Oak Ridge National Laboratory Highlights AI Progress at AI+ Expo
The Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) took center stage at the second annual AI+ Expo for National Competitiveness held in Washington, D.C., from June 2-4. This event gathered key figures from technology, academia, and government to discuss the expanding role of artificial intelligence in various sectors. Notable speakers included U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
ORNL’s Contributions in AI and Quantum Technologies
ORNL researchers specializing in high-performance computing and quantum technology actively engaged through presentations and demonstrations. Prasanna Balaprakash, director of AI programs at ORNL, emphasized how AI is advancing scientific discovery across theory, modeling, and experimentation. He presented alongside Ben Mintz, director of the Interconnected Science Ecosystem (INTERSECT), highlighting AI’s critical role in driving research initiatives at the lab.
Amir Sadovnik showcased work from ORNL's Center for AI Security Research (CAISER), focusing on protecting AI models from adversarial attacks, especially in national security contexts. Sadovnik noted that while the expo highlighted AI applications in security, the protection of AI models themselves received less attention. His demonstration raised awareness of detecting and mitigating AI vulnerabilities.
- Massimiliano Lupo Pasini introduced ORNL’s scalable graph-neural-network framework designed for developing and validating graph-based foundation models.
- Verónica Melesse Vergarra described new capabilities at the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF) supporting biomedical Retrieval Augmented Generation pipelines on the Frontier supercomputer’s CITADEL environment.
The Frontier supercomputer, housed at OLCF, was the first to surpass the exascale barrier and remains the fastest system for open science. The CITADEL security framework enables researchers to securely process protected data at scale. Melesse Vergarra also highlighted ORNL’s collaboration with the NIH and NSF through the NAIRR Secure Pilot, which supports cross-agency AI research.
Exploring AI and Quantum Computing Synergies
Researchers Prasanna Date and Kathleen Hamilton presented a joint demonstration illustrating how AI and quantum computing can complement each other. Date reflected on the opportunity to connect with peers from other national labs, academia, and industry, particularly those working on neuromorphic computing and quantum machine learning.
Leadership Perspective on National Labs and AI
During a fireside chat, Secretary Wright praised the national labs’ culture and talent, identifying them as key drivers for advancing AI in the US. He remarked that the labs’ long history, competitive spirit, and cooperative environment create a unique setting for innovation, particularly in fundamental science, where AI is becoming integral.
About ORNL and the DOE Office of Science
ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, the largest federal supporter of basic physical sciences research in the country. The Office of Science focuses on addressing critical scientific challenges through initiatives like those featured at the AI+ Expo.
For more information on DOE science programs, visit energy.gov/science.
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