Data Centers, Water, & Power

Public Policy Agenda for America’s AI Future

AI is driving a historic buildout of digital infrastructure. As compute demands surge, data centers are expanding at an unprecedented pace—bringing rapid growth in electricity consumption, new pressures on grid capacity, and rising demand for water to cool advanced systems.

Data Centers, Water, and Power—the next edition of the LBJ Business Policy Forum—will examine how this transformation intersects with communities and public policy. What does the rapid expansion of data centers mean for local water systems, electricity reliability, land use, and economic development? How should policymakers balance the promise of AI-driven growth with responsible stewardship of natural resources? And what policy tools—at the local, state, and federal levels—are needed to modernize infrastructure while safeguarding public trust?

Grounded in the LBJ School’s focus on practical, bipartisan problem-solving, this forum will bring together industry leaders, policy experts, and scholars to discuss how the United States can power the AI economy responsibly and competitively. The policy choices we make now will shape America’s leadership in the AI age—and their impact on the communities that host this infrastructure.

Chris Crosby CEO, Compass Datacenters

After years of working at the intersection of tech and real estate development, ChrisCrosby set out in 2011 to take a new approach to data center development. His visionwas to focus on greenfield projects and deliver customizable, scalable, sustainable andlow-cost data centers in an expedited time frame.A testament to Chris’ bold vision and a solid culture centered around four coreconvictions from which the company has never wavered, Compass has grown at aremarkable rate. From completing its first 1.2 MW data center in 2012 to serving thecampus-level hyperscale market with developments underway across the globe lessthan a decade later, Compass’ success is the result of Chris’ vision, a strong foundationand a talented team of innovative thinkers.Beyond his role at Compass, Chris is dedicated to shaping the future of the industry’sworkforce through education. He serves as a member of the SMU Lyle School ofEngineering Datacenter Systems Engineering Advisory Board, where he wasinstrumental in developing the Master of Science in Datacenter Systems Engineeringcurriculum. The first degree of its kind in the United States, the interdisciplinarycurriculum blends engineering, computer science, business management and finance toprepare students for leadership roles. Additionally, Chris launched the MEI Data CenterPathways Program at Texas State Technical College (TSTC) to bring more workers intothe "new-collar" jobs created by the data center industry.In 2025, Compass was recognized by the Financial Times as one of the Americas’Fastest Growing Companies. Since 2020, it has consistently appeared on Inc.Magazine’s 5000 fastest-growing companies list. In 2024, the Dallas Business Journalnamed Compass among the Best Places to Work, a ranking determined by employeefeedback. Additionally, in 2023, Chris was honored as EY’s Southwest AreaEntrepreneur of The Year®. Under Chris’ leadership, Compass continues to driveindustry-leading sustainability practices, making a lasting impact on the data centerindustry.

Dr. Ning Lin Chief Economist, Bureau of Economic Geology, UT Austin

Dr. Ning Lin is the chief economist at Bureau of Economic Geology at UT Austin. With 15 years of experience in commercial investment and capital projects in natural gas and chemicals across the US and Asia, Dr. Lin has held key roles at Shell Trading, Koch Industries, and Tenaska. Her recent research focuses on hydrogen, particularly in geological storage and downstream applications like low-carbon ammonia and agriculture. She is part of the GeoH2 industrial consortium, and leads the HyFive initiative, an online platform designed to screen and estimate commercially viable hydrogen storage integrated with existing infrastructure.

Venkat Tirupati VP & CTO, ERCOT

Venkat Tirupati is Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at ERCOT, reporting to the CEO. In this role, he leads enterprise technology, data, and AI strategy, and oversees the technology innovation capabilities of the Grid Research, Innovation, and Transformation (GRIT) initiative.Mr. Tirupati guides staff, systems, and solutions to address the increasing complexity of a rapidly transforming electric power grid and fosters collaboration with external stakeholders, including technology vendors, academic institutions, research organizations, and electric power industry consortiums. He joined ERCOT in 2020 as Director of Grid and Market Solutions and previously served as Vice President of DevOps and Grid Transformation.Prior to joining ERCOT, Mr. Tirupati served as Director of Line of Business at the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA), where he led teams supporting the wholesale power and water business units with business and operational technology solutions. He previously held roles as Manager of Market Systems and Supervisor of EMS and Advanced Applications at LCRA, supporting control room operations and advanced grid applications. Before LCRA, Mr. Tirupati worked as a Senior Reliability Engineer in the Reliability Risk Management Group at the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). He began his career at Siemens Power Transmission and Distribution, where he held various power-systems applications engineering roles supporting global electric utilities with grid automation technologies.Mr. Tirupati has served on multiple industry committees and has chaired the NERC Energy Management System Working Group (EMSWG) and the ERCOT Technology Working Group (TWG). He holds a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (Power Systems) from Illinois Institute of Technology, and a Master of Business Administration with a focus on data analytics and sustainability from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He earned his Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering from the University of Mumbai. Mr. Tirupati is a registered Professional Engineer (PE) in the State of Texas and a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

Dilawar Syed is an entrepreneur, board member, and former U.S. cabinet official whose leadership has spanned various public and private sector organizations, including as Deputy Administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and Special Envoy for Commercial Affairs at the State Department. In a decades-long career in Silicon Valley, Dilawar led and scaled ventures in AI, software, and consumer web. After his public service, he has joined the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin as Senior Economic Policy Advisor, to lead a new initiative on advancing U.S. business competitiveness, and as faculty at the LBJ School and UT’s McCombs School of Business. He is advising several technology ventures as a board member. Dilawar’s most recent role as SBA Deputy Administrator began with a bipartisan vote of the U.S. Senate. Dilawar advanced the Biden Administration’s priorities for small businesses by democratizing access to capital ($56 billion in 2024), government contracting ($183 billion in 2024), and entrepreneurship enablement, especially in the underserved and rural communities. He coordinated SBA’s disaster response after Hurricanes Helene and Milton in the Southeast, the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore, MD, and the wildfires in Maui, HI. As Special Envoy for Commercial Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, Dilawar served as America’s top commercial diplomat, championing U.S. companies in markets abroad and strengthening U.S. competitiveness. He mobilized private sector support for Ukraine after Russia’s invasion, advocated for strategic deals in advanced tech, energy, aviation, and defense, and negotiated market access in his 24 bilateral engagements across the globe. Dilawar’s civic entrepreneurship has spanned local, state, and federal governments. Appointed by President Obama in 2010 to the White House Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, he led engagement with small businesses during the economic recovery. In 2017, he launched the California Entrepreneurship Task Force with the Governor’s Office to bridge Silicon Valley with rural communities and promote inclusive entrepreneurship. Dilawar has previously served as CEO of Lumiata, an AI healthcare company backed by Khosla Ventures and BlueCross BlueShields, and as President at Freshworks, where he founded the software company’s North America business. Freshworks had a successful IPO in 2021. Earlier, he held leadership roles at Yahoo! and Siebel Systems. Dilawar started his career in management consulting at Ernst & Young and Deloitte Consulting. Dilawar holds an MBA from The Wharton School and a BA in Computer Science and Economics from The University of Texas at Austin.

Info: AI is driving a historic buildout of digital infrastructure. As compute demands surge, data centers are expanding at an unprecedented pace—bringing rapid growth in electricity consumption, new pressures on grid capacity, and rising demand for water to cool advanced systems.

Data Centers, Water, and Power—the next edition of the LBJ Business Policy Forum—will examine how this transformation intersects with communities and public policy. What does the rapid expansion of data centers mean for local water systems, electricity reliability, land use, and economic development? How should policymakers balance the promise of AI-driven growth with responsible stewardship of natural resources? And what policy tools—at the local, state, and federal levels—are needed to modernize infrastructure while safeguarding public trust?

Grounded in the LBJ School’s focus on practical, bipartisan problem-solving, this forum will bring together industry leaders, policy experts, and scholars to discuss how th

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