ORNL showcases AI, HPC and autonomous labs at AI+ Expo

Oak Ridge National Laboratory had a major presence at the AI+ Expo for National Competitiveness (May 7–9, 2026), presenting national-lab research and demonstrations of AI, high-performance computing, and autonomous laboratory platforms.

• Main announcement / action: ORNL researchers presented and demoed AI and HPC advances at the DOE booth during the AI+ Expo (hosted by the Special Competitive Studies Project), including demonstrations of LOOP (AI-driven metal 3D printing), OPAL (Orchestrated Platform for Autonomous Laboratories) for plant phenotyping with exascale inference on Frontier, and presentations on the American Science Cloud as part of DOE’s Genesis Mission (which aims to double the productivity and impact of American science, engineering and R&D within a decade). Event details:

  • Date: May 7–9, 2026
  • Location: Washington D.C.
  • Agenda / subject: AI-driven scientific discovery, energy resilience, national competitiveness, computing infrastructure, and autonomous scientific workflows.

• Background / other details: Senior DOE leaders attended (including Secretary Chris Wright and Under Secretary Dario Gil); ORNL stressed converged computing (AI + HPC + quantum + autonomous workflows). UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the DOE Office of Science. Media contact provided: Scott Jones, Communications Manager, Computing and Computational Sciences Directorate; phone 865.241.6491; email JONESG@ORNL.GOV.