Communication PhD candidate, Neha Gour, co-authored with Emeritus Professor Dr. Ed Maibach and Luis Ortiz, a research paper titled "Health implications of the rapid rise of data centers in Virginia: an exploratory assessment" examining the potential health impacts of data center expansion in Virginia.
The paper was published in Frontiers in Climate earlier this year and has gained considerable attention since publication, with more than 21,000 views and 2,400 downloads from readers across dozens of countries. The study explores how data center expansion may affect human health through pathways including air pollution, noise, water use, energy demand, and land-use change.
Since publication, the work has generated a range of engagement activities, including:
• An op-ed published in The Conversation US, which has since been republished by more than 10 news outlets and received more than 48,000 reads
• An op-ed published in The Virginian Pilot
• Radio and podcast coverage, including an interview with 88.5 WFDD (an NPR affiliate)
• Interviews with U.S. News & World Report and KIII-TV (Texas)
• Conversations with researchers from NSF, the University of Michigan, and other institutions
• An invitation from APHA to serve as a panelist on an AI and data centers panel at the APHA Annual Meeting in November in San Antonio, Texas