It’s Wednesday, which means it’s time for another edition of Tech Briefs, Cardinal News’ roundup of digital and life sciences items.
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Department of Energy awards ‘Genesis Mission’ grants to 3 Virginia Tech projects using AI to foster scientific discoveries
Quantum data accuracy, weather pattern recognition and rare earth materials extraction are among topics that Virginia Tech researchers will investigate via artificial intelligence, with government funding from the new “Genesis Mission” program.
Three projects combining professors across multiple disciplines with federal scientists and companies, including Virginia Tech-affiliated rare earth extractor Aclara Resources Inc., will receive phase one funding that ranges from $500,000 to $750,000 each.
The initiatives are among 278 projects the Department of Energy announced on July 22. The DOE received more than 5,000 applications, Virginia Tech spokeswoman Lindsey Haugh said.
“The national portfolio of research teams will help develop and demonstrate AI-enabled scientific workflows designed to accelerate breakthroughs in energy, discovery science, and national security,” according to the DOE release.
After the nine-month phase one project period ends, successful teams may compete for larger phase 2 awards ranging from $6 million to $15 million for three-year projects, according to a document on the Energy website. Total funding available is $298 million.
Here are details on the projects.
- Six Virginia Tech professors, including principal investigator Charles Cao of the physics department, are part of a project that will use AI with a goal of ensuring the accuracy and resiliency of quantum data.
The physics and mathematics professors will join five other team members — one apiece from the University of Maryland, the University of California at San Diego, the Argonne National Laboratory, San Francisco-based Blue Qubit and Microsoft Corp. — who will attempt to develop a tool that can streamline the “vast abundance of resources” required to maintain even one unit of quantum information, through calculations that humans can’t do alone, according to a Virginia Tech article.
- Virginia Tech researcher Gabriel Isaacman-VanWertz, a civil and environmental engineering professor, will lead a seven-person team of engineering, geography and computer science specialists that includes one from Loyola University in Maryland and the Argonne lab.
The mission: train AI to analyze temperature, humidity and other data to improve weather predictions, better understand what happens inside clouds and create AI methods and models that could be used across science and engineering, according to the university release.
- Canadian company Aclara Resources, which in March set up a rare earth minerals pilot manufacturing facility at the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center, will lead the third project, which also includes the Illinois-based Argonne Lab. Aclara and Argonne are partners on the pilot facility, which includes work on digital twin technology, in which a computerized simulation would help workers refine their processes.
Virginia Tech professor Aaron Noble, who heads the mining and minerals engineering department, and senior research assistant Sam Evans are co-principal investigators on the AI-assisted twin that could optimize complex extraction under frequently changing operating conditions.
A separate project, led by the University of Pittsburgh, includes another Virginia Tech faculty member, Vito Scarola, a condensed matter physics professor. This work seeks to use quantum computing as a potential boon to quantum chemistry and materials science, according to an Argonne document.
All phase one award winners get access to the Genesis Mission Platform, which features advanced AI models, software and high-performance computing resources, according to the July 22 release. The idea is to “build the world’s most powerful scientific platform to accelerate discovery science, strengthen national security, and drive energy innovation,” according to the Genesis Mission website.
The integrated platform’s goal is “to double the productivity and impact of American research and innovation within a decade.”
Blacksburg company graduates from state trade accelerator program
VPT Inc., a power conversion company involved with aviation electronics, military and outer space applications, recently graduated from the commonwealth-sponsored Virginia Leaders in Export Trade, or VALET, accelerator program, according to a news release from Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s office.
The VALET program, which began in 2002, works with companies looking to expand their international business, the news release states. More than 453 companies have completed the two-year program.
VPT, based at the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center, specializes in DC-to-DC converters, which alter voltage levels between different power sources. The company’s products have powered systems for more than three decades for the likes of Boeing, NASA and Northrop Grumman, according to the VTCRC website. Its portfolio includes power converters in GPS satellites.
The company became part of the Florida-based HEICO Electronics Technology Group in 2009 and employs about 500 worldwide, with research and development in Blacksburg, manufacturing in Taiwan and sales and marketing in Seattle, according to its website. It does business in 30 countries.
VALET helps participants develop international sales plans and provides access to business meetings with potential partners, educational events and customized market research, according to the governor’s news release. Participation generates an average 78% increase in international sales, the release states.
As VPT graduated, four other Southwest and Southside Virginia companies began their tutelage: Real Performance Machinery of Grayson County, Nilit America of Henry County, UTS Systems of Rockbridge County and Galax-based Boss Lumber.
