The Department of Energy's first artificial intelligence director is currently reviewing more than 600 AI projects across its agencies to identify "critical" technologies worth advancing and replicating. Earlier this month, Cheryl Ingstad was named head of DOE's new Artificial Intelligence and Technology Office (AITO), intended to prioritize department resources for AI projects as the coordinating agency. The Trump administration proposed funding AITO at $5 million in fiscal 2021 -- up from $2.5 million the previous fiscal year -- but the office will be tapping into other agencies' funds as well. "They have program and project resources available," Ingstad told FedScoop in an interview. Energy has 17 national laboratories developing and applying AI to power generation, cybersecurity, national security, and accelerating scientific discoveries.

Less than a half-year into its existence, the Energy Department's new Artificial Intelligence and Technology Office officially unveiled its leader. According to a Thursday announcement, the agency's undersecretary for science officially swore in Cheryl Ingstad as the inaugural director of AITO on Feb. 4. "AI technologies will be as transformative to our daily lives as electricity was to American society more than a century ago, and as a world-leading AI enterprise, [Energy] has the power and the obligation to ensure that it is used as a force for good," Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette said in a statement. He added that Ingstad's "proven public and private sector leadership in driving crosscutting, breakthrough technologies at the nexus of energy and national security" made her the agency's "ideal candidate" for the role. According to her LinkedIn profile, Ingstad is an Army veteran and has experience in the Defense Department's cyber operations. The agency also said she was an "early leader" in the Defense Intelligence Agency's Information Operations Branch.