The University of California has awarded $18 million in a multi-campus research grant, working with the UC-controlled National Laboratory to advance the frontier of artificial intelligence in the field of strategic importance and innovation.
The Artificial Intelligence Science at Scale Initiative will provide three grants of $6 million over three years to develop new AI approaches to genomics, quantum material discovery and geothermal energy. The winning team is made up of UC faculty members from a wide range of fields and represents almost all UC campuses. The study is funded by the fee revenue the universities receive to manage Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories.
“The rapid growth of artificial intelligence is accelerating both the opportunities and threats of long-standing economic leadership in the United States. To maintain America’s leadership, the University of California is expanding its commitment in key emerging fields of scientific research, such as AI, moving forward at unprecedented speeds, adopting targeted innovation.
“This special initiative brings together the unparalleled academic expertise of UC faculty, the world-class scientific talent and abilities of our national research institute, and the strategic leadership within the system to accelerate the scale, reach and impact of scientific discovery research powered by AI that benefits the nation.”
Through the collaborative research and training awards funded by the UC National Laboratories Hees Research Program, UC has directed lab management fees since 2017 to strategic areas of scientific and national security importance.
The AI Science at Scale initiative represents the evolution of this model to create large-scale strategic, impactful, timely research and education partnerships to promote the Department of Energy and the University, leveraging experts and scientific leadership in the domains of campus and national laboratories. The Victory Project was selected from a competitive pool of 27 applications representing 250 UC faculty members.
These are three victory projects.
Large-scale AI-driven genomics: From sequencing to function and treatment
Chief Investigator: Jimmie Ye, Associate Professor of Medicine at UC San Francisco
Using Livermore Lab’s supercomputer, scientists at four UC campuses, gain new understandings about how certain proteins on the surface of cells contribute or protect disease, starting with blood cancers and autoimmune disorders. Ultimately, the task aims to accelerate personalized medicine using artificial intelligence on a large scale and quickly create treatments for complex diseases.
Low energy, phase transitions of AI information (LEAP)
Chief Investigator: Ram Seshadri, Associate Dean of Research and Director of the UC Santa Barbara Materials Institute
UC faculty members will accelerate research into more efficient AI with the help of AI. Training a large-scale linguistic model AI designed to simulate the effectiveness of materials for topological quantum computing using a combination of theory, real-world data, and simulation. By narrowing the field of materials being tested in the lab, this AI can speed up discovery of new chip materials that switch faster and use energy.
Geophysicists: AI: A fundamental model for addressing the challenges of polyphysics in coupled underground processes
Principal Researcher: Mohammad Qomi, Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering in Materials Science and Engineering, Irvine, California
The Earth’s crust is complex and difficult to accurately model using existing calculation methods. This makes it difficult to decide how to utilize underground thermal energy. Teams from five UC campuses can blend large-scale language models, physics-based models, and real-world data from geothermal drilling sites in the western United States into AI models, leading to safer and more efficient geothermal energy.
UC and the National Institute
The University of California has an 80-year history in the management and operation of three US Department of Energy National Laboratories, and has a history as a national public service. Learn more about this partnership with the federal government and other fee investments and promote the university missions of the Department of Energy and the University of California Livermore Collaboration Center.
