Fermilab Advances National AI Genesis Mission

The United States is entering a new era of scientific discovery defined by world-class computing power, rapid advances in artificial intelligence, and seamless integration of scientific data. At the heart of this transformation is the Genesis Mission. It is a national effort to leverage the combined strengths of the U.S. Department of Energy’s 17 national laboratories to double the productivity and overall impact of U.S. science within the next 10 years. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory is poised to play an important role.

With expertise in high-energy physics, advanced computing, accelerator and quantum technologies, and microelectronics design, Fermilab is well-equipped to be a key contributor to the Genesis mission goals. Deploying AI to make particle accelerators adaptive and autonomous will drive innovation in medicine, materials, and energy. At the same time, advances in next-generation microelectronics will help ensure America’s technological leadership, economic prosperity, and national security.

“The Genesis mission represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to change the way science is done in America,” said Fermilab Director Norbert Holtkampf. “By combining AI, advanced computing, and national laboratory capabilities, we can accelerate discovery while strengthening the scientific infrastructure that supports America’s leadership in particle physics and more. Fermilab is proud to help advance this national effort.”

“The Genesis mission represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to change the way science is done in America.”

Through these efforts and others, Fermilab helps address the ambitious challenges that will shape the world, and this work is in the works. The laboratory brings decades of experience solving complex challenges through extensive collaboration with national research partners, academia, and industry.

“We are also excited about what AI will mean for Fermilab’s work,” Holtkamp added. “I believe that AI can dramatically improve the quality and efficiency of work across laboratories. Not only can Fermilab help advance DOE’s Genesis mission, but I also believe that Fermilab can serve as a powerful example of how AI can benefit operations across America’s national laboratories.”

Advances in accelerator science

Fermilab will contribute to a collaboration of seven laboratories known as the Multi-Office Particle Accelerator Team (MOAT). This effort focuses on using AI to advance accelerator science by supporting more efficient operations and streamlined accelerator research and development. These efforts are expected to shorten commissioning timelines, reduce operating costs, and extend the benefits of accelerator technology to a broader range of industry partners.

Accelerating chip design

One of Fermilab’s key contributions is AXESS, which stands for Accelerated eXtreme Environment Specs-to-Silicon. This ambitious project aims to revolutionize custom microelectronic chip design for specialized scientific applications. Fermilab already has extensive experience in creating chips that can function in extreme environments such as cryogenic temperatures and intense radiation. By compressing the design process from months to minutes using AI, AXESS will significantly improve national competitiveness and accelerate the pace of innovation.

American Science Cloud support

The institute also provides the Fermi data platform to support the emerging American Science Cloud. Fermilab is leveraging its extensive experience processing the large amounts of data generated by particle collisions to provide large-scale data storage for the Genesis mission. This infrastructure enables researchers in a variety of scientific disciplines to access the datasets they need to accelerate their discoveries, effectively turning decades of physical data into a national resource.

Acceleration of theoretical calculations

Fermilab’s research in lattice quantum chromodynamics (lattice QCD) will strengthen a multi-laboratory effort called FemtoMind. Lattice QCD is a framework used by physicists to understand the strong forces that bind elementary particle quarks to form protons. By applying agent AI to speed up these complex calculations and uncovering new patterns in computer simulations that explore physics at the proton scale, FemtoMind deepens our understanding of the matter that makes up everything around us.

Creating AI-enabled data representations

Fermilab will also contribute to the TREASURE initiative, which aims to make vast datasets more accessible for innovative research. The program standardizes data from both currently used and decommissioned particle collider, such as CERN’s Large Hadron Collider and Fermilab’s Tevatron, to create AI-enabled physical data representations for cross-experiment analysis. TREASURE also transforms research papers, datasets, and code into user-friendly formats that scientists can trust when exploring physics beyond the Standard Model.

Applying AI to astronomy

Fermilab’s contributions to the Genesis mission will also be extended to astrophysics through the AI ​​Universe initiative. The researchers plan to apply advanced uncertainty quantification techniques to a state-of-the-art AI model trained on more than 200 million astronomical observations. This research provides astrophysicists with the tools they need to make more accurate predictions and identify meaningful patterns within large astronomical datasets.

Connecting expertise

“AI is most powerful when it connects expertise across disciplines and institutions,” said Nhan Tran, head of AI coordination at Fermilab. “Through the Genesis mission, we can bring together data, tools, and expertise from all 17 national laboratories to create an integrated AI ecosystem that accelerates breakthroughs far beyond what any single laboratory could accomplish.”

As the Genesis mission mobilizes the power of the Department of Energy’s national laboratories, Fermilab is uniquely positioned to make a critical contribution toward solving the nation’s most pressing scientific challenges. From enhancing microelectronic design and particle accelerator research and development to transforming data analysis, the institute is helping to drive America’s next wave of innovation and discovery science.