Wisdom From Data-center Power Pioneer Mike Mosman

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Few engineers have moved the levers of modern electronics more decisively than Mike Mosman. From the pre-email computer rooms of the 1980s to today’s hyperscale campuses cranking out AI cycles, the retired power engineer and co-founder of CCG Facilities Integration has spent four decades proving that uptime is a design discipline, not a hope.

In this conversation, Mike sounds both a clarion call and an invitation: He calls the U.S. grid “horribly fragile,” warns that heat removal now limits silicon more than watts, and argues that data center demand is reshaping everything from GaN (Gallium Nitride) power stages to small modular reactors.

Yet he also sketches an electrifying roadmap for the engineers who will bridge power, thermals, and sustainability. Whether you lay out boards, model transformers, or source wide bandgap devices, Mike reveals where innovation and opportunity will be hottest over the next decade.

Barry Matties: Mike, when did you begin building data centers? My recollection is that you were building the data centers for AOL and that half the internet was running through some of your data centers.

Mike Mosman: Yeah, I did a lot of the AOL data centers in Northern Virginia, an area that handles 70% of the world's internet traffic. That’s why everybody wants to be there. As the networking in the United States and around the world is beefed up, we now see many data centers being built wherever they can find land at a reasonable cost and where the local administration is receptive.

You see them in some out-of-the-way places like Des Moines, Iowa, or Prineville, Oregon. Some of the power shortage problems that we're having are caused by these data centers being in the hinterlands instead of being concentrated in the hubs. Everybody wants to be green, so they’re contracting with the power companies so that when they build a data center, they’re utilizing green power, like solar and wind.

To continue reading this interview, which originally appeared in the August 2025 edition of PCB007 Magazine, click here.

Editor's note: With deep sadness, we say goodbye to Mike Mosman—an exceptional engineer and cherished friend—who passed away on August 3rd, shortly after this interview was conducted. His brilliance, kindness, and curiosity left a lasting impact. Mike’s legacy lives on in our memories, our work, and our hearts. He’ll be missed.