DOE Genesis Mission: Transforming Science and Energy with AI
All applications for this internal competition must be submitted via InfoReady. You can sign in using your Net-ID and your @stonybrook.edu email address. Please allow sufficient time to familiarize yourself with the portal prior to submitting your pre-application. Pre-application requirements are listed in the announcement below.
The Office for Research and Innovation invites applications to the DOE Genesis Mission: Transforming Science and Energy with AI. The DOE Office of Science (SC), Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (CMEI), Office of Environmental Management (EM), Office of Nuclear Energy (NE), Office of Electricity (OE), and Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Office (HGEO) hereby announce interest in receiving applications from interdisciplinary teams addressing the Genesis Mission National Science and Technology Challenges to accelerate scientific discovery and R&D workflows using novel AI models and frameworks. By achieving AI advantage, these teams will advance the DOE's mission and ensure America’s security and prosperity by addressing energy, environmental, and nuclear challenges through science and technology. Stony Brook University may submit ONE application as the lead institution per focus area for Phase I and Phase II applications combined. Phase II applications must list a primary focus area but will have the option to list secondary focus areas. The primary focus area will be used for determining limitations on institutional submissions.
Please see below for details. If you are interested in applying, you must submit a pre-application via the DOE Genesis Mission Portal in InfoReady by March 30, 2026 at 9 am. Pre-applications for internal review and selection must be uploaded to the portal as a single PDF document.
DISCIPLINES: AI, advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, critical materials, nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, physics, quantum information science, semiconductors and microelectronics, discovery science, and energy
WHAT DOES IT FUND: DOE is soliciting new FY26 Phase I small team and Phase II large team applications in the following topic areas: advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, critical materials, nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, quantum information science, semiconductors and microelectronics, discovery science, and energy (see specific focus areas in Section III Program Descriptions). Each applicant must address a topic and focus area. Phase I applications are limited to a single focus area. Phase II applications must identify a primary focus area but can also address secondary focus areas. Projects funded under this solicitation are expected to propose an approach or cluster of related approaches that will be pursued in two phases:
Phase I: In the initial phase, teams will design and demonstrate a clear, tangible research workflow that incorporates AI with concrete evaluation of the potential for AI advantage. Success may include demonstrating increased predictive power or scientific insight from appropriately-curated data, more tightly coupling data and experiments to validate hypotheses, building new models and analyzing their impact on discovery speedup, identifying scaling metrics that show how performance improves with more data or computing resources, improving and speeding up experimental workflows (e.g., through automation or AI-informed parameters), or other proposed metrics that the team would like to be considered. The goal is to provide quantitative analysis of whether a proposed approach is on a trajectory toward a transformative scientific capability, justifying further investment.
Phase II: During the second phase, meritorious Phase I and new Phase II teams will pursue the promising directions identified during the first phase. DOE envisions a level of effort (including team size and budget) at 3 to 5 times the initial phase. Receipt of a Phase I award will not be a prerequisite for submitting a letter of interest and application for Phase II. If a team believes they have already achieved the goals of Phase I awards, they may apply directly for a Phase II award in FY26. However, it is anticipated that most FY26 awards will be Phase I. An amended RFA will be issued to provide updated instructions about the Phase II LOI and application.
In Phase I, applicants must propose small teams with partner institutions from at least two of the following categories: (1) DOE/NNSA National Laboratory or a Scientific User Facility, (2) Industry, and (3) Institute of Higher Education (IHE)/Non-profit/Other. In Phase II, applicants will be expected to propose large teams with at least one partner institution from categories (1) and (2). Inclusion of lead or partner institutions from category (3) are strongly encouraged but not required. To meet this requirement, partners must provide intellectual contributions to the proposed project but do not need to be funded by DOE.
APPLICANT REQUIREMENTS:
- The PI on an application may also be listed as a senior or key personnel on an unlimited number of separate submissions but can be the lead PI on only one application. However, the PI on an awarded Phase I award may submit a Phase II proposal as part of the FY27 go/no-go decision process.
- PIs must be in a permanent or indefinitely extensible position at the applicant institution, whether tenured, tenure-track, or a staff appointment. Individuals in term-limited appointments, whether as adjunct, visiting faculty, fellows, or similar appointments, are not eligible to be proposed as a PI. Individuals in part-time permanent positions are eligible to be proposed as a PI.
- Individuals in a joint appointment are eligible to be proposed as a PI if work will be performed at the applicant institution and if the PI is a paid employee of the applicant institution. Individuals paid by another institution may not be named as the PI but may be named in other senior/key roles.
AWARD: Phase I: $500,000 to $750,000 over 9 months; Phase II: Envisioned as 3 to 5 times the Phase I award over 3 years.
COST SHARE: Unless otherwise specified for the topic, cost sharing is not required for basic and applied research awarded under this RFA, except for-profit entities. For-profit entities, whether prime recipients (lead organizations) or subrecipients (team members), are required to provide not less than 20% cost share for both basic and applied R&D activities and 50% of the total project costs for demonstration and commercial application tasks. Cost share requirements are specific to each focus area (industry only).
SPONSOR DEADLINE:
- FY26 Phase I Applications due April 28, 2026;
- FY26 Phase II Letters of Intent due April 28, 2026 (strongly encouraged);
- FY26 Phase II Applications due May 19, 2026 (An amendment to this RFA will provide instructions for Phase II applications);
- Phase II Applications resulting from FY26 Phase I Awards due December 17, 2026 (An amendment to this RFA will provide instructions for Phase II applications)
A complete pre-application should comprise of the following:
Before submitting a pre-application, applicants should carefully read the details of the focus areas in Section III of the FOA.
For Phase I Applications only:
- Title Page: Include the Project Title; Lead Applicant/Institution; Lead PI name, telephone number, email; The primary challenge and focus area as identified in Section III of the RFA: [For example, 1-A Reenvisioning Advanced Manufacturing and Industrial Productivity | Agentic AI-Driven Chemical Manufacturing]; Senior/Key Personnel for Lead Institution and All Partner Institutions (please indicate if personnel at partner institutions are proposed or active collaborators); and summary budget information for lead institution and all partner institutions.
- Project Narrative* (no more than 2 pages, with 1-inch margins and no smaller than 11-point font; figures and references, if included, must fit within the page limit): The Project Narrative must clearly articulate a vision for the science and/or applied energy initiatives that will be pursued and a description of how and why AI will enhance the scientific and technical workflows. It must clearly address the chosen focus area and explain how it advances or solves the corresponding challenge. In Phase I, the focus is demonstrating which elements are needed to achieve an AI advantage. The project narrative should include the following sections: Background/Introduction, Project Objectives, Proposed Research and Methods, Milestones in the Nine Months, Data Sources and Models, and Decision Gate Metrics (see pages 67-68 of solicitation for details).
- CV of Lead PI
For Phase II LOIs only**:
- Title Page: Include the Project Title; Lead Applicant/Institution; Lead PI name, telephone number, email; The primary challenge and focus area and optional secondary focus areas as identified in Section III of the RFA: [For example, 1-A Reenvisioning Advanced Manufacturing and Industrial Productivity | Agentic AI-Driven Chemical Manufacturing]; Senior/Key Personnel for Lead Institution and All Partner Institutions (please indicate if personnel at partner institutions are proposed or active collaborators); and the anticipated Annual Budget in $M for for the lead and all partner institutions.
- Letter of Intent* (no more than one page, with 1-inch margins and no smaller than 11-point font; figures and references, if included, must fit within the page limit) that describes how the team believes they have already achieved the goals of Phase I awards.
- CV of Lead PI
*Please note, when writing your project narrative or letter of intent, please refer to and address the program review criteria where applicable (beginning on p. 80 of the solicitation).
**Phase II applicants will be considered for readiness for Phase II, and may be advised to consider submitting a Phase I application, if appropriate.