The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has recently announced $68 million in funding which will be allocated to 11 multi-institution projects, comprising 43 awards.

The funded projects will explore innovative methods for creating foundation models—machine learning or deep learning systems designed to be versatile and applicable across various domains due to their training on extensive data. These foundation models are essential components of AI technology.

The models coming out of these projects will be used in computational science, to automate workflow in laboratories, and to accelerate scientific programming, among other things. 

Models will also be created using privacy-preserving and distributed methods to develop energy-efficient AI algorithms and hardware for science.

“Progress in AI is inspiring us to imagine faster and more-efficient ways to do science. These research efforts will make scientific AI both more trustworthy and more energy efficient, unlocking AI’s potential to accelerate scientific discovery. There is a huge variety in the number of applications where scientists can use AI, from the laboratory to the field to producing scientific research,” Ceren Susut, DOE Associate Director of Science for Advanced Scientific Computing Research, said.

The total funding amounts to $68 million for projects spanning up to three years. This includes $20 million allocated for Fiscal Year 2024, with additional funding in subsequent years dependent on congressional appropriations.