Panel 1
Grid Reformation for AI Data Centers
Moderated by William Hogan, this discussion examined how grid infrastructure must adapt to escalating AI data-center demand.
Past event
Inaugural Power and AI Symposium
On May 20, 2025, Harvard SEAS convened researchers, industry leaders, and policy experts for the first Power and AI Symposium, followed by an executive short course on May 21.
Overview
A one-day symposium built around four panels, academic lightning talks, and a poster reception
The Harvard SEAS coverage described the event as part of the initiative’s broader work to integrate artificial intelligence with power systems in ways that support sustainable and efficient energy solutions.
Panel themes
The symposium focused on four core questions at the intersection of AI and energy infrastructure
Panel 2
Policy and Business Issues on AI and Power Grids
Moderated by Henry Lee, the panel explored changing regulatory, business, and market conditions shaped by AI integration into power systems.
Panel 3
Full Stack Redesign of AI Infrastructure for Energy Efficiency
Moderated by Minlan Yu, the conversation focused on redesigning AI infrastructure across the stack to improve energy efficiency.
Panel 4
AI to Modernize the Grid
Moderated by Francesca Dominici, the final panel addressed how AI can support grid modernization, operations, and system optimization.
Symposium schedule
Program adapted from the original May 20, 2025 event page
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM
Breakfast, registration, and check-in
9:00 AM - 9:05 AM
Opening remarks 1
9:05 AM - 9:45 AM
PAI introduction
9:45 AM - 10:45 AM
Panel 1: Grid (Technical) Reformation for AI Data Centers
Panelists: Arin Kaye (EPRI), Lane Dilg (OpenAI), Carole-Jean Wu (Meta), Tongxin Zheng (ISO New England)
10:45 AM - 11:00 AM
Break
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Panel 2: Policy/Business Issues on AI and Power Grids
Panelists: Erik Belz (Engine No.1), Keith Benes (formerly DOE), Pearl Donohoo-Vallett (FERC), Howard Gugel (NERC)
12:00 PM - 1:15 PM
Working lunch
1:20 PM - 1:30 PM
Opening remarks 2
1:30 PM - 2:30 PM
Panel 3: Full Stack Redesign of AI Infrastructure for Energy Efficiency
Panelists: Jeffrey Burns (IBM), Esha Choukse (Microsoft), Christos Kozyrakis (Nvidia), Houle Gan (Google)
2:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Panel 4: AI to Modernize the Grid
Panelists: Asim Fazlagic (Eversource Energy), Prashant Kansal (ERCOT), Taiil Kim (Schneider Electric), Xing Wang (AWS)
3:30 PM - 3:45 PM
Break
3:45 PM - 4:15 PM
Academic pitch lightning talks
Conleigh Byers (Harvard), Noman Bashir (MIT), Jae-Won Chung (University of Michigan), Yize Chen (University of Alberta), Sarah Keren (Technion), Yicheng Zhu (UC Berkeley)
4:15 PM - 4:30 PM
Concluding remarks
4:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Reception and poster presentation
Accompanying short course
The symposium was paired with a May 21, 2025 executive short course
The following day, Harvard SEAS offered Power Systems and Artificial Intelligence: An Introduction, a one-day program designed to help power-system engineers and AI practitioners build a shared technical language.
The SEAS article highlighted the short course as a bridge between grid operations, AI applications for power systems, and energy-efficient AI infrastructure.
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