First and foremost, grasping the importance of power is absolutely imperative. AI data centers are, if nothing else, power-intensive. We’re entering an era in which 10-gigawatt data center campuses are on the horizon, with a dozen or so already being planned that I can think of off the top of my head. Just to compare the economies of scale we’re now dealing with, my hometown of Beloit, Kansas uses as much power as a single floor of one mid-sized data centers (i.e., 14 MW on one floor of a 42MW data center). So, geography is everything when choosing where to build an AI data center. To ensure that power isn’t wasted in transmission, finding locations near, for instance, large deposits of natural gas or already-existing major power line corridors would be the first order of business.
Artificial Intelligence is transforming industries at a breakneck pace, and the entrepreneurs driving this innovation are at the forefront of this revolution. From groundbreaking applications to ethical considerations, these visionaries are shaping the future of AI. What does it take to innovate in such a rapidly evolving field, and how are these entrepreneurs using AI to solve real-world problems? As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing (Daren Shumate.)
Daren Shumate is an Electrical Engineer with over 35 years of mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) industry experience and licensure across more than 20 states. Though he has vast experience across a wide array of sectors, his particular focus has been on mission critical hyperscale data sectors since the 1990s. This is an area of subject matter expertise he has made the hallmark of his namesake firm, Shumate Engineering, which formed in 2020, employs over 15 engineers across three offices, and is now seeking to make strides alongside this burgeoning industry.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory and how you grew up?
I grew up in Beloit, a small Great Plains town in the middle of north-central Kansas that has somewhere in the ballpark of 3,500 residents nowadays. Back when I was growing up, Beloit was known for its juvenile detention center for girls, where my father was superintendent. In order to de-stress from what you can imagine was a very demanding job, he loved to work with his hands — a nice counterbalance from a 9-to-5 of working with his mind. It was from following him into his workshop and his letting me handle some (emphasis on some!) of his tools and help with his many projects — whether it be crafting a piece of furniture one day, dissecting the gears of a grandfather clock the next — that began my fascination with the built environment and the mechanics of how things are made. And of course, just recalling my own childhood, one of the common throughlines I’ve noticed with people in the A/E world is the answer to the question, “What were your favorite toys growing up?” For me, like so many future engineers, it was Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys, Erector Sets, model cars and airplanes. And had Legos been around, I’m sure they would’ve been added to the list. So when the time came for me to pack my bags and head off to Kansas State, my future as an engineer was never in doubt.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
Honestly, I’d say this latest phase of my career makes for the most interesting story. The exigencies of the pandemic at the beginning of 2020 forced me to make a break from the firm where I was a partner. But instead of making yet another lateral move in my mid-50s, I decided I had nothing to lose and everything to gain from finally pursuing what I’d dreamed of for 20-plus years: starting my own firm with the values and design principles that were most important to me. The success I’ve had in making this dream a reality defies any other interesting experiences over the course of my career.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Well of course, my wife Daniela, our three kids, and my mother should not go without mention! Without their love and support, all of this would’ve been a pipe dream. But venturing outside of my immediate family, I would have to give a world of credit to Ahmed Kurtom, who heads up DesignForce, a company that provides career and workforce strategy for A/E firms. I’d known him for 15 years prior to Shumate Engineering, and he had always been a constant cheerleader for me throughout my career. So when I told him in 2020 that I was ready to strike out on my own and start the firm, his was the staunchest voice in my ear urging me on and offering to provide the logistical support to get this off the ground. So cheers to Ahmed!
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Something my father always impressed upon me: “Things are never as bad as they seem.” If you live long enough, you’ll be confronted by pretty much everything life has to offer: the good, the bad, and the ugly. In a moment of crisis, something bad can feel almost intractable, but so long as you keep a sense of perspective that the good things in life will ultimately outweigh it and that there’s a ready solution to any particularly knotty problem, that will ultimately see you through. And if I’m allowed just one more aphorism, what better to remember when times get tough than Robert Frost’s “The best way out is always through.”?
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
- Creativity. I’m no stranger to the arts — I love painting in my spare time, and play both the cello and banjo semi-professionally — and yet I still consider MEP engineering to be the truest manifestation of my creative output.
- Honesty. As a businessman, I’d be nothing without my network of contacts. And to my network of contacts, I’d be nothing if my reputation for being an honest broker didn’t proceed me.
- Dependability. One of the greatest risks — if not the greatest risk — an architect or contractor takes is choosing their MEP subconsultant. With that in mind, tight adherence to deadlines as well as a rigorous QA/QC process are both ironclad commitments that I take very seriously.
Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. Share the story of what inspired you to start working with AI. Was there a particular problem or opportunity that motivated you?
My draw to the world of AI data centers was almost happenstantial. Back in the mid-1990s when the Information Revolution was shifting into full gear and the necessity of data centers was becoming ever more apparent, I was working at an A/E firm called EYP. When EYP decided to siphon off its data center work into an aptly named spin-off called EYP Mission Critical, I went down that path instead of with the parent firm. What drew my attention is that, unlike most architectural/engineering collaborations, the MEP firm typically takes the lead in design. With aesthetics taking somewhat of a backseat to the efficiency of mechanical and electrical systems on a massive scale, this intrigued the creative side of my personality — the ability to paint on the largest possible canvas, if you’ll allow the metaphor.
Describe a moment when AI achieved something you once thought impossible. What was the breakthrough, and how did it impact your approach going forward?
When I’m at a loss for words (and those who know me well will tell you that is a rarity!), I’ve found ChatGPT to be quite useful as a time-saver when I need to organize my thinking and get raw thoughts onto the page. Of course, it’s not a substitute for actual thinking (to say nothing of actual MEP engineering), but it’s become an effective tool for developing business plan outlines.
Talk about a challenge you faced when working with AI. How did you overcome it, and what was the outcome?
Specifically relating to AI data centers, the necessity of creating racks with a high density of power is obviously a primary concert. That, in turn, presents two questions: How do you deliver power in a small space? And how do you remove that much heat? That led our firm to develop a mechanical process called HDAC, which I describe in greater detail below.
Can you share an example of how your work with AI has had a meaningful impact (on others, on business results, etc)? What was the situation, and what difference did it make?
Off the top of my head, what comes to mind is my work on the Fairfax County Planning Commission. As you probably know, Northern Virginia is very much the heart of the data center economy. As the pace and scale of construction has increased, this has obviously caused a bit of controversy and consternation with the broader community. So, during my term in office, I took it upon myself to educate members of the public who would routinely voice their objections to data centers in their vicinity, taking them step by step through their benefits to the community and debunking many of the insidious myths that have sprung up. Granted I’m only one individual — and of course, I was also sure to mention beforehand that I develop data centers for a living, for the avoidance of any conflicts of interest — but little by little we were able to present data centers in a more accurate light.
Based on your experience and success, can you please share “Five Things You Need To Know To Help Shape The Future of AI”?
1 . First and foremost, grasping the importance of power is absolutely imperative. AI data centers are, if nothing else, power-intensive. We’re entering an era in which 10-gigawatt data center campuses are on the horizon, with a dozen or so already being planned that I can think of off the top of my head. Just to compare the economies of scale we’re now dealing with, my hometown of Beloit, Kansas uses as much power as a single floor of one mid-sized data centers (i.e., 14 MW on one floor of a 42MW data center). So, geography is everything when choosing where to build an AI data center. To ensure that power isn’t wasted in transmission, finding locations near, for instance, large deposits of natural gas or already-existing major power line corridors would be the first order of business.
2 . However, what if power sources aren’t readily available nearby? If that’s the case, then you need to consider what sources of energy could potentially power a data center campus of that size and scale. Typically, hyperscale data centers employ one of three energy sources — natural gas, recommissioned coal-powered plants, and small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs). These are the most commonplace, but as non-renewable resources, we also need to imagine a time in the not-too-distant future when scarcity becomes a problem all while demand for data centers is steadily ramping up. Therefore, what are the creative energy sources of tomorrow? Solar, for example, is promising, but an average 100-megawatt data center would require approximately 900 acres — that’s 1.5 square miles! — of panels to power it in a state of continuous sunshine. Wind power is also promising, but it’s most easily maximized offshore, whereas data centers of the size we’re anticipating require an expanse of real estate most likely not to be found near the coast. So, we need to be realistic about these possibilities, as appealing as they are.
3 . The next question interested parties should be asking is how to cool an AI data center as efficiently as possible. Assuming we continue our trajectory of using the current model of air-chilled coolers, the best power usage effectiveness (PUE) that can be hoped for is around 1.20 annualized. PUE is the total power to a data center including cooling divided by the IT load and is a standard measure of data center efficiency. With this next generation of 10-gigawatt behemoths coming into clearer view, hyperefficient cooling needs to meet the needs of hyperscaling if every last bit of energy is going to be maximized. To that end, Shumate has devised and is beginning to implement a solution known as Hybrid-Dry/Adiabatic Cooling (HDAC), which uniquely provides two temperatures of cooling fluid from a single closed loop, giving data center operators more flexibility in deploying both at varying percentages and saving them a boat-load of money in the process. Because HDAC simultaneously uses 94 percent less water than a chiller-cooling tower system and 60 percent less energy than an air-cooled chiller, we’ve managed to get that PUE figure all the way down to about 1.05 annualized. Just to illustrate my point, this is the equivalent of 22 megawatts every year; within four years, the power needs of one whole mid-sized data center are essentially saved.
4 . As a sector, we need to take more seriously winning the hearts and minds of our neighbors. I served for a term on the Fairfax County Planning Commission, and I can tell you without hesitation that public outcry regarding data center permitting and construction was the №1 bone of contention. Many of the complaints are rooted in common misconceptions — that data centers are heavy polluters, that they’re obnoxiously noisy, that they pose long-term health risks for those in the vicinity. None of these are borne in reality, but that doesn’t let us off the hook as designers, builders, and ultimately, educators. We should be doing more to tout the success stories of data centers — how they create hundreds of jobs for communities; how they generate revenue for localities; how the entire modern world is inconceivable without data centers’ storage capacity. All the while, we should be open to rectifying what we can — designing them with aesthetics in mind so they’re not labeled as eyesores; permitting them with setbacks so they’re not directly abutting private property; etc. Data centers make good neighbors, but it’s up to us to prove it.
5 . And finally, anybody interested in AI data centers needs to understand that demand is unyielding. According to a presentation by McKinsey economists I attended last year, we can reasonably expect data center usage to double over the course of the next seven years. So given this industry is not going to slow down anytime soon — quite the opposite! — it would behoove us to arrive at solutions that address those four former points sooner rather than later.
What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs who want to innovate in AI? Can you share a story from your experience that illustrates your advice?
No matter how small your firm is, do not be afraid to invest in Research and Development. My Director of Mission Critical Services, Steve Spinazzola, in addition to being a great mechanical engineer, also has an inventor’s natural sense of curiosity and love of problem-solving — as evidenced by his seven patents! Steve thought he had the rough outline of a way to significantly reduce data center water usage and thereby maximize PUE, but he needed the time and space to think the details through. Even though we were a firm of barely a dozen without much manpower to spare, I wasn’t afraid to set him loose and give him latitude. What resulted was the HDAC system I described before, which we believe will prove nothing short of revolutionary in the industry! So even if the dividends aren’t appreciable at the outset, if you hire smart people, trust them to come up with smart solutions.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
David Hockney. In my opinion, our greatest living artist — his name will one day be mentioned in the same breath as Picasso and Degas if it isn’t already. As someone who does more than a little dabbling in painting, I’d rank him alongside Edward Hopper and Wayne Thiebaud as the major influences on my own style. That’s my right brain speaking; my left brain respects the fact that he’s never been afraid to harness technological progress in pursuit of art — even as recently as a few years ago well into his 80s, he was using the Brushes iPhone app to create covers for The New Yorker that could rank alongside his best-known paintings in the MoMa and Art Institute.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
So you can find Shumate Engineering on all the usual social media — Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn.
https://shumateengineering.com/
https://www.instagram.com/shumateengineering/
https://www.facebook.com/shumateengineering
https://www.linkedin.com/company/shumate-engineering-pllc/
And if you’re interested in following some of my musical and artistic pursuits, my YouTube channel is BanjoShumate!
https://www.youtube.com/@banjoshumate
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational, and we wish you continued success in your important work.
You’re most certainly welcome!
Daren Shumate Of Shumate Engineering On Pushing the Boundaries of AI was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.