A U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management contractor at the Savannah River Site is advancing its artificial intelligence capabilities in support of DOE’s Genesis Mission. May 5, 2026
Office of Environmental Management
May 5, 2026
Estimated Read Time min
The Savannah River Nuclear Solutions Artificial Intelligence Implementation Team. From left: Len Bowers, director, IT Enterprise Solutions; Tedmond Melton, software engineering manager; Travis Jaruzel, software engineer; and Charlie McCollough and Brandy Edwards, AI Solutions analysts.
AIKEN, S.C. — A U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) contractor at the Savannah River Site (SRS) is advancing its artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities in support of DOE’s Genesis Mission, an initiative focused on building the world’s most powerful scientific and computational ecosystem.
As it forges ahead with AI innovation at SRS, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) contributes to DOE and National Nuclear Security Administration goals of bolstering scientific discovery, enhancing nuclear security missions and increasing operational resilience across the complex.
“Our teams are accelerating safe, secure AI adoption to strengthen mission performance, modernize infrastructure and empower our workforce,” said Bruce Page, SRNS senior vice president and chief information officer. “From maturing responsible‑use governance to deploying practical AI demonstrators within high‑security environments, SRNS is helping DOE translate federal AI priorities into measurable impact.”
Page noted that AI tools, stronger governance frameworks and expanding machine‑learning initiatives give SRNS a foundation to continue transforming operations into the future.
“We will keep pursuing safe, secure and cost‑effective AI opportunities in a rapidly evolving technology landscape to modernize operations and strengthen mission outcomes,” he said.
Researchers at Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), the sole EM-sponsored national laboratory, are integral to the Genesis Mission, employing AI and machine learning to tackle complex environmental challenges, which can significantly reduce costs and improve efficiency in the EM cleanup. Earlier this year, the Trump administration unveiled 26 initial research challenges under the mission, including one focused on transforming nuclear cleanup and restoration.
Key Milestones in AI Adoption
SRNS has created AI and automation capabilities designed to enhance productivity, improve access to institutional knowledge and elevate mission support.
The late Larry Price, SRNS chief AI architect, laid the foundation for Generative AI, deploying secure, mission-aligned AI tools, including ChatSRS, which provides research support, technical writing assistance, text analysis and rapid access to institutional knowledge.
The team launched several specialized “Ask” services, including AskHR and ChatIT. These tools have increased consistency in policy interpretation, streamlined high‑volume inquiries and accelerated causal analysis activities across many SRNS organizations. They also integrated AI into software engineering workflows.
“Our AI initiative started as a question and grew into a roadmap, and I’ve been fortunate to help connect the dots as the vision expands,” said Travis Jaruzel, SRNS software engineer. “It’s shown how quickly scope evolves when innovation meets real‑world challenges, ideas become solutions and solutions build momentum.”
SRNS also developed an AI governance to supplement its information technology methodology, and implemented a program to identify vulnerabilities, prevent misuse and perform other safeguards for deploying AI in a high‑security nuclear environment.
-Contributor: Mackenzie McNabb
To receive the latest news and updates about the Office of Environmental Management, submit your e-mail address.