Data Science in the News

Evaluating trust and safety of large language models

Accepted to the 2024 International Conference on Machine Learning, two Livermore papers examined trustworthiness—how a model uses data and makes decisions—of large language models, or LLMs. In “TrustLLM: Trustworthiness in Large Language Models,” Bhavya Kailkhura and collaborators from universities and research organizations around the world developed a comprehensive trustworthiness...

AI, fusion, and national security with Brian Spears (VIDEO)

This episode of the Eye on AI podcast delves into the cutting-edge world of AI and high-performance computing with Brian Spears, director of LLNL's AI Innovation Incubator. The episode is presented here as a video with the following description: "Brian shares his experience in driving AI into national security science and managing the nation’s nuclear stockpile. With a PhD in mechanical...

Signal and image science community comes together for annual workshop

Nearly 150 members of the signal and image science community recently came together to discuss the latest advances in the field and connect with colleagues, friends, and potential collaborators at the 28th annual Center for Advanced Signal and Image Science (CASIS) workshop. The event featured more than 50 technical contributions across six workshop tracks and a parallel tutorials session...

The surprising places you’ll find machine learning (VIDEO)

LLNL data scientists are applying ML to real-world applications on multiple scales. A new DSI-funded video highlights research at the nanoscale (developing better water treatment methods by predicting the behavior of water molecules under the extremely confined conditions of nanotubes); mesoscale (determining the likelihood and location of a dangerous wildfire-causing phenomenon called arcing...

Harnessing the power of AI for a safe and secure future (VIDEO)

LLNL, alongside the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) 17 national labs, is harnessing the transformative potential of AI for a safer, more secure future. In 2022, LLNL made history by achieving fusion ignition, marking a pivotal moment for national security and clean energy. While AI continues to unlock new insights into fusion, through the combination of cutting-edge computer modeling...

Igniting scientific discovery with AI and supercomputing (VIDEO)

LLNL’s fusion ignition breakthrough, more than 60 years in the making, was enabled by a combination of traditional fusion target design methods, high-performance computing (HPC), and AI techniques. The success of ignition marks a significant milestone in fusion energy research, and was facilitated in part by the precision simulations and rapid experimental data analysis only possible through...

Welcome new DSI team members

When Data Science Institute (DSI) director Brian Giera and deputy director Cindy Gonzales began planning activities for fiscal year 2024 and beyond, they immediately realized that LLNL’s growth in data science and artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML) research requires corresponding growth in the DSI’s efforts. “Our field is booming,” Giera states. “The Lab has a stake in the...

WiDS Livermore conference attendees network, share research and absorb wisdom

Co-sponsored by the DSI, LLNL on March 13 hosted the 7th annual Women in Data Science (WiDS) conference for data scientists, industry professionals, recent graduates and others interested in the field. As an independent satellite of the global WiDS conference celebrating International Women’s Day, the Livermore hybrid event was held to highlight the work and careers of LLNL and regional data...

Predicting climate change impacts on infrastructure (VIDEO)

At LLNL, electrical grid experts and climate scientists work together to bridge the gap between infrastructure and climate modeling. By taking weather variables such as wildfire, flooding, wind, and sunlight that directly impact the electrical grid into consideration, researchers can improve electrical grid model projections for a more stable future. In a new video, LLNL computer scientist...

Register for WiDS Livermore on March 13

The annual Women in Data Science (WiDS) conference returns on Wednesday, March 13. This is the seventh year for WiDS Livermore, which is independently organized by LLNL to be part of the mission to increase participation of women in data science and to feature outstanding women doing outstanding work. The all-day WiDS Livermore event is free and will be presented in a hybrid format. Everyone...

Will it bend? Reinforcement learning optimizes metamaterials

Lawrence Livermore staff scientist Xiaoxing Xia collaborated with the Technical University of Denmark to integrate machine learning (ML) and 3D printing techniques. The effort naturally follows Xia’s PhD work in materials science at the California Institute of Technology, where he investigated electrochemically reconfigurable structures. In a paper published in the Journal of Materials...

For better CT images, new deep learning tool helps fill in the blanks

At a hospital, an airport, or even an assembly line, computed tomography (CT) allows us to investigate the otherwise inaccessible interiors of objects without laying a finger on them. To perform CT, x-rays first shine through an object, interacting with the different materials and structures inside. Then, the x-rays emerge on the other side, casting a projection of their interactions onto a...

LLNL, University of California partner for AI-driven additive manufacturing research

Grace Gu, a faculty member in mechanical engineering at UC Berkeley, has been selected as the inaugural recipient of the LLNL Early Career UC Faculty Initiative. The initiative is a joint endeavor between LLNL’s Strategic Deterrence Principal Directorate and UC national laboratories at the University of California Office of the President, seeking to foster long-term academic partnerships and...

Consulting service infuses Lab projects with data science expertise

A key advantage of LLNL’s culture of multidisciplinary teamwork is that domain scientists don’t need to be experts in everything. Physicists, chemists, biologists, materials engineers, climate scientists, computer scientists, and other researchers regularly work alongside specialists in other fields to tackle challenging problems. The rise of Big Data across the Lab has led to a demand for...

Data science meets fusion (VIDEO)

LLNL’s historic fusion ignition achievement on December 5, 2022, was the first experiment to ever achieve net energy gain from nuclear fusion. However, the experiment’s result was not actually that surprising. A team leveraging data science techniques developed and used a landmark system for teaching artificial intelligence (AI) to incorporate and better account for different variables and...

Celebrating the DSI’s first five years

View the LLNL Flickr album Data Science Institute Turns Five. Data science—a field combining technical disciplines such as computer science, statistics, mathematics, software development, domain science, and more—has become a crucial part of how LLNL carries out its mission. Since the DSI’s founding in 2018, the Lab has seen tremendous growth in its data science community and has invested...

Patent applies machine learning to industrial control systems

An industrial control system (ICS) is an automated network of devices that make up a complex industrial process. For example, a large-scale electrical grid may contain thousands of instruments, sensors, and controls that transfer and distribute power, along with computing systems that capture data transmitted across these devices. Monitoring the ICS network for new device connections, device...

Scientists develop model for more efficient simulations of protein interactions linked to cancer

LLNL scientists have developed a theoretical model for more efficient molecular-level simulations of cell membranes and their lipid-protein interactions, part of a multi-institutional effort to better understand the behavior of cancer-causing membrane proteins. Developed under an ongoing collaboration by the Department of Energy and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) aimed at modeling cell...

First-ever hybrid Women in Data Science Livermore event celebrates achievements, supports women in the field

Celebrating International Women’s Day on March 8, LLNL women data scientists, Lab employees and other attendees interested in the field gathered at the Livermore Valley Open Campus for the annual Livermore Women in Data Science (WiDS) regional event held in conjunction with the global WiDS conference. Attendees met online and in-person for the forum, highlighting women in computing and the...

From plasma to digital twins

LLNL's Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) group has an array of techniques at its disposal for inspecting objects’ interiors without disturbing them: computed tomography, optical laser interferometry, and ultrasound, for example, can be used alone or in combination to gauge whether a component’s physical and material properties fall within allowed tolerances. In one project, the team of NDE...