on the Enroll Now button from the course webpage.
• Enter all necessary course attendee information and payment information on the course enrollment page.
• You will receive an email to confirm successful enrollment and payment.

Enroll over the phone and pay by credit card.

• Call CERC Registrations at 608-262-2451.
• Provide the registrations representative with:
  • the course name, dates, and/or course number.
  • the necessary course attendee information and payment information.
• You will receive either a mailed document or an email to confirm successful enrollment payment.

Pay by Check

Mail in a completed registration form and check payable to UW Madison.

• Fill out a registration form (found either in the back of the course brochure you received in the mail or here).
• Prepare a check, made payable to UW Madison.
• Mail the registration form and check to: CERC Registrations 21 N Park St, Ste 7101 Madison, WI 53715
• You will receive either a mailed document or an email to confirm successful enrollment and payment.

Pay by Purchase Order

• Request Purchase Order information from interpro@union.wisc.edu
  • If a fee quote is needed, contact custserv@interpro.wisc.edu first
• You will receive an invoice from UW–Madison Business Services for payment, usually within 3–5 business days

Military

If using SF-182 form, please call our registration number at 608-262-2451 or email interpro@union.wisc.edu for details and instructions.

Event Cancellation

We reserve the right to cancel a course due to insufficient enrollment or unforeseen events. If we cancel a course, participants will be notified via email or phone and will be given the option for a full refund or to transfer their registration and any fees paid to another course. We are not responsible for non-refundable plane tickets, hotel reservations, and other travel related expenses. For enrollee Course Cancellation, refer to notes on course page.

If you cannot attend, please notify us no later than one week before your course begins, and we will refund your fee. Cancellations received after this date and no-shows are subject to a $150 administrative fee. You may enroll a substitute at any time before the course starts.