AI @ DOE Newsletter (June 2020)

As each of us continues to do our part in the fight against COVID-19, and as we come ever-closer to the day when some semblance of normalcy returns to our daily lives, I want to welcome you to our latest edition of the AI @ Energy Newsletter. 

It has been a tremendously busy month at AITO. I continue to be impressed by the depth and breadth of the work underway at DOE and our national labs to leverage AI to better understand and stop the further spread of this deadly virus. The progress we are making is encouraging, and you’ll read about some of those efforts here. 

Argonne National Lab has added a new “AI supercomputer,” NVIDIA DGX A100, to the efforts of the High Performance Computing Consortium. Oak Ridge has produced a video highlighting the multi-faceted work they are doing to address everything from supply chain challenges to testing swab production, and scientists at Sandia National Lab are using genetic sequencing tools to develop countermeasures to the virus. 

These are but a few of the many promising projects that all 17 of DOE’s National Labs are working on. To learn more about them, you can search Twitter for #NatLabsInTheFight. Not all are AI-related, but all are worth highlighting. 

At the same time, it is also important that we don’t lose sight of the considerable amount of non-COVID-related AI work underway at DOE as well, so we have included a story about ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­how machine learning algorithms are helping extend the life of lithium-ion batteries. We're also featuring a thought-provoking interview on AI from DOE’s award-winning podcast series, Direct Current. 

Speaking of awards, congratulations are in order for one of AITO’s own, Margaret Lentz, for her work in creating a database that will help us catalog and support the more than 600 AI projects currently underway across our vast enterprise.

There is much to be proud of, but still much more to do.

Let’s get back to work!

Cheryl Ingstad
Director
Artificial Intelligence & Technology Office 

The COVID-19 High Performance Computing Consortium has added another supercomputer to its effort to speed the work of vaccine researchers, with the NVIDIA DGX A100 now operational at Argonne National Laboratory.

Read More Here

WATCH: ORNL researchers are using big science to combat #COVID19.
#NatLabsInTheFight

Lithium-ion batteries lose their juice over time, causing scientists and engineers to work hard to understand that process in detail. Now, scientists at DOE’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have combined sophisticated machine learning algorithms with X-ray tomography data to produce a detailed picture of how one battery component, the cathode, degrades with use.

Read More Here

Congratulations to Margaret Lentz of AITO for winning a 2020 Gears of Government Council Award (filter by DOE) for her work in the development of the Artificial Intelligence Exchange (AIX) database. The AIX was created year to track all AI activities across the DOE enterprise, gain perspective on the strengths in the DOE’s AI portfolio, and identify cross-cutting areas that will advance American leadership in AI.

Working with co-awardees, Pamela Isom and Wende Wiles from the Office of the Chief Information Officer, the AIX team was able to create this digital platform to help AITO in its mission to synchronize AI applications to advance the agency’s core missions.

Congratulations to Margaret, Pam and Wende on a job well done!

LISTEN: Direct Current, @Eneregy's Award Winning Podcast talks AI at AAAS.

Great coverage of @SandiaLabs genetic research designed to counter #COVIDー19 and future pandemics. #NatLabsInTheFight

National Lab Scientists Work to Reprogram Genes to Fight COVID-19 via @Nextgov

FOLLOW @AiDirector on Twitter!