We are proud to share that Prof. Damena Agonafer and Eric Wachsman have been named to Technical.ly’s RealLIST Innovators 2026. This recognition celebrates their work connecting engineering, energy, and artificial intelligence to address the infrastructure demands of a rapidly growing AI landscape.

Through the University of Maryland’s Grand Challenges initiative, their collaboration brings together different disciplines and perspectives to explore how AI infrastructure can grow sustainably and responsibly. The work focuses on meeting increasing computing demands while considering the energy and infrastructure needed to support them.

For NEIT Lab, this recognition highlights the importance of collaboration in tackling complex energy and sustainability challenges. It also reflects the contributions of students, researchers, colleagues, and collaborators across the University of Maryland who help make this work possible.

Congratulations to Prof. Agonafer, Eric Wachsman, and the teams behind this achievement! We are excited to see their efforts recognized and look forward to continued progress toward more sustainable infrastructure for the future of AI.