Physics Assistant Professor Pooja Siwach Awarded DOE Genesis Mission Grant
Pooja Siwach, Assistant Professor of Physics at the University of Arizona, has been awarded a prestigious U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Genesis Mission grant for a groundbreaking project aimed at revolutionizing how physicists simulate the building blocks of atomic nuclei. The project, titled ORAQL: Orchestration of AI for Quantum Leadership, combines physics, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing to address complex challenges in nuclear many-body theory.
ORAQL brings together researchers from the University of Arizona and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, including co-investigator Chicheng Zhang (Computer Science) and partners Nicolas Schunck and Kyle Wendt. The project will develop an AI-driven framework that evaluates the properties of nuclear systems and automatically identifies the most efficient computational strategy, from classical to quantum approaches. By replacing time-intensive expert decision-making with an automated process, ORAQL aims to accelerate discovery in nuclear physics and quantum computing.
Siwach's project was one of five University of Arizona research efforts selected through the DOE's new AI for Science initiative, highlighting the university's growing leadership in leveraging artificial intelligence to advance scientific discovery.
Read the University of Arizona News feature, which highlights all five university projects selected through the initiative: Department of Energy Selects 5 University of Arizona Research Projects Through New AI for Science Initiative.