Sumner B. Harris is currently R&D Staff working within the Data NanoAnalytics Group at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. His PhD work focused on laser-plasma diagnostics and simulations, as well as the epitaxial growth of FeSe using pulsed laser deposition (PLD). He was a postdoctoral researcher in CNMS from 2021 to 2023 where he focused on nanomaterials synthesis with PLD using in situ diagnostics as feedback for precision and autonomous synthesis experiments. Currently, his work revolves around applying AI techniques to materials synthesis and the development of synthesis tools, workflows, and algorithms for autonomous synthesis of thin film materials.
Presentation Title:
AI Agents for Materials Synthesis: Hypothesis Generation and Self-Improving Processes
Presentation Abstract:
Autonomous laboratories typically rely on data-driven decision-making, occasionally with human-in-the-loop oversight to inject domain expertise. Fully leveraging AI agents, however, requires tightly coupled, collaborative workflows spanning hypothesis generation, experimental planning, execution, and interpretation. To address this, we develop and deploy a human-AI collaborative (HAIC) workflow that integrates large language models for hypothesis generation and analysis, with collaborative policy updates driving autonomous pulsed laser deposition (PLD) experiments. We demonstrate this approach for remote epitaxy of BaTiO3/graphene and showcase the potential for AI agents in materials synthesis.
This work was supported by the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS), which is a US Department of Energy, Office of Science User Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences and Engineering Division.