THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY for the purpose of conducting market research and does not constitute a solicitation or a promise to issue a solicitation. Responses are voluntary and will be used to inform strategic planning, program design, and future funding mechanisms. AGENCY: Office of Science, Department of Energy. RFI Number: DE-SC-26-016 Issue Date: January 16, 2026 Response Due: March 4, 2026 SUMMARY: AI-driven innovation is a key national priority for ensuring American science and technology (S&T) dominance, economic growth, and national security. AI will transform a broad range of occupations spanning the nation’s industrial, government, educational, and research and development sectors. Recently, the Trump Administration Executive Order 14363, “Launching the Genesis Mission”, announced a focused, coordinated national effort to unleash a new age of AI-accelerated innovation and discovery. Led by the Department of Energy (DOE), the Genesis Mission will mobilize DOE’s National Laboratories, industry, and universities to harness the nation’s leading capabilities in high performance computing, next-generation quantum computers, and artificial intelligence (AI) to revolutionize science innovation in this nation. The Genesis Mission will double the productivity and impact of American science and engineering in a decade, leading to new industries and highly skilled jobs, and addressing some of the most challenging problems of this century. To prepare American students for future careers in these areas requires formulation of new training approaches, as noted in Executive Orders 14277 and 14278 (April 2025), “Advancing Artificial Intelligence Education for American Youth” and “Preparing Americans for High-Paying Skilled Trade Jobs of the Future.” Additionally, a section entitled “Training a Skilled Workforce for AI Infrastructure” in the “America’s AI Action Plan” (July 2025), calls for Federal Government agencies to support this workforce transformation. The goals of the Genesis Mission require rapid mobilization of the full capabilities of our nation’s S&T enterprise and tightly coordinated efforts across DOE and its National Laboratories, universities, industry, and philanthropic organizations. Further, a workforce of 100,000 American scientists and engineers will need to be trained over the next decade to lead the world in AI-powered science innovation and applications. DOE seeks input on innovations for forging partnerships between DOE, institutions of higher learning, industry, and philanthropic organizations to meet these challenges. In addition to research partnerships, this effort will include establishing an AI for Science and Engineering pipeline at the undergraduate and master’s levels focused on dual competencies in AI and a scientific/engineering discipline that will feed into rapidly expanding private and government sector jobs, as well as advanced degree educational programs. Further, this effort will include expanded training and research experiences for graduate students and post-doctoral associates to both contribute to the goals of the Genesis Mission and prepare for future careers in academia, national laboratories, government, and industry, with dual competencies in AI and science. Input is sought from a wide variety of stakeholders, including: Educational institutions interested in partnering with DOE, private industry, and philanthropic organizations to form highly collaborative research teams to meet the aggressive goals of the Genesis Mission and establish new curricula and experiences for training bachelor’s and master’s level students in AI for Science and Engineering to prepare the future AI workforce, as well as research experiences as part of doctoral and post-doctoral associate training. Industrial institutions of all sizes interested in partnering with universities and DOE to advance science and technology needed for the Genesis mission and to define training requirements and support training to prepare a future American workforce. Philanthropic organizations interested in supporting AI for Science and Engineering research and student training. Think tanks and other research organizations. Questions: How can DOE catalyze research collaborations between DOE National Laboratories, universities, and industry to meet the goals of the Genesis program? How can DOE incentivize partnerships between universities, DOE National Laboratories, industry, and philanthropic organizations to 1) establish new training paths for bachelor’s and master’s degrees focused on dual competencies in AI and scientific/engineering disciplines and 2) provide innovative experiences to prepare doctoral students and post-doctoral associates for careers in AI for science? What attributes might attract undergraduates to programs that offer dual competency degrees? Beyond funding, what other opportunities could DOE, including its National Laboratories and user facilities, bring to these partnerships? In addition to classroom and research training, what other contributions could universities make to support these partnerships? Beyond funding, what types of contributions could industry and philanthropic organizations make to enhance these partnerships and enrich the experiences of the students? In addition to AI, which scientific and engineering disciplines are well-suited for this dual competency training approach? What components are needed for an effective dual competency degree program to best prepare students for successful careers at the bachelor’s level? At the master’s level? What components are needed to prepare graduate students and post-doctoral students for successful careers at the nexus of AI and science? How could partnerships between DOE, universities, and industry provide new training opportunities for students to best prepare them for private and public sector jobs? What type of experiential opportunities are needed to complement classroom instruction to best prepare students for future jobs? How many American bachelor’s and master’s degree students could be trained in a steady state program at your institution? How could the program be scaled across the nation? How could community colleges and other educational institutions contribute and be included in this pipeline? DOE reserves the right to use any information submitted by, or obtained from, an interested party in any manner DOE determines appropriate. Interested parties should not include any classified, business confidential, or proprietary information in their responses. DOE will have unlimited rights in all submitted information. DOE looks forward to engaging with the community, industry, academia, and other interested parties in a transparent and collaborative manner throughout the process. Confidential Business Information: Pursuant to 10 CFR 1004.11, any person submitting information that he or she believes to be confidential and exempt by law from public disclosure should submit via email two well-marked copies: one copy of the document marked “confidential” including all the information believed to be confidential, and one copy of the document marked “non-confidential” with the information believed to be confidential deleted. Submit these documents via email. DOE will make its own determination about the confidential status of the information and treat it according to its determination. Submission Instructions: Responses should not exceed five pages, including attachments or cover letters. Please include the names of the organization and the point of contact. Responses should be submitted electronically to
[email protected] include “Developing an American Workforce to Advance Artificial Intelligence for Science and Engineering” in the subject line of the email. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions may be addressed to the DOE Office of Science through
[email protected].