Advanced Data Center Filtration
October 13, 2026, Tuesday
8:00 AM – 10:00 AM ET, USA
$USD 350
$USD 175 (Member Only )
Course Objective
This course explores how rapid data center growth—driven by AI, cloud computing, and high-density workloads—is shaping emerging filtration requirements across modern digital infrastructure. Participants will gain insight into key cooling architectures, including air, hybrid, and liquid cooling systems, along with their unique filtration challenges and performance demands.
The course examines particulate, gas-phase, and liquid filtration technologies used to protect critical equipment, maintain uptime, and support operational reliability. Additional topics include fluid cleanliness targets, filtration system design, efficiency and pressure drop considerations, lifecycle cost analysis, condition monitoring, and proactive maintenance strategies.
Participants will also review relevant industry standards and guidelines from ASHRAE, ISO, and ISA. The session concludes with a live panel discussion covering filtration innovations, market trends, sustainability initiatives, operational challenges, and future opportunities within the rapidly evolving data center industry.
Course Outline
1. Data Center Growth & Emerging Filtration Market
Data center industry and digital infrastructure growth
Why filtration is becoming mission-critical
Growth outlook for the data center filtration market
2. Filtration Systems Used in Data Centers
Air cooling systems for enterprise, cloud, and hyperscale facilities
Hybrid cooling systems for high-density environments
Liquid cooling systems for AI and HPC applications
Particulate, gas-phase, and liquid filtration technologies
Filtration requirements for air- and liquid-cooled infrastructure
Cooling system reliability and contamination control
3. Data Center Filtration Design Concepts
Integration with airflow management and cooling system design
Filtration placement and system configuration
Balancing efficiency, pressure drop, energy use, and lifecycle cost
Design considerations for high-density and liquid-cooled environments
Fluid cleanliness considerations for liquid cooling systems
4. Standards and Guidelines
ASHRAE TC 9.9 recommendations for data center environments
ASHRAE 52.2 / ISO 16890 for particulate air filtration classification
ISO 10121 / ASHRAE 145.2 for gas-phase filtration performance
ISA-71.04 for environmental severity and corrosion classification
ISO 4406 for liquid cleanliness classification
5. Testing, Monitoring, and Maintenance
Filtration performance metrics and monitoring methods
Air quality, corrosion, and coolant cleanliness measurement
Maintenance strategies and lifecycle considerations
6. Challenges, Opportunities, and Industry Trends (Panel discussion)
Challenges in increasng high-density and heat loads
Sustainability and energy efficiency goals
Filtration innovations and smart technologies
Live Q&A
Instructor Biography
Mr. Mike Clark
Session Chair
Mr. Mike Clark is President of the Filtration Solutions and Energy Solutions divisions at Hollingsworth & Vose (H&V). He joined H&V in 2003 and has held a range of leadership roles while based in the U.S. and Germany. With more than two decades of filtration experience spanning air, liquid, transportation, and power generation, Mike has helped steer H&V’s filtration businesses and strengthen its position in the global filtration market—recognized for high-performance, high-quality filter media and deep applications expertise. He is passionate about innovation and believes the global mega-trends supporting health, safety, productivity, and CO₂ reduction will continue to drive growth and opportunity across energy storage and filtration. He serves on the INDA Board of Directors and WFI Advisory Board. Mike holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Mr. Paul Flanagan
Co-Instructor
Mr. Paul Flanagan is Regional Director for EMEA West for Camfil, with over 30 years’ experience in the air filtration and clean air solutions industry. He has led organisations across Ireland, Belgium, Norway, Denmark, and the Netherlands, combining deep technical knowledge with strong commercial and operational leadership. Paul is particularly recognised for his leadership in the data centre segment, where he has played a key role in enabling the growth of hyperscale infrastructure across Ireland and EMEA. He has built long‑standing partnerships with all four major hyper scalers, as well as leading colocation providers, acting not only as a strategic supplier of filtration products and solutions, but as a trusted advisor on filtration performance, resilience, and sustainability in mission‑critical environments. This expertise led to his appointment as Global Data Centre Segment Specialist, advising Camfil teams worldwide. Beyond industry, Paul lectures regularly at Technological University Dublin and sits on multiple advisory councils within the data centre sector, contributing to standards development, skills growth, and best practice across the industry.
Dr. Marc Schmidt
Co-Instructor
Dr. Marc Schmidt is Vice President of Technologies Europe at AAF International and a well-recognized expert in air filtration. He holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany. With a strong international background, Dr. Schmidt has a proven track record in product and process development, sales, technical marketing, business development, and operations management across the filter and nonwovens industries in both Europe and China. In addition to his corporate role, he serves as Chairman of the Eurovent Product Group Filters (PG-FIL), where he contributes to shaping standards and advancing best practices in the field. Dr. Schmidt also engages in international consulting and technical training related to air filtration on behalf of AAF International and is a frequent speaker at international conferences and symposia, sharing his expertise on filtration technologies and market trends.
Penalists
Dr. Lu Liu is a Principal Engineer in Parker Hannifin’s HVAC Filtration Division and a 2026 Parker Engineering Fellow—one of the company’s highest technical honors, recognizing exceptional leadership, innovation, and impact in critical applications. Representing Parker’s Filtration Group, Dr. Liu is widely recognized for advancing next-generation filtration materials, product design, and manufacturing methods. Since joining Parker in 2014, she has played a pivotal role in improving both filtration performance and manufacturability, including significant advancements in the LPD filter construction method that support scalable, high-quality production. Her expertise in fiber and polymer science has helped strengthen Parker’s HVAC filtration solutions for demanding environments such as healthcare, agriculture, and data centers. As one of only two engineers in Parker’s Filtration Group to receive this distinction, Dr. Liu also holds four patents, has published five journal articles, and maintains active leadership and engagement with ASHRAE, NAFA, AFS, and WFI.
Dr. Christine Sun, President of the World Filtration Institute (WFI), is a globally recognized technical and market expert in filtration and nonwovens. With 30+ years of experience across academia and industry, she has 100+ publications and patents and extensive expertise in technology and business technology development. Dr. Sun chaired the American Filtration and Separation Society (AFS) (2016–2017) and received the AFS Fellow Award (2019). She previously served as Technology Director at Donaldson (2011–2013), R&D Manager at Freudenberg Filtration Technologies (2004–2011), and Research Professor at the University of Tennessee (USA) (1995–2024). She holds B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, and an Executive Certificate from Kellogg, Northwestern University (USA). She serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Industrial Textiles and the Textile Science & Research Journal.
Mr. Jon Douglas leads advanced development of end-to-end data center cooling solutions at Johnson Controls, with a focus on system simulation, controls, and optimization of the data center thermal cooling chain. He brings more than 30 years of experience in the HVAC&R industry, spanning residential systems, light commercial rooftop units, supermarket refrigeration, large building automation systems, indoor air quality, filtration, and clean air strategies. Jon has established a reputation as an innovator, with 42 issued patents and additional patents in process. His expertise includes ventilation, filtration, disinfection, airborne risk mitigation, and high-performance building systems, making him especially well positioned to address advanced filtration and cooling challenges in data center environments. He is also an active contributor to industry standards work, including ASHRAE 241 and ASHRAE 62.1.
Mr. Scott Yaeger, President/CEO of FAST, USA
Mr. Yaeger has over 40 years of experience in Membrane Filtration with leading companies such as Sartorius, Cuno/3M, Gelman/Pall, and PTI Advanced Filtration/Parker Hannifin. He has held senior roles in Sales, Marketing, Engineering, R&D, Manufacturing, and General Management. Since 2004, as President of FAST Consulting, LLC, he has developed new membranes, technologies, and applications for leading filtration companies.
Scott was the Founding Chairman and a past Board Member and Program Chair of the American Filtration and Separation Society (AFS). He is currently on the Board of Directors of the Electrocoat Association (EA). He has received the Wells Shoemaker Award from AFS and the Brewer Award from EA. Scott holds 4 US patents, has presented over 400 technical papers to more than 10 technical societies, and serves on the Editorial Board for Filtration News.
Dr. Wu Chen, R&D Fellow at Dow (retired), USA
Dr. Wu Chen is a recently retired R&D Fellow at Dow. He has 35 years of industrial experience in all areas of solid/liquid separation and air/gas filtration. His experiences include laboratory filtration evaluation, pilot study, full scale installation, startup, production scale operation and trouble shooting. He also has expertise in carbon capture, water management, project management, process design, and plant startup. He has been teaching this course in numerous organizations and countries for 30 years. He is very active in the filtration industry and has been the plenary and keynote speakers in major conferences, served as the chair of the American Filtration and Separation Society (AFS), AFS board of directors, conference chairs, and various committee members. His was awarded AFS Frank Tiller Award for outstanding technical achievements, AFS Well Shoemaker Award for leadership and service to the filtration industry and Fellow Member Award for sustained significant contributions to filtration technologies and filtration industry. In 2024, he received the AFS Lifetime Achievement award which recognized his significant lifetime contribution to the filtration industry.