The City of Fort Worth announced it is taking what it calls a structured, science-backed approach to its growing technology infrastructure. This week, the newly formed Fort Worth Data Center & Infrastructure Commission (DCIC) officially begins its work to evaluate the impacts of data center development across the city, aiming to deliver a final policy report to the City Council by Nov. 3.

The initiative stems from an Aug. 11 City Council resolution instructing the City Manager to convene an expert panel. The panel is tasked with assessing key operational and local challenges associated with data facilities, including grid power demands, water usage, land-use compatibility, neighborhood disruption, and broader economic development goals.

Leading the effort is Mike Slattery, Ph.D., director of the Institute for Environmental Studies at Texas Christian University (TCU). Slattery was selected to assemble the panel, oversee its research framework, and author the final recommendations.

The 11-member commission brings together industry professionals, academic researchers, environmental advocates, and community leaders. Five community representative positions were selected directly from nominations submitted by City Councilmembers to ensure local neighborhood perspectives are represented.

The voting members of the DCIC include:

-David Berzina, Vice President, JLL
-Rev. Vernon Elisher, President, Youth & Family Community Outreach Inc.
-Krista Erbe, Community Organizer, 2871 Community Coalition
-Dr. Nick Fang, Professor of Civil Engineering and head of the Water Engineering Research Center at UT Arlington
-Andrew Franko, Principal, Freese and Nichols
-Rusty Fuller, President, North Fort Worth Alliance
-Tobi Jackson, CEO, Fort Worth SPARC
-Ryan Kuithe, Senior Vice President of Facility Operations, QTS Data Centers
-John MacFarlane, Conservation Executive Committee Member, Greater Fort Worth Sierra Club
-Dr. Stathis Michaeledes, Chair of Engineering at TCU
-Ambika Sharma, Community Organizer

To ensure the commission’s findings are supported by peer-reviewed evidence, a multidisciplinary group of academic contributors from TCU, UT Arlington, Cornell University, and the University of North Texas will assist with data analysis and literature reviews.

The research team features experts in engineering, computer science, economics, and environmental sciences, including Dr. Seth Hall, Dr. Zack Hawley, Dr. Mohammad Islam, Dr. Gehendra Kharel, Dr. Morgan Kiani, Dr. Weiwei Liu, Dr. Tom Seng, Dr. Bingyang Wei, Dr. Fengqi You, and Dr. Yang Zhou. Additional researchers may join the team as the scope of work expands.

Commission members and researchers will collaborate through October. Their findings will culminate in a comprehensive report presented to the City Council during its Nov. 3 Work Session, which will help establish Fort Worth’s updated regulatory standards for future data center projects.