Materials
A Physics-Informed U-net-LSTM Network for Data-Driven Seismic Response Modeling of Structures
Biswas, Sutirtha, Yadav, Kshitij Kumar
Accurate and efficient seismic response prediction is essential for the design of resilient structures. While the Finite Element Method (FEM) remains the standard for nonlinear seismic analysis, its high computational demands limit its scalability and real time applicability. Recent developments in deep learning, particularly Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs), and Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) models, have shown promise in reducing the computational cost of nonlinear seismic analysis of structures. However, these data driven models often struggle to generalize and capture the underlying physics, leading to reduced reliability. We propose a novel Physics Informed U Net LSTM framework that integrates physical laws with deep learning to enhance both accuracy and efficiency. By embedding domain specific constraints into the learning process, the proposed model achieves improved predictive performance over conventional Machine Learning architectures. This hybrid approach bridges the gap between purely data driven methods and physics based modeling, offering a robust and computationally efficient alternative for seismic response prediction of structures.
The Trump Administration's Data Center Push Could Open the Door for New Forever Chemicals
The Trump Administration's Data Center Push Could Open the Door for New Forever Chemicals The EPA is prioritizing review of new chemicals to be used in data centers. Experts say this could lead to the fast approval of new types of forever chemicals--with limited oversight. In recent months, the Trump administration has opened a deregulatory floodgate in the name of building more data centers. Among other things, this has involved ordering rollbacks of clean water regulations and opening up public lands to coal mining. Now, it's turning its eye to chemical regulation with a new policy that could, experts say, potentially fast-track the approval of new chemicals for use in the US--including new types of forever chemicals--with limited oversight. In September, the EPA announced it would be prioritizing the regulatory review of new chemicals used in data centers or related projects.
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Artificial Intelligence Driven Workflow for Accelerating Design of Novel Photosensitizers
Wang, Hongyi, Zheng, Xiuli, Liu, Weimin, Tang, Zitian, Gong, Sheng
The discovery of high-performance photosensitizers has long been hindered by the time-consuming and resource-intensive nature of traditional trial-and-error approaches. Here, we present \textbf{A}I-\textbf{A}ccelerated \textbf{P}hoto\textbf{S}ensitizer \textbf{I}nnovation (AAPSI), a closed-loop workflow that integrates expert knowledge, scaffold-based molecule generation, and Bayesian optimization to accelerate the design of novel photosensitizers. The scaffold-driven generation in AAPSI ensures structural novelty and synthetic feasibility, while the iterative AI-experiment loop accelerates the discovery of novel photosensitizers. AAPSI leverages a curated database of 102,534 photosensitizer-solvent pairs and generate 6,148 synthetically accessible candidates. These candidates are screened via graph transformers trained to predict singlet oxygen quantum yield ($ฯ_ฮ$) and absorption maxima ($ฮป_{max}$), following experimental validation. This work generates several novel candidates for photodynamic therapy (PDT), among which the hypocrellin-based candidate HB4Ph exhibits exceptional performance at the Pareto frontier of high quantum yield of singlet oxygen and long absorption maxima among current photosensitizers ($ฯ_ฮ$=0.85, $ฮป_{max}$=650nm).
Interpreting GFlowNets for Drug Discovery: Extracting Actionable Insights for Medicinal Chemistry
S, Amirtha Varshini A, Ranasinghe, Duminda S., Tam, Hok Hei
Generative Flow Networks, or GFlowNets, offer a promising framework for molecular design, but their internal decision policies remain opaque. This limits adoption in drug discovery, where chemists require clear and interpretable rationales for proposed structures. We present an interpretability framework for SynFlowNet, a GFlowNet trained on documented chemical reactions and purchasable starting materials that generates both molecules and the synthetic routes that produce them. Our approach integrates three complementary components. Gradient based saliency combined with counterfactual perturbations identifies which atomic environments influence reward and how structural edits change molecular outcomes. Sparse autoencoders reveal axis aligned latent factors that correspond to physicochemical properties such as polarity, lipophilicity, and molecular size. Motif probes show that functional groups including aromatic rings and halogens are explicitly encoded and linearly decodable from the internal embeddings. Together, these results expose the chemical logic inside SynFlowNet and provide actionable and mechanistic insight that supports transparent and controllable molecular design.
Developing an AI Course for Synthetic Chemistry Students
Artificial intelligence (AI) and data science are transforming chemical research, yet few formal courses are tailored to synthetic and experimental chemists, who often face steep entry barriers due to limited coding experience and lack of chemistry-specific examples. We present the design and implementation of AI4CHEM, an introductory data-driven chem-istry course created for students on the synthetic chemistry track with no prior programming background. The curricu-lum emphasizes chemical context over abstract algorithms, using an accessible web-based platform to ensure zero-install machine learning (ML) workflow development practice and in-class active learning. Assessment combines code-guided homework, literature-based mini-reviews, and collaborative projects in which students build AI-assisted workflows for real experimental problems. Learning gains include increased confidence with Python, molecular property prediction, reaction optimization, and data mining, and improved skills in evaluating AI tools in chemistry. All course materials are openly available, offering a discipline-specific, beginner-accessible framework for integrating AI into synthetic chemistry training.
Gradient-based grand canonical optimization enabled by graph neural networks with fractional atomic existence
Christiansen, Mads-Peter Verner, Hammer, Bjรธrk
Machine learning interatomic potentials have become an indispensable tool for materials science, enabling the study of larger systems and longer timescales. State-of-the-art models are generally graph neural networks that employ message passing to iteratively update atomic embeddings that are ultimately used for predicting properties. In this work we extend the message passing formalism with the inclusion of a continuous variable that accounts for fractional atomic existence. This allows us to calculate the gradient of the Gibbs free energy with respect to both the Cartesian coordinates of atoms and their existence. Using this we propose a gradient-based grand canonical optimization method and document its capabilities for a Cu(110) surface oxide.
Learning Diffusion Policies for Robotic Manipulation of Timber Joinery under Fabrication Uncertainty
Mozaffari, Salma, Ruan, Daniel, Bogert, William van den, Fazeli, Nima, Adriaenssens, Sigrid, Adel, Arash
Construction uncertainties such as fabrication inaccuracies and material imperfections pose a significant challenge to contact-rich robotic manipulation by hindering precise and robust assembly. In this paper, we explore the performance and robustness of diffusion policy learning as a promising solution for contact-sensitive robotic assembly at construction scale, using timber mortise and tenon joints as a case study. A two-phase study is conducted: first, to evaluate policy performance and applicability; second, to assess robustness in handling fabrication uncertainties simulated as randomized perturbations to the mortise position. The best-performing policy achieved a total average success rate of 75% with perturbations up to 10 mm, including 100% success in unperturbed cases. The results demonstrate the potential of sensory-motor diffusion policies to generalize to a wide range of complex, contact-rich assembly tasks across construction and manufacturing, advancing robotic construction under uncertainty and contributing to safer, more efficient building practices.
Smart Manufacturing: MLOps-Enabled Event-Driven Architecture for Enhanced Control in Steel Production
Ahmed, Bestoun S., Azzalin, Tommaso, Kassler, Andreas, Thore, Andreas, Lindback, Hans
We explore a Digital Twin-Based Approach for Smart Manufacturing to improve Sustainability, Efficiency, and Cost-Effectiveness for a steel production plant. Our system is based on a micro-service edge-compute platform that ingests real-time sensor data from the process into a digital twin over a converged network infrastructure. We implement agile machine learning-based control loops in the digital twin to optimize induction furnace heating, enhance operational quality, and reduce process waste. Key to our approach is a Deep Reinforcement learning-based agent used in our machine learning operation (MLOps) driven system to autonomously correlate the system state with its digital twin to identify correction actions that aim to optimize power settings for the plant. We present the theoretical basis, architectural details, and practical implications of our approach to reduce manufacturing waste and increase production quality. We design the system for flexibility so that our scalable event-driven architecture can be adapted to various industrial applications. With this research, we propose a pivotal step towards the transformation of traditional processes into intelligent systems, aligning with sustainability goals and emphasizing the role of MLOps in shaping the future of data-driven manufacturing.
Implicit Neural Field-Based Process Planning for Multi-Axis Manufacturing: Direct Control over Collision Avoidance and Toolpath Geometry
Dutta, Neelotpal, Zhang, Tianyu, Liu, Tao, Chen, Yongxue, Wang, Charlie C. L.
Existing curved-layer-based process planning methods for multi-axis manufacturing address collisions only indirectly and generate toolpaths in a post-processing step, leaving toolpath geometry uncontrolled during optimization. We present an implicit neural field-based framework for multi-axis process planning that overcomes these limitations by embedding both layer generation and toolpath design within a single differentiable pipeline. Using sinusoidally activated neural networks to represent layers and toolpaths as implicit fields, our method enables direct evaluation of field values and derivatives at any spatial point, thereby allowing explicit collision avoidance and joint optimization of manufacturing layers and toolpaths. We further investigate how network hyperparameters and objective definitions influence singularity behavior and topology transitions, offering built-in mechanisms for regularization and stability control. The proposed approach is demonstrated on examples in both additive and subtractive manufacturing, validating its generality and effectiveness.