Energy Institute Launches 2026 Summer School in Greece

The Summer School in Greece team visited the SmartAgroHub e-situ® Experimental Facility, an extension of the Agricultural University of Athens. While there, the group visited with local farmers, learned about technology deployments, and discussed resource availability for innovation and data centers.

At the European Cultural Center of Delphi, the Summer School team visited with regional leaders from the administrative region of Central Greece, discussing the potential for data centers and regional investment.

At the European Cultural Center of Delphi, the Summer School team visited with regional leaders from the administrative region of Central Greece, discussing the potential for data centers and regional investment.

While in the Phocis regional unit of Greece, the Summer School team was able to visit the ancient village of Amfissa, and then travel down to the Corinthian Gulf to Trizonia Island. Along the way, the team saw transmission lines and wind turbines.

The Summer School in Greece team participated in “The Resource Nexus Lectures” with faculty experts at the Agricultural University of Athens, focusing on the technical water/energy baseline and specific data center footprints in Greece.

The Texas A&M Energy Institute is proud to announce the kickoff of its 2026 Summer School in Greece, a part of the Undergraduate Research Scholars Program, which is organized by the Texas A&M Energy Institute, in cooperation with the Agricultural University of Athens, Greece.

The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence is driving hyperscale data center construction globally at an unprecedented scale. These facilities operate 24/7/365 and require immense amounts of electricity and water for cooling. Increasingly, these data centers are sited in regions with moderate climates and cheap electricity, areas that also define prime agricultural lands. In water-stressed regions, this creates direct competition: data centers draw down the same aquifers and strain the same electrical grids that local farmers rely on for food production.

For the 2026 Summer School in Greece, five undergraduate students will have the opportunity to develop their research skills while exploring these issues in a program titled “The Resource Nexus: Evaluating Data Center Development Through Community-Engaged, Evidence-Based Decision-Making.”

The project is being led by Dr. Konstantinos Pappas, the Associate Director of the Energy Institute, in cooperation with Dr. Carmela Garritano, an Associate Professor in the Department of International Affairs, Dr. Silva Hamie, an Instructional Professor in the Department of International Affairs and the Energy Institute’s Assistant Director for Energy Policy, Dr. Mishaal Ashkanani, an Assistant Research Scientist in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, as well as Dr. Jafaru Egieya, an Associate Research Scientist in the Energy Institute.

Over the course of the 7-week program, the participants will spend 2 weeks on the Texas A&M University campus in Texas learning the basics of conducting research, establishing research protocols, and preparing for fieldwork. Then, in a 2-week program in Greece, they will meet with stakeholders, community members, and governmental representatives in two regions to understand the current situation. Finally, after returning to Texas, the students will spend 3 weeks analyzing the data they collected and then prepare a final report. The participants will contribute to a blog as they prepare to conduct the research, while in the field in Greece, and after the research is analyzed. You can read the blog at: summerschoolingreece.blogspot.com

The students and their majors are:

• Mariana Brooks
  • Major: Environmental Studies
• Emma Chao
  • Major: Environmental Studies
• Hester Huynh
  • Major: Environmental Studies
• Cody Phillips
  • Major: Petroleum Engineering
• Sophie Schneider
  • Major: Biological and Agricultural Engineering