Re: [arch-d] [E-impact] New IAB Technical Program: Environmental Impacts of Internet Technology (EIMPACT)

[Hesham ElBakoury <[e-mail]>]

Thanks for IAB efforts to create this program which also looks into IRTF
research topics.

There are two interesting research topics that I would like discus, but I
am not sure if they are within the scope of this IAB program. Both topics
are related to *Quantum Computing*.

*1) Looking into the energy efficiency of quantum computing *is
an interesting topic for *quantum Internet* research.  For example, there
is *Quantum Energy Initiative (QEI) *[https://quantum-energy-initiative.org/]
which provides a "*path towards energy-efficient, sustainable quantum
technologies, and to possibly bring out an energetic quantum advantage." *

*IEEE* is interested in this topic, therefore, it has launched the *IEEE*
*P3329* project to look into it. You can access the website of this project
here: https://sagroups.ieee.org/qei/

*2) Using Quantum Computing to fight against climate change and create an
energy efficient Internet* is another interesting research topic.

Regarding this topic, please refer to the McKinsey report "*Quantum
computing just might save the planet*"
(
https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/quantum-computing-just-might-save-the-planet?cid=eml-app).
The report describes using different use cases how "*The emerging
technology of Quantum Computing could revolutionize the fight against
climate change, transforming the economics of decarbonization and becoming
a major factor in limiting global warming to the target temperature of
1.5°C. Exponentially more powerful machines could make possible major
reductions in emissions, putting the goal of limiting global warming within
reach*."

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has this news release:
https://www.nrel.gov/news/program/2023/quantum-computers-can-now-interface-with-power-grid-equipment.html.
"*With its head-spinning size and connections, the power system is so
complex that even supercomputers struggle to efficiently solve certain
optimization problems. But quantum computers might fare better, and now
researchers can explore that prospect thanks to a software interface
between quantum computers and grid equipment.*
*The link from quantum to grid—achieved by a team from the National
Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) with funding from the Department of
Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, and in
collaboration with RTDS Technologies Inc., and Atom Computing—allows
researchers to perform “quantum-in-the-loop” experiments. And this
capability goes beyond just energy devices: With NREL’s Advanced Research
on Integrated Energy Systems (ARIES)
<https://www.nrel.gov/aries/index.html>, researchers can run quantum
in-the-loop within highly realistic power systems. Quantum in-the-loop
could be an important next step for using quantum computing to optimize
electric grid operations with the interconnection of increasingly complex
distributed energy resources*." You can find more details in this paper
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10108354.  Using Quantum Computing the
same way can help optimize the energy usage of the Internet. For example it
can be used to calculate the schedule for Internert routers as described in
tvr.

Comments?

Thanks
Hesham

On Thu, Aug 24, 2023, 10:54 AM IAB Executive Administrative Manager <
[e-mail]> wrote:

> A new IAB Technical Program has been formed on Environmental Impacts of
> Internet Technology (EIMPACT). For additional information, please
> contact the Program Leads.
>
> Environmental Impacts of Internet Technology (EIMPACT) Program
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Program Leads:
>
>  • Suresh Krishnan <[e-mail]> - IAB
>  • Jari Arkko <[e-mail]>
>
> Mailing list:
>
>  • Address: [e-mail]
>  • To subscribe: https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/e-impact
>  • Archive: https://mailarchive.ietf.org/arch/browse/e-impact/
>
> Program Page: https://datatracker.ietf.org/group/eimpact/about/
>
> Program Description:
>
> The E-Impact Program is a venue for discussing environmental impacts
> and sustainability of Internet technology. Within this scope, the
> program looks at trends, issues, improvement opportunities, ideas, best
> practices, and subsequent direction of work related to Internet
> technology, architecture, and operations, including visibility and
> efficiency on energy and other environmentally-impacting attributes. In
> particular, the group focuses on Internet architecture's role in these
> topics.
>
> The program targets topics not yet progressed into concrete standards
> or research efforts in the IETF or IRTF while also being a coordination
> point for work across multiple WGs/RGs, and a venue to highlight
> ongoing work in the IETF/IRTF as well as external SDOs. The program
> will use the existing E-Impact mailing list [2] as the venue for
> discussions.
>
> The program's progress and the quality of discussion may point to the
> need to organize additional workshop(s) to continue the 2022 IAB
> workshop on the Environmental Impact of Internet Applications and
> Systems [1].
>
> The program may work on documents that analyze areas where Internet
> technology faces challenges related to the program's topics or provide
> architectural guidance. Potential examples of such documents include
> ones that describe sustainable network architectures, and those that
> document tradeoffs between environmental impacts and other
> characteristics such as performance and availability. Publishing any
> document as an RFC will be at the discretion of the IAB.
>
> The program intends to have regular virtual meetings along with
> periodic hybrid meetings that are co-located with in-person IETF
> meetings. The program is open to all interested participants, and its
> meetings will be publicly announced.
>
> References:
>
>     [1] https://datatracker.ietf.org/group/eimpactws/about/
>     [2] https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/e-impact
>
> --
> E-impact mailing list
> [e-mail]
> https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/e-impact
>