U.S. Department of Energy Awards Genesis Mission Grants to Universities for AI-Integrated Scientific Research

The U.S. Department of Energy announced the first cohort of Genesis Mission projects on July 22, 2026. The initiative, established in November 2025, integrates AI, supercomputing, quantum systems, and advanced scientific instruments into scientific research. Penn State scientists lead three Phase I projects focused on catalyst discovery, accelerated 2D materials manufacturing, and neurosymbolic manufacturing intelligence. Separately, Penn State is a partner—not the lead—on the Phase II Prometheus nuclear reactor project, which is led by Idaho National Laboratory.

Genesis Mission Phase I awards

• ▪The U.S. Department of Energy announced approximately 280 winning projects in the first phase of the Genesis Mission on July 22, 2026
• ▪Phase I projects of the Genesis Mission receive nine-month grants valued between $500,000 and $750,000 to integrate artificial intelligence with scientific investigation

Catalyst discovery digital twins

• ▪The catalyst discovery project aims to reduce the time and cost of testing new catalysts and manufacturing processes for domestic chemical production
• ▪A project led by Michael Janik at Penn State will combine advanced experiments with AI-powered digital twins to accelerate the conversion of domestic alkane feedstocks into value-added chemicals

2D materials manufacturing acceleration

• ▪A project led by Stephanie Law at Penn State will develop an AI-powered system to optimize and adjust the production process of advanced two-dimensional materials
• ▪The two-dimensional materials project aims to reduce material development and synthesis time from months to less than a week

Neurosymbolic manufacturing intelligence

• ▪The neurosymbolic manufacturing project aims to help small and mid-sized U.S. manufacturers improve efficiency, reduce costs, and optimize operations using virtual factory models
• ▪A project led by Soundar Kumara at Penn State will develop a neurosymbolic AI system that combines data-driven learning with human-like reasoning for smart manufacturing

Prometheus nuclear reactor deployment

• ▪The Prometheus project aims to accelerate commercial-scale nuclear reactor deployment from concept to physical delivery using AI-powered digital engineering and graph-based tools
• ▪The Phase II Prometheus project, led by Idaho National Laboratory with Penn State as a partner, will leverage artificial intelligence to design, license, manufacture, construct, and operate nuclear reactors

AI-integrated scientific research platform

• ▪The Genesis Mission public-private partnership brings together 342 institutions, including 20 federal agencies, 142 universities, and 157 businesses nationwide
• ▪The Genesis Mission is a national initiative established by a White House executive order in November 2025 to build an integrated scientific discovery platform using AI, supercomputing, and quantum systems