On October 16, 2026, The University of Texas at Austin announced that a university research team received a Google.org Impact Challenge: AI for Science award. The team will use the funding and support over three years to accelerate fusion energy research using artificial intelligence.
Award and Funding Details
According to The University of Texas at Austin, a research team led by assistant professor of physics Joshua Burby has been selected for the Google.org Impact Challenge: AI for Science. The project is among 17 organizations chosen to share a combined $36 million in funding.
The project includes collaborators from the University of Washington and New York University. It builds on existing research and expands on one of four fusion energy seed projects recently launched with the Institute for Fusion Studies.
Accelerating Fusion Research With AI
The research focuses on stellarators, which are reactor designs shaped like a twisted doughnut that offer a promising path to producing abundant, carbon-free fusion energy. Because their complex shapes make computer simulations difficult and expensive, the team will build surrogate models to make repeated calculations faster and more affordable.
UT Austin stated that this computational work could eventually lead to lower construction costs for future fusion power plants.
Key facts and where they come from
- A UT Austin research team was selected to receive a Google.org award to use artificial intelligence for fusion energy research.
A research team at The University of Texas at Austin has been selected as a recipient of the Google.org Impact Challenge: AI for Science
- The team is among 17 organizations selected to receive a combined $36 million in funding.
among the 17 organizations selected to receive a combined $36 million in funding.
- Assistant professor of physics Joshua Burby leads the team.
led by assistant professor of physics Joshua Burby
