University of Texas at Arlington leads $750,000 DOE AI Trust Project for Scientific Facilities

University of Texas at Arlington researcher Habeeb Olufowobi has been selected to head a U.S. Department of Energy Genesis Mission effort aimed at ensuring the safety and reliability of artificial‑intelligence systems used in high‑energy scientific research. The $750,000 project will develop a real‑time “trust layer” that monitors AI model behavior within the Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS) platform, flagging and blocking suspicious outputs before they affect experiments at DOE facilities such as particle accelerators.

Olufowobi’s multidisciplinary team includes partners from Los Alamos National Laboratory, the University of Colorado‑Colorado Springs, Washington State University and Metro State University. The nine‑month effort runs from September 1 to May 31, 2027, and is intended to give scientists clear oversight of AI recommendations while preserving the integrity of experimental data. “Artificial intelligence is transforming how scientific discoveries are made, but researchers must be able to trust the recommendations these systems produce,” Olufowobi said. The Department of Energy views the work as a national priority to deploy AI safely in its most advanced research facilities.