Program Day 1

Brown Theatre, Level 1, Electrical & Electronic Engineering Building

(This program is subject to modification.)

5.45pm Symposium Reception (A. Richard Newton Room)

Program Day 2

Brown Theatre, Level 1, Electrical & Electronic Engineering Building

9:00 - 9:10	(House Keeping)
9:10 - 9:30	Kevin Chen (Google) Green @ Google: A Commitment to Sustainability Abstract: Google aims to operate its business in a sustainable matter, from high-efficiency datacenters to free commuter shuttles for its employees.  This talk will describe some of Google's internal and external initiatives, including its commitment to carbon neutrality, the Climate Savers Computing Initiative, Renewable Energy Cheaper Than Coal, and RechargeIT.
9:30 - 9:50	Sundeep Khisty (EDS) Abstract: Climate change, rising power costs and increased consumption create new challenges and opportunities for IT Services. Whether you seek to reduce cost, drive energy or meet reporting obligations, managing and reducing greenhouse gas emissions is now priority for organizations globally. Sundeep Khisty, EDS Green Practice Leader for Asia Pacific will present on the various issues impacting the IT Services.
9:50 - 10:10	Greg Wickham (AARNet) AARNet: Supporting e-Research collaboration Abstract: The global increase in e-Research (or e-Science) is seen as recognition of the diminishing importance of isolated research groups.  As large research resources become more expensive (computing clusters, LHC, synchrotrons etc) it's imperative to provide access to these facilities to all researchers, both local and remote. Hence the phrase 'e-Research' has been termed to describe the act of utilising information technology to permit disparate researchers to collaborate.  Synergistically, an important by-product of e-Research and an increasing concern in many institutions is reducing their carbon footprints. Pivotal to supporting collaborative technologies is network foundation that can carry a multitude of traffic types as required. Thus AARNet, Australia's Academic and Research Network, primarily provides internet connectivity to researchers and educators in Australia to connect with their peers, both domestically and internationally.  Thus this presentation will focus on the interesting collaborative technologies that are seen to be used across the AARNet network.  Completing the presentation will be an overview of the challenges faced by AARNet as it develops and implements a green IT strategy.
10:10 - 10:40	Discussion
10:40 - 11:10	Morning Tea (Immediately outside the Brown Theatre)
11:10 - 11:30	Saman Halgamuge (University of Melbourne) Optimisation in Data Centres Most published research on the optimization of data centres focus on the efficient cooling of data center equipment giving less priority on reducing total energy that includes energy used for cooling. They also make use of well established methods (or their faster approximations) in Fluid and Thermal Sciences to model the processes of turbulence and heat transfer.  The optimization of parameters such as plenum height, perforated tile open area, the space between computer room AC units and layout of racks is considered in designing new data centres.  However, there is only a small number of studies reported  on optimizing cooling performance of existing data centres and in particular about maintaining energy costs at an accepted level for data centres that are frequently upgraded.
11:30 - 11:50	Jayant Baliga (University of Melbourne) Energy Consumption of the Internet. We present a network-based model of power consumption in optical IP networks and use this model to estimate the energy consumption of the Internet. The model includes the core, metro and edge, access and content distribution networks, and takes into account energy consumption in switching and transmission equipment. In addition to estimating the power consumption of today's Internet, we make predictions of power consumption in a future higher-capacity Internet using estimates of improvements in efficiency in coming generations of network equipment. We estimate that the Internet currently consumes about 0.5% of electricity consumption and predict that this will grow to more than 1% as access rates increase.
11:50 - 12:10	Max Ott (National ICT Australia) What can we learn from DHL? While the Internet works like a parcel service, today's logistic companies would not rush deliver every single copy of Summer Heights High individually from half way around the world.  So why do we? Given that most of the traffic on today's Internet is carrying non-realtime content (movies, music, images) and storage is cheap, we are developing an energy-aware content and service delivery platform across the edge in the spirit of "think globally, act locally ­ and turn off the light when you are done".
12:10 - 12:40	Discussion
12:40 - 14:00	Lunch (A. Richard Newton Room, Level 5, Electrical & Electronic Engineering Building) This lunch will include a poster display of sustainability research work being undertaken in the Melbourne Engineering Research Institute (MERIT)
14:00 - 14:20	Robin Eckermann (University of Canberra) Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater! Abstract: ICT has become as big a contributor to GHG emissions as the airline industry - so quite properly much attention is being to reducing its carbon footprint. However, we mustn't make the mistake of throttling usage in areas that deliver rich opportunities for leveraging much far great environmental benefits than costs.
14:20 - 14:40	Alison O'Flynn (Fujitsu Consulting) Green IT: Delivering Business sustainability   Abstract: Alison will present on the Global, National and Business Challenges in response to Climate Change. She will present a set of market drivers and industry drivers that highlights the call for action. She will present on the IT challenges facing our industry and how these challenges can create opportunities for the IT sector. Alison will present case studies demonstrating the value of Green IT.
14:40 - 15:00	Turlough Guerin (Telstra) Using Telecommunications to Reduce your Organisation's Carbon Footprint Abstract: Telecommunications products and services can enable a lower-energy and low-carbon future. They can enable this by reducing the economy's reliance on fossil fuels. Telecommunications can make a substantial contribution to improving the efficiency of how we as a society, and particularly businesses, utilise our transportation and energy assets. High definition video conferencing is an obvious application where this network application can reduce the need for travel. But there are many ways in which high-bandwidth networks and applications can reduce society's reliance on fossil fuels.
15:00 - 15:30	Discussion
15:30 - 16:00	Afternoon Tea (Immediately outside the Brown Theatre)
6:00 - 16:20	Tom Worthington (ANU) Educating ICT Professionals on Energy Efficiency Abstract: ICT is both part of the problem and part of the solution to climate change. However, ICT professionals need to be made aware of the contribution of ICT to carbon emissions and training on how technology can reduce those emissions. A study sponsored by the Australian Computer Society has shown that computers and telecommunications equipment in Australia generated 7.94Mt of carbon dioxide in 2005, 1.52% of national emissions. ICT professionals at the Australian National University set up a special interest group of the ACS to look at the issues and plan future measures. This work and questions about the extent, form and scope of the education and certification of ICT practitioners, in Australia and internationally, are discussed.
16:20 - 16:40	Stuart White (University of Technology Sydney) A sustainable future for the ICT Abstract: This presentation will position the ICT industry within the broader sustainability agenda. Computing and telecommunications have the potential to contribute significantly to sustainability, and also represent a challenge due to the growth that is being experienced in the sector. Energy use is a key factor, with gains in efficiency competing with the sector growth and a proliferation of products. The current state of play will be described, and a consideration of what a sustainable future for the industry would mean, along with some examples to illustrate.
16:40 - 17:00	Jodi Newcombe (The Climate Group) SMART 2020: ENABLING THE LOW CARBON ECONOMY IN THE INFORMATION AGE Abstract: The presentation will cover the main findings of a report by The Climate Group and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI), which takes a global look at the ICT sector's role in the transition to a low carbon economy. Three key questions will be addressed: What is the impact of the products and services of the ICT sector? What is the potential impact if ICT were applied to reduce emissions in other sectors such as transport or power? What are the market opportunities for the ICT industry and other high-tech sectors in enabling the low carbon economy?
17:00 - 17:30	Discussion
17:30 - 17:40	Symposium Wrap up