When the U.S. Department of Energy launched the Genesis Mission to accelerate AI-driven scientific discovery, it selected Fermilab's Fermi Data Platform to supply the storage backbone for the American Science Cloud. The platform now provides petabytes of capacity and data-access tools engineered for the kind of active, repeated use that machine learning research demands across disciplines from high-energy physics to fusion energy.
Fermilab built the Fermi Data Platform on thousands of hard drives, drawing on decades of experience managing immense datasets from particle physics experiments. The platform already supports measured and simulated data for the CMS experiment at CERN's Large Hadron Collider, data from Fermilab's Short Baseline Neutrino program, and datasets used in quantum research, microelectronics development, and advanced theory work. The laboratory is also preparing for the data needs of the upcoming Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment.
What the Genesis Mission is designed to do
The American Science Cloud brings together scientific expertise from DOE national laboratories, academic institutions, and industry partners. The Genesis Mission channels national laboratory resources into AI for Science & Research, with the American Science Cloud set to become an integrated infrastructure that connects supercomputers, scientific datasets, and simulation capabilities under a common set of AI services.
The core goal is straightforward: shrink the time between asking a scientific question and getting a meaningful answer. The system automates the steps in between - searching relevant publications, running preliminary simulations, filtering results, and presenting researchers with a refined picture of where to focus next.
"Give me the 10 most promising materials for batteries - the system does a literature search, runs some simulations to verify, narrows down that list, and presents it as an answer for further research," said Gutsche, describing the workflow the Genesis Mission is designed to enable. "That is the kind of workflow the Genesis Mission is designed to enable."
The aim is not to replace researchers or the scientific process. Humans still ask the questions and evaluate the answers. The system exists to help scientists work faster and concentrate on the insights that matter most.
Making scientific data AI-ready
AI systems need data that is accessible, well-organized, and what experts call "AI-ready." Raw scientific data from instruments and detectors often lacks the structure and metadata that machine learning models require. Part of the Fermi Data Platform's role is to bridge that gap by storing datasets from Genesis Mission projects and presenting them for model training and inference.
"Data is the common denominator behind major scientific endeavors, and AI is fundamentally data-driven," said Chin Guok, partner integration level 1 lead for the American Science Cloud. "To train and run AI models, you need large volumes of data. Fermi Data Platform can support AI training and inference on large scientific datasets."
When the Fermi Data Platform was selected as an American Science Cloud infrastructure partner, Fermilab researchers moved quickly. They offered storage and data-access tools already engineered for repeated, high-volume access - precisely what AI-supported research requires. The partnership now lets researchers tap DOE resources across institutions without friction.
Why this matters for science and research professionals
For researchers working with large-scale datasets, infrastructure decisions at the national-lab level shape what is possible day to day. The Fermi Data Platform's inclusion in the Genesis Mission means scientists can access petabyte-scale storage without building or funding it themselves. More important, the platform is designed for the iterative, repetitive access patterns that machine learning workflows demand - not just archival storage. That distinction directly affects how quickly a research team can train a model, test a hypothesis, and move on to the next question.
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory is America's national laboratory for particle physics and accelerator research. Fermi Forward Discovery Group manages Fermilab for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science. Visit Fermilab's website.
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