US Department of Energy announces 12 AI grants worth $159 million for science — Science News
The US Department of Energy has announced the second funding round under the Genesis Mission, a program for applying artificial intelligence in scientific research. Twelve three-year second-stage projects will receive a total of $159 million. As Science News reports, the department’s total spending in the program’s first year will reach $434 million, and the number of grants awarded will total 297. Most of these are smaller nine-month first-stage grants issued in July.
AI for physics and accelerators
The new grants include fundamental and applied research. A Massachusetts Institute of Technology team will integrate AI into supercomputer calculations of the behavior of quarks and gluons, the fundamental particles that make up protons, neutrons, and other subatomic particles. The lattice quantum chromodynamics method divides space and time into a grid of many individual points and requires complex calculations that AI can accelerate.
A consortium led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will develop an AI platform for designing and controlling particle accelerators, which may have up to 1 million control variables. Another group led by researchers at Northeastern University will create an agentic AI system for the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams at Michigan State University. The project aims to add hundreds of hours of accelerator operation annually.
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Program for Ph.D. candidates
In 2027, the department also plans to launch a Genesis Mission fellowship program for 100 Ph.D. candidates. Participants will combine studies in their chosen scientific field with AI training. The program includes a summer internship at a Department of Energy national laboratory and another at a private company.
The DOE seeks to reduce the time needed to earn a Ph.D. from six or seven years to four years. The department will provide fellowships to universities, which will bear responsibility if participants do not complete their studies within four years. At the same time, according to Genesis Mission head Darío Gil, individual students will not lose support because of this. $20 million is allocated to launch the program.
