The U.S. Department of Energy has selected Oklahoma State University's College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology as one of the first projects funded under the Genesis Mission Request for Applications.

The national portfolio of research teams will develop and demonstrate artificial intelligence-enabled scientific workflows designed to accelerate breakthroughs in energy, scientific discovery and national security.

The Genesis Mission is a national initiative focused on building the world's most powerful integrated scientific discovery platform. By bringing together government, industry, academia and philanthropy, the initiative aims to combine AI, supercomputing, quantum systems and advanced scientific instruments to accelerate innovation in energy, scientific research and national security.

OSU is among 168 universities selected through a highly competitive application process that generated the largest response to a funding opportunity in DOE history.

"This selection underscores OSU’s growing reputation as a leader in engineering research and innovation," said Dr. Hanchen Huang, dean of CEAT. "The Genesis Mission aligns closely with our commitment to advancing technologies that strengthen America's energy future while preparing the next generation of engineers and scientists. We are honored to contribute our expertise to this transformative national initiative."

Established by the DOE, the Genesis Mission aims to double America's scientific productivity by combining the department's world-class research infrastructure with advanced AI, high-performance computing and leading scientific talent. The selected projects span strategic research areas including nuclear energy, critical mineral extraction, intelligent chip design and commercial fusion energy.

At OSU, Dr. Hamid Pouya, assistant professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering and principal investigator, is leading GRID-OPS-AI in collaboration with co-principal investigator Dr. Ardeshir Moftakhari, assistant professor in the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Their project, "GRID OPS AI: Scaling Grid Operations with Distributionally Robust, Physics Informed, Safe AI," is designed to provide electric utilities with a trustworthy, AI-powered approach to operating an increasingly complex and unpredictable power grid while advancing the Genesis Mission's goal of accelerating real-world scientific and engineering breakthroughs through advanced AI models and frameworks.

The project brings together OSU, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Oklahoma Electric Cooperative, with technology partner SkyHelm and additional utility data support from Oklahoma Gas & Electric.

“Today's grid faces rising uncertainty, from variable renewable generation and extreme weather to rapidly growing electricity demand,” Pouya said. “Yet many critical operating decisions — how to reconfigure the system, dispatch resources or restore power after an outage — still rely heavily on operator experience and single-point forecasts that don't fully account for what could happen next.”

GRID-OPS-AI is designed to close that gap by embedding AI directly into the decision-making process. The system learns from a utility's historical and real-time data to generate fast, risk-aware recommendations that operators can understand, trust and act upon.

“GRID-OPS-AI brings together several advanced AI models into a single, powerful workflow,” Pouya said. “The AI learns how the grid behaves — and how uncertainty plays out — directly from a utility's own real-world data, then uses that understanding to weigh the options and recommend smart decisions that account for what could happen next, not just a single best guess. It delivers those recommendations fast enough to be useful in the moment and explains each one in plain language an operator can quickly understand.

“Just as important, the system is built as decision support, not autopilot: every recommendation is transparent, and a human operator always stays in control.”

Pouya and Moftakhari will evaluate the technology in real-world utility settings by integrating it into SkyHelm's Adaptively Controlled Electric System platform, already in use by Oklahoma Electric Cooperative. The project will compare the AI-enabled approach against current utility practices, measuring improvements in cost, speed, reliability and resilience.

“GRID-OPS-AI connects advanced AI and energy systems with real utility operations, helping operators make faster, more confident decisions under uncertainty, especially when reliability and resilience matter most,” Moftakhari said.

Earlier research supporting the project has already demonstrated promising results, and the team aims to further advance the technology by enabling reliable operating decisions many times faster than current methods. Their project represents nationally significant AI innovation while demonstrating practical solutions for strengthening the resilience and affordability of the nation's electric grid.

As part of the initiative, researchers will gain access to the Genesis Mission Platform, which provides advanced AI models, AI agent frameworks, high-performance computing resources and scientific software through the DOE national laboratory system and industry partners. These resources will enable research teams to rapidly develop, test and refine AI-enabled scientific workflows that accelerate discovery.

“Our goal is to put AI to work for grid operators in a way they can truly trust — turning the flood of data utilities already collected into faster, clearer, risk-aware decisions,” Pouya said. “If we can help operators keep the lights on more reliably and at lower cost, especially during storms and other high-stress events, that translates directly into a more resilient grid and real value for the communities utilities serve. And we're deliberately designing AI that supports operators rather than replaces them: transparent, explainable and always with a human in control.”

Pouya said receiving the award is both an honor and a responsibility. OSU President Jim Hess agreed.

“Being selected for the Genesis Mission is a tremendous honor, but it also carries a responsibility to deliver results that matter,” Dr. Hess said. “This recognition affirms that the ideas we have been developing have the potential to strengthen the way utilities operate the electric grid. Now, we have the opportunity to put that work to the test where it matters most — in real-world operations, using real data, alongside the people who keep our communities powered every day.

“I am especially proud that Oklahoma State University is leading this effort. It demonstrates that nationally significant AI innovation is happening right here in Oklahoma, driven by a land-grant commitment to solve practical problems, serve our communities and help build a stronger energy future for our state and nation.”

The award also reflects CEAT's continued momentum in advanced energy research, AI and interdisciplinary collaboration. Faculty across the college are conducting nationally recognized research in advanced manufacturing, autonomous systems, energy systems, computational engineering, data science and next-generation technologies that strengthen economic growth and national competitiveness.

“This Genesis Mission selection places OSU at the center of a nationally significant effort to transform engineering science while giving our students exceptional opportunities to develop technologies that directly benefit communities and strengthen America’s energy future,” Moftakhari said.

“None of this happens in isolation. This project works because of an exceptional team — Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Oklahoma Electric Cooperative, Oklahoma Gas & Electric and SkyHelm — who share a commitment to real, deployable results, not just research papers,” Pouya said. “I'm grateful to the Department of Energy for the opportunity, and excited to help build AI that strengthens the backbone of the American economy.”

Participation in the Genesis Mission further strengthens OSU's role as a key contributor to the nation's innovation ecosystem while providing students with opportunities to participate in cutting-edge research alongside leading scientists and engineers.

“From its inception, the Genesis Mission has the ambition of leveraging AI-based tools and approaches to dramatically increase the speed and impact of science and technological development,” OSU Vice President for Research Dr. Kenneth Sewell said. “A truly optimized electrical grid, which GRID-OPS-AI can help achieve, will benefit society in countless economic and national security ways.”

The Genesis Mission includes 278 research awards involving 342 institutions nationwide, including DOE and National Nuclear Security Administration national laboratories, universities, companies and nonprofit organizations. Together, these teams will develop AI-enabled scientific workflows with the potential to fundamentally transform research across the DOE's mission areas.

Additional information about the U.S. DOE announcement is available here. Learn more about the Genesis Mission here.