AI powers autonomous materials discovery

Members of the SARA team are pictured in Duffield Hall. From left: Duncan Sutherland, Ph.D. student in materials science and engineering; Carla Gomes, professor of computer science; Mike Thompson, professor of materials science and engineering; and Sebastian Ament, Ph.D. student in computer science. When a master chef develops a new cake recipe, she doesn't try every conceivable combination of ingredients to see which one works best. The chef uses prior baking knowledge and basic principles to more efficiently search for that winning formula. Materials scientists use a similar method in searching for novel materials with unique properties in fields such as renewable energy and microelectronics.