Artificial intelligence is a valuable lab assistant, diving deep into scientific literature and data to suggest new experiments, measurements, and methods while supercharging analysis and discovery. AI approaches hold promise for improving models of climate and the universe, transforming waste products into energy sources, detecting new particles at the Large Hadron Collider, and countless other scientific challenges.

In the second round of AI + Science grants awarded by UChicago’s Office of Research and National Laboratories Joint Task Force Initiative, three projects and two workshops will explore these new applications and how they can boost scientific discovery and education. The Joint Task Force, made up of researchers from the University of Chicago, Argonne National Laboratory, and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory working with the Center for Data and Computing, will distribute $250,000 in funding to recipients from all three institutions. The first round of AI + Science grants was awarded last year.

Since the Joint Task Force Initiative launched in 2018, the University has committed significant investments to fund national laboratory programs and operations. The University manages Argonne for the U.S. Department of Energy through UChicago Argonne, LLC and Fermilab together with the Universities Research Association, Inc. through the Fermi Research Alliance.

“Big ideas require collaboration across institutions, and the University of Chicago, Argonne, and Fermilab collectively have the power to make great leaps in combining artificial intelligence and science,” said Juan de Pablo, vice president for national laboratories at the University. “I look forward to seeing what breakthroughs come from these grants.”

Read more about the projects on the Center for Data and Computing website.

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