Washington, DC, July 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tanja Horn, Ph.D., a professor with The Catholic University of America’s nuclear physics group, has received more than $1 million in funding for two research projects that integrate artificial intelligence (AI) technology into scientific data collection and analysis.
On July 22, 2026, the U.S. Department of Energy’s GENESIS Mission awarded $300,000 to Horn and co-investigators Dominick Rizk, assistant professor of computer science at Catholic University, and Jefferson Lab’s Dmitry Romanov.
The research team is developing an AI-integrated solution that will redefine scientific discovery for DOE facilities, such as the Electron-Ion Collider. Intelligent, physics-aware AI will be embedded directly into data streams produced by these high-rate experimental environments.
According to Horn, the collider will generate continuous detector data streams approaching 100 gigabits per second. At that speed, massive amounts of data are produced. The new approach means rare physics signals embedded within the stream of data can be identified in real-time, avoiding data pile-ups.
“Existing trigger systems and machine learning approaches are not deployable at this scale due to limited adaptability, poor scalability, and lack of integration with physics constraints,” Horn writes in the project abstract.
“The AI integration will allow continuously interpreted detector readouts, separate signals from background and prioritize data in real time,” she adds, noting that the reseach is “a key step toward next-generation AI-enabled scientific infrastructure.”
"This award leverages our team's expertise in hadron physics research at the DOE National Laboratories and enhances it with cutting-edge AI capabilities," Horn says.
The methodologies will be applicable to other DOE mission areas that involve similar high speed, data intensive environments.
The GENESIS Mission is a priority national initiative with multiple partners working collaboratively, including DOE’s National Labs, the National Nuclear Security Administration, academia, industry, and other partners. The focus is to develop AI-enabled scientific workflows leading to breakthroughs in energy, discovery science, and national security, according to DOE.
The funded Catholic University project is titled “AI-Driven Expedited Discovery and Background Separation for Petabyte-Scale Streaming Readout.”
$750,000 National Science Foundation Grant
Horn also received a $750,000 grant from the National Science Foundation on July 1, 2026, to support research in experimental nuclear physics. The grant will help advance the understanding of the fundamental building blocks of matter by incorporating artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to accelerate data analysis and improve the efficiency of scientific research.
The project title is "Studies of Pion and Kaon Structure and AI to Expedite Science Output."
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