Harnessing the Power of AI
Like many universities throughout the U.S., St. Joseph’s University, New York (SJNY) has been working to offer students and faculty a broad spectrum of resources to help them study, explore and understand the many facets of artificial intelligence.
Earlier this summer, however, the University learned that it will be taking part in a new initiative that might very well provide students and faculty with an even greater opportunity to harness the power of AI. In partnership with Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), SJNY was included in the first cohort to be awarded a grant through Phase I of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Genesis Mission, which aims to advance the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in support of scientific discovery, energy innovation and national security.
“We are honored to partner with BNL on this exciting initiative and to be among the first cohort of distinguished academic institutions awarded this Genesis Mission grant,” said Victoria Hong, Ed.D., assistant professor and director of SJNY’s M.S. in Cybersecurity program.
“The grant establishes St. Joseph’s as a part of cutting-edge AI-enabled scientific research and will strengthen the University’s expertise in areas aligned with national priorities, while providing our students with hands-on experience in high-performance computing, AI methodologies and large-scale scientific datasets. These experiences will prepare our students for careers and graduate study in computer science, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data science and physics.”
About the Genesis Mission
The central idea behind the U.S. Department of Energy’s Genesis Mission is straightforward, although the initiative is broad in scope. Launched in November 2025, the department says its overall objective for this federal AI-for-science initiative is to use artificial intelligence, advanced computing and emerging quantum technologies to speed up scientific research and discovery.
Additionally, the DOE says the initiative brings together 17 national laboratories, universities, and industries while connecting resources such as supercomputers, AI systems and unique datasets. The goal, according to the DOE, the initiative will help build “an integrated scientific platform capable of accelerating research in three broad areas: energy, discovery science and national security.”
As part of this Genesis Mission initiative, the specific project that SJNY and BNL will partner on is a project that the grant team hopes will modernize the Evaluated Nuclear Structure Data File (ENSDF) by developing a physics-informed, AI-enabled framework that combines established nuclear physics knowledge with advanced machine learning techniques.
A Collaboration Between SJNY and BNL
In addition to Dr. Hong, the grant team includes Andrea Stadler, Ph.D., associate professor and associate chair of SJNY’s chemistry and physical sciences programs and director of undergraduate research, as well as researchers from the National Nuclear Data Center (NNDC) at BNL, including SJNY alumni.
The award will expand collaborative research between SJNY and BNL while creating paid research opportunities for SJNY students pursuing STEM degrees. SJNY undergraduate students will assist the researchers in the development and validation of modular components to accelerate key ENSDF evaluation tasks. Students will work alongside research teams at BNL, both on-site and remotely, while collaborating with SJNY faculty to support the Genesis Mission’s objective of accelerating scientific discovery through AI.
“This is an incredible opportunity for St. Joseph’s, and more importantly, for our students,” said Donald R. Boomgaarden, Ph.D., president of St. Joseph’s University, New York. “They will gain invaluable, real-world experience in collaborative research that will assist them in their career journeys. We are extremely grateful to receive this funding, for our partners and the talented researchers at BNL.”
