PNNL

Beneath the glow of exhibit hall banners and the hum of thousands of conversations championing AI as the next engine of economic strength and national security, quieter discussions were taking shape at the AI+ Expo in Washington, D.C., about empowering scientists and engineers. 

The May 7-9, 2026, conference brought together an estimated 20,000 attendees, 400 speakers, and 175 exhibitors. Across the packed conference rooms and a crowded expo floor, experts offered a vision of the future: AI working side-by-side with researchers, helping to advance discovery at scales once unimaginable. 

At the center of that vision is the Department of Energy’s Genesis Mission, an initiative to accelerate scientific discovery through integrated AI systems, high-performance computing, experimental facilities and large scientific datasets — a “new operating system for American innovation,” said Court Corley, chief scientist for artificial intelligence at DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Corley and other national laboratory scientists and engineers joined colleagues and federal leaders at the conference. They contributed to a growing national conversation about AI and its potential to drive breakthroughs in biotechnology, energy, computing, manufacturing, national security, and more.

The conference was hosted by the Special Competitive Studies Project, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization focused on strengthening the nation’s long-term competitiveness with the development of AI and other emerging technologies.

Spotlighting AI innovation for science

Experts from all 17 DOE national laboratories are participating in the Genesis Mission. Through initiatives such as the Center for AI @PNNL, the Laboratory is developing AI models, workflows, and governance frameworks to enable responsible, scalable scientific innovation across DOE missions.

“The AI+ Expo was focused on strengthening U.S. leadership in critical technologies and providing a forum for building new partnerships and collaborations,” said Corley, who also serves as the co-leader for the Transformational AI Models (ModCon) effort, a foundational, DOE-funded investment under the Genesis Mission designed to build and deploy self-improving AI systems for scientific discovery. 

“Events like this allow DOE and its national laboratories to demonstrate real scientific progress and ensure that U.S. leadership in AI translates into tangible advances for energy, security, and scientific discovery.”

PNNL experts lead key sessions

Corley was among the featured PNNL speakers, delivering a presentation titled “ModCon, Building Transformational AI & Data for Science.” 

His presentation described ModCon’s capabilities, including baseline AI research and development, best practices for scientific workflows, data brokers and standards and more. Corley detailed how ModCon is coordinating foundational AI capabilities across DOE laboratories, including developing best practices for efficient scientific workflows and data standards to support collaborative, large-scale AI development.

Corley later joined a panel discussion titled “The American Science Prowess Behind the Genesis Mission.” The session convened leaders from across the DOE to discuss major Genesis Mission pillars, including the American Science Cloud and Transformational AI Models & Data.

Tom Grimes, a senior data scientist and chief scientist of PNNL’s Generative AI Initiative, presented “So You Have a Model… Now What? Lessons from 50+ Generative AI Projects.” 

Grimes’s presentation focused on the practical challenges and opportunities of applying generative AI tools to real-world scientific and national security problems. 

His talk highlighted lessons learned from PNNL mission-focused AI projects spanning materials science, atmospheric science, grid modernization, autonomous experimentation, predictive phenomics, nuclear security, cybersecurity and Earth system modeling.

For example, Grimes shared work by PNNL Earth Scientist Preston Spicer that addresses the challenge of enabling scientific AI workflows for oceanographers. Agentic systems assisted with data acquisition, preprocessing, model execution, post-processing and visualization. The result is a user-friendly tool that greatly accelerates ocean model setup and supports Earth system modeling and marine energy applications.

Strengthening AI for scientific discovery

Participation in the AI+ Expo reflects PNNL’s broader role in helping DOE advance trustworthy and mission-driven AI capabilities. As the Genesis Mission continues to develop, PNNL researchers are contributing tools, models, and scientific expertise to help accelerate discovery while supporting national priorities in energy, security and competitiveness.