DOE Names Fermilab to Lead AI Control Project for Particle Accelerators

The U.S. Department of Energy announced its first-phase awards under the Genesis Mission: Transforming Science and Energy with AI on July 22, 2026. Fermilab will lead one artificial intelligence and machine learning project and contribute to eight others covering areas such as collider data, neutrino experiments, and fusion-magnet digital twins. The lab's primary focus is developing AI-driven control algorithms to stabilize superconducting radio-frequency cavities, which are sensitive resonators prone to frequency disruptions that degrade beam quality and raise operating costs. If successful, the technology is intended to benefit multiple facilities beyond Fermilab, including SLAC, Brookhaven's Electron-Ion Collider, and Michigan State's FRIB. DOE's Genesis Mission Phase I is designed to establish foundational AI-integrated research workflows and assess whether they genuinely accelerate scientific discovery or reduce experimental complexity.