Emory teams selected for Genesis Mission AI research

Emory researchers have been selected for U.S. Department of Energy Genesis Mission awards aimed at accelerating scientific discovery with AI. Physicists Justin Burton and Ilya Nemenman will lead an Emory team developing AI tools to analyze plasma dynamics across settings ranging from laboratory systems to astrophysical environments shaped by supernovas and gamma ray bursts.

Computational biologist Yana Bromberg will serve as a co-investigator on a Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station-led project to create AI tools for biomining critical minerals. Her work will focus on an AI-powered predictive framework that integrates microbial, hydrogeologic and geochemical data to guide biomining of rare earth elements from mine waste.

The Genesis Mission is building an integrated science discovery platform that combines AI, supercomputing, quantum systems and advanced scientific instruments. The phase-one awards announced July 22 at the inaugural Genesis Mission Summit include nearly 300 projects spanning all 50 states, with awardees gaining access to AI agent frameworks, advanced AI models, industry software and high-performance computing resources across DOE National Laboratories and partner facilities.