---
title: Where the Cloud Hits the Ground
date: 2026-05-20T10:05:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://terp.umd.edu/where-the-cloud-hits-the-ground"
section: Articles
---
# Where the Cloud Hits the Ground

*May 20, 2026* — by [Chris Carroll](/authors/chris-carroll)


- *Illustrations via Adobe Stock*

> Can engineering researchers make data centers better neighbors?


**DOOMSCROLLING, INFLUENCING,** backing up to the cloud, having AI write that report for corporate—it’s all well and good until a data center springs up next door.

From Prince George’s County nooks to L.A.’s exurbs, America is having a reckoning with its Extremely Online status. Local residents and environmentalists are [fighting to stop](https://www.vox.com/america-actually/488733/america-actually-data-centers-ai-new-jersey-vineland) construction of these sprawling buildings that hold internet and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, fearful of [noise, pollution and resource consumption](https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2026-04-28/living-in-hell-data-center-neighbors-grapple-with-noise-air-pollution): Large facilities can swallow millions of gallons of water daily and jack up regional electric rates.

Unless we all decide to swear off modern technology, data centers are likely to keep growing. With skill and innovation, though, their worst qualities can be tempered, says a group of researchers in UMD’s A. James Clark School of Engineering.

“We need data centers, but they’re not always good to live nearby,” says civil and environmental engineering (CEE) Professor Birthe Kjellerup. “One thing UMD can do is to be the place people can come to discuss these issues, and to solve them.”

Here are four solutions that she and colleagues are developing:


## DE-GUNKIFY HEAT TRANSFER


*Illustration of bacteria under a magnifying glass*


## SWEAT THE PROCESSOR COOLING


*Illustration of stacked computers emanating heat with water droplets above them*


## WASTE NOT, HEAT NOT


*Illustration of data center next to buildings*


## MAKE THE GRADE


*Illustration of data center next to a green plant*




**Issue:** [Spring 2026](https://terp.umd.edu/editions/spring-2026)


**Types:** [Explorations](https://terp.umd.edu/category/explorations)