Guiyang, 29 Oct 2026 – A team of six students from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) has brought recognition to the university by winning the prestigious Midea Design Expert Award at the Midea HVAC Design Contest 2026, showcasing their innovative approach to sustainable data centre cooling and energy efficiency.

The award-winning project, titled “WATERSYNC-DC-AI Data Centre: An AI-Optimised Liquid-Cooled Data Centre with Waste-Heat-Driven Desalination for Coastal Johor,” presents an integrated engineering solution that addresses two critical sustainability challenges: the growing energy demand of data centres and the need for sustainable water resources.

The proposed system combines advanced liquid-cooling technology, artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted cooling optimisation and waste-heat recovery to enhance data centre energy efficiency. A key innovation is the utilisation of recovered waste heat to drive a desalination process, potentially converting otherwise wasted thermal energy into a valuable resource for freshwater production.

The student team was led by Tan Jun Qi, together with Chong You Quan, Loo Wei Jie, Anselm Yu Soon Hao, Loh Quan Sheng, and Chou Kok Wei. The project was supervised by ASHRAE USM Student Branch advisor Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yu Kok Hwa and Prof. Ir. Dr. Leo Choe Peng of Universiti Sains Malaysia, who provided technical guidance in engineering design, thermal management and sustainable energy systems.

Special thanks are given to Ms. Yuki Peng and Mr. Jason Chen Jian Chang of Techflag Engineering Sdn. Bhd. for serving as an industry technical advisor and for providing practical guidances on data centre and HVAC system requirements. Our appreciation is also extended to Dr. Ng Wei Lin of iCents Group Holdings Berhad for his valuable input and additional technical perspectives on data centre construction.

The achievement highlights the students' ability to apply multidisciplinary engineering knowledge to real-world industrial challenges, particularly in the rapidly evolving data centre sector. Their innovative concept reflects the growing importance of integrating intelligent cooling technologies with waste-heat utilisation and sustainable resource management. This achievement further reinforces USM's commitment to nurturing engineering talent, advancing industry-relevant innovation and developing sustainable technologies that address emerging global challenges.

Award ceremony photo