Nanoparticles that could change materials science. Better models to predict the potential for global carbon offsets. More efficient and cheaper solar panels. These are some of the research projects from 12 of the newest Eric and Wendy Schmidt AI in Science Postdoctoral Fellows from Cornell. 

“While varying in expertise, each fellow shares a common research vision – to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) in their respective fields of science to further discovery and make an impact,” said Carla Gomes, the Ronald C. and Antonia V. Nielsen Professor in the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science and co-director of the Cornell University AI for Science Institute (CUAISci), which works in tandem with the fellowship program to recruit and train awardees from Cornell. “We’re excited to welcome this latest cohort of exceptional scholars.”

The dozen fellows represent the third annual cohort from the six-year Eric and Wendy Schmidt AI in Science Postdoctoral Fellows program, which invited Cornell to join in 2022. The $148 million program – part of a larger $400 million effort from Schmidt Sciences – supports researchers using AI to further discovery in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. To date, 35 scholars from Cornell have received fellowships through the Eric and Wendy Schmidt AI in Science Postdoctoral Fellows program.

“We are delighted to introduce our third cohort of Schmidt AI in Science Postdoctoral Fellows. These exceptional researchers are expanding the frontiers of what AI can accomplish in scientific discovery,” said Fengqi You, the Roxanne E. and Michael J. Zak Professor in Energy Systems Engineering in Cornell Engineering and co-director of CUAISci. “From leveraging nanoparticles to revolutionizing material sciences to refining predictive models for climate dynamics and carbon offsetting, and advancing our understanding of solar energy, their work is poised to address critical scientific challenges in sustainability and physical sciences and beyond.”

Read the full story and see descriptions of the funded projects on the Cornell Bowers CIS website.