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Physics-informed machine learning

Despite great progress in simulating multiphysics problems using the numerical discretization of partial differential equations (PDEs), one still cannot seamlessly incorporate noisy data into existing algorithms, mesh generation remains complex, and high-dimensional problems governed by parameterized PDEs cannot be tackled. Moreover, solving inverse problems with hidden physics is often prohibitively expensive and requires different formulations and elaborate computer codes. Machine learning has emerged as a promising alternative, but training deep neural networks requires big data, not always available for scientific problems. Instead, such networks can be trained from additional information obtained by enforcing the physical laws (for example, at random points in the continuous space-time domain). Such physics-informed learning integrates (noisy) data and mathematical models, and implements them through neural networks or other kernel-based regression networks. Moreover, it may be possible to design specialized network architectures that automatically satisfy some of the physical invariants for better accuracy, faster training and improved generalization. Furthermore, we review some of the prevailing trends in embedding physics into machine learning, present some of the current capabilities and limitations and discuss diverse applications of physics-informed learning both for forward and inverse problems, including discovering hidden physics and tackling high-dimensional problems.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Machine Learning (ML) Classifier to Assist Metadata Creation

The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Data Center is responsible for the timely collection, archival, and curation of science data products. These products are freely available through an online data repository. Metadata creation is paramount for scientific users to find and access over seven petabytes of atmospheric science data. The hierarchical metadata structure allows users to search for information at both broad and narrow levels. This project aims to leverage 30 years’ worth of manually created metadata to enable machine predictions of broad-term classifications from narrow-term descriptions. These classification predictions would assist metadata coordinators with their term selections. This paper discusses the cleaning and preprocessing of the training data, the pipeline developed to determine the best model for this task, and the creation of an API metadata classifier for ARM measurement metadata. Our results show that the Linear Support Vector Classification (LinearSVC) algorithm, along with the Term Frequency – Inverse Document Frequency (TF-IDF) vectorizer, is well-suited for our multi-class classification task. Lengthier input training data led to better results, and artificial balancing was unnecessary for this particular use case. This predictive classifier enhances efficiency in metadata creation, as well as supports greater consistency and accuracy in metadata tagging.

Collier, Hannah [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000341284292)↗

Data-Enabled Fusion Technology (Final Scientific/Technical Report)

Advancing Scientific Understanding in Fusion Energy and Machine Learning This research represented a significant step forward in machine learning (ML) applications for fusion energy experiments. The project integrated advanced data-driven modeling, optimization techniques, and artificial intelligence to enhance the predictive capabilities and operational efficiency of plasma-based fusion systems. Specifically, tasks focused on ML-enhanced diagnostics, operator guidance tools, and predictive modeling helped improve the ability to interpret complex fusion experiments. Key areas of advancement included: 1) data-driven plasma control, i.e., using ML algorithms to optimize experimental conditions and classify plasma behaviors based on historical data; 2) spectroscopy and diagnostics, i.e., applying AI models to extract previously inaccessible insights from experimental spectroscopy data; and 3) configuration mapping and operator guidance, i.e., developing a predictive framework to assist scientists in identifying the most effective experimental parameters, reducing reliance on manual adjustments. By refining these ML-driven techniques, the project contributed to the broader scientific community’s understanding of plasma dynamics and fusion energy viability. Technical Effectiveness and Economic Feasibility The methods investigated demonstrated high technical effectiveness, as reflected in milestones assessing the predictive accuracy, performance, and optimization of fusion configurations. The development of an Operator Guidance Tool (OGT), for example, led to more precise control of plasma conditions by learning from experimental data and offering real-time adjustments. From an economic standpoint, DeFT provided: 1) the ability to reduce trial-and-error experimentation, which lowered operational costs; 2) improved data interpretation methods, which enabled more efficient resource allocation in large-scale fusion research projects; and 3) the automation of key diagnostic tasks, which reduced manual labor and human error, increasing overall efficiency. 13 The final assessments of predictive models and optimization strategies demonstrated that these approaches were scalable and could be implemented across multiple fusion energy research programs. Public Benefit and Societal Impact This project contributed directly to the broader goal of achieving sustainable and commercially viable fusion energy, which had profound implications for clean energy production and climate change mitigation. The integration of AI-driven solutions into fusion research: 1) sped up scientific discovery, accelerating progress towards achieving energy breakthroughs; 2) reduced the cost of experimentation, making fusion research more accessible; and 3) provided a framework for future AI applications in high-energy physics, benefiting adjacent fields like space exploration, material science, and renewable energy. Additionally, by fostering collaborations between AI researchers and plasma physicists, this project promoted interdisciplinary innovation that could lead to broader applications beyond fusion research.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Position Papers for the ASCR Workshop on Cybersecurity and Privacy for Scientific Computing Ecosystems

At the request of the Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR), this program committee has been tasked with organizing a workshop to identify basic research needs in cybersecurity and privacy to better support DOE's science and energy mission. As part of the process, the program committee is soliciting community input in the form of position papers to help identify significant use cases, facility issues, and other barriers to enabling verifiably trustworthy computational science while preserving data confidentiality as appropriate for scientific workflows of interest to DOE. The program committee will review these position papers and based on the fit of their area of expertise and interest, selected contributors will have the opportunity to participate in the workshop currently planned as a virtual event November 3-5th, 2021. The thrust areas that will be explored by this workshop are the following: (1) Algorithms for secure, scalable, privacy-enhancing technologies and frameworks, including: Federated AI/ML, Differential privacy, Randomized algorithms, Adversarial modeling & simulation, Graph algorithms, and Formal methods; (2) Platforms to support the entire scientific-computing ecosystem, including edge computing for large-scale experiments, focusing on heterogeneous systems and distributed systems, including: Heterogeneous computing systems, Distributed computing systems, and Secure data architectures; and (3) Data workflows to allow agile use of data while preserving integrity and privacy, making the important properties verifiable either at runtime or post-computation, including: Integrity and provenance and Data management infrastructure. Topics that are out-of-scope for the workshop include discussing specific proposed solutions or areas that are clearly out of DOE's fundamental and applied-sciences mission scope, e.g., cryptography, enterprise security, and general-operations technology.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

MaTableGPT: GPT‐Based Table Data Extractor from Materials Science Literature

Abstract Efficiently extracting data from tables in the scientific literature is pivotal for building large‐scale databases. However, the tables reported in materials science papers exist in highly diverse forms; thus, rule‐based extractions are an ineffective approach. To overcome this challenge, the study presents MaTableGPT, which is a GPT‐based table data extractor from the materials science literature. MaTableGPT features key strategies of table data representation and table splitting for better GPT comprehension and filtering hallucinated information through follow‐up questions. When applied to a vast volume of water splitting catalysis literature, MaTableGPT achieves an extraction accuracy (total F1 score) of up to 96.8%. Through comprehensive evaluations of the GPT usage cost, labeling cost, and extraction accuracy for the learning methods of zero‐shot, few‐shot, and fine‐tuning, the study presents a Pareto‐front mapping where the few‐shot learning method is found to be the most balanced solution owing to both its high extraction accuracy (total F1 score >95%) and low cost (GPT usage cost of 5.97 US dollars and labeling cost of 10 I/O paired examples). The statistical analyses conducted on the database generated by MaTableGPT revealed valuable insights into the distribution of the overpotential and elemental utilization across the reported catalysts in the water splitting literature.

Yi, Gyeong Hoon [Computational Science Research Ce↗

The Manufacturing Data and Machine Learning Platform: Enabling Real-time Monitoring and Control of Scientific Experiments via IoT

IoT devices and sensor networks present new opportunities for measuring, monitoring, and guiding scientific experiments. Sensors, cameras, and instruments can be combined to provide previously unachievable insights into the state of ongoing experiments. However, IoT devices can vary greatly in the type, volume, and velocity of data they generate, making it challenging to fully realize this potential. Indeed, synergizing diverse IoT data streams in near-real time can require the use of machine learning (ML). In addition, new tools and technologies are required to facilitate the collection, aggregation, and manipulation of sensor data in order to simplify the application of ML models and in turn, fully realize the utility of IoT devices in laboratories. Here we will demonstrate how the use of the Argonne-developed Manufacturing Data and Machine Learning (MDML) platform can analyze and use IoT devices in a manufacturing experiment. MDML is designed to standardize the research and operational environment for advanced data analytics and AI-enabled automated process optimization by providing the infrastructure to integrate AI in cyber-physical systems for in situ analysis. We will show that MDML is capable of processing diverse IoT data streams, using multiple computing resources, and integrating ML models to guide an experiment.

Machine Learning↗

Exploring Classification of Topological Priors With Machine Learning for Feature Extraction

In many scientific endeavors, increasingly abstract representations of data allow for new interpretive methodologies and conceptualization of phenomena. For example, moving from raw imaged pixels to segmented and reconstructed objects allows researchers new insights and means to direct their studies toward relevant areas. Thus, the development of new and improved methods for segmentation remains an active area of research. With advances in machine learning and neural networks, scientists have been focused on employing deep neural networks such as U-Net to obtain pixel-level segmentations, namely, defining associations between pixels and corresponding/referent objects and gathering those objects afterward. Topological analysis, such as the use of the Morse-Smale complex to encode regions of uniform gradient flow behavior, offers an alternative approach: first, create geometric priors, and then apply machine learning to classify. This approach is empirically motivated since phenomena of interest often appear as subsets of topological priors in many applications. Using topological elements not only reduces the learning space but also introduces the ability to use learnable geometries and connectivity to aid the classification of the segmentation target. Here, in this article, we describe an approach to creating learnable topological elements, explore the application of ML techniques to classification tasks in a number of areas, and demonstrate this approach as a viable alternative to pixel-level classification, with similar accuracy, improved execution time, and requiring marginal training data.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Report for the ASCR Workshop on Visualization for Scientific Discovery, Decision-Making, and Communication

Visualization—the use of visual elements to explore data, form hypotheses, or convey conclusions—is an integral part of the scientific process. Starting from an initial exploration of new data to illustrating outcomes for the general public, visualization is one of the most intuitive and powerful modes of communication. With the explosion of new data sources and types, unprecedented volumes of data, and new technologies, such as virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI), visualization has become increasingly essential but also ever more challenging. The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) sponsored a Basic Research Needs workshop in January 2022 to understand the major opportunities and grand challenges in visualization tools and technologies for scientific computing as well as for DOE-relevant applications and goals in general. The workshop identified five priority research directions (PRDs) for visualization to support scientific discovery, decision making, and communication. The first three PRDs describe interconnected research themes addressing the need for new techniques to deal with complex data, uncertainty, and interpretability (PRD 1); the need for scalable and interoperable software stacks (PRD 2); and the challenges and opportunities inherent in new technologies, such as VR, cloud, or exascale computing (PRD 3). The remaining two PRDs describe foundational research themes that recognize the potential of visualizations to provide equitable access to information and to strengthen the scientific discourse (PRD 4); and the need to consider human factors when designing visualizations (PRD 5). Collectively, these PRDs form the pillars for a coherent, long-term research and development strategy in Visualization for Scientific Discovery, Decision-Making, and Communication in the context of the Office of Science’s mission scope.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

2020 Budget Request for the DOE Computational Science Graduate Fellowship (CSGF) Grant

The Department of Energy Computational Science Graduate Fellowship (DOE CSGF) is essential for addressing the increasingly complex national workforce demands stemming from the growth of computational science and engineering challenges. Computational science and engineering (CSE) takes a multidisciplinary approach that utilizes scientific computing to tackle practical problems and provide technical tools across the spectrum of scientific discovery. The DOE CSGF specifically highlights high-performance computing (HPC) as a critical enabling technology in CSE, driving advancements in science and engineering that are vital to both the DOE and the broader economy. Over the past half-century, HPC has been an essential tool for DOE’s success. During this period, important missions, such as nuclear stockpile stewardship, have turned to HPC as an essential technology. Entire science disciplines have been transformed through the augmentation of scientific observation via HPC. At government laboratories, academic institutions, and in industry, DOE CSGF alumni are helping push traditional HPC boundaries while contributing to discoveries in high-energy physics, quantum information systems, fusion-reactor design, machine learning, additive manufacturing, nano materials for next-generation batteries and transistors, and advanced nuclear reactor modeling. In addition, HPC is used to address national health needs that will eventually point to cures both by helping cancer researchers manage and analyze huge troves of data, by simulating biological mechanisms, and by accelerating drug development. A 2023 report from the ASCAC Subcommittee on American Competitiveness and Innovation to the ASCR office, “Can the United States Maintain Its Leadership in High-Performance Computing?” says of the Program, “The CSGF program provides a barometer for disciplines that will be of interest to future DOE computing. Computational biology, machine learning, and quantum computing are among the subjects that began to swell in the ranks of CSGF applicants before the labs were hiring as high a percentage of employees in these categories.” The explosion of scientific and technological data has heightened the demand for advanced high-performance computing (HPC) to transform these data into meaningful scientific insights. As access to vast amounts of data increases, the fields of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence are experiencing a resurgence, enhancing the established practices of computational modeling and simulation. In its September 2020 subcommittee report on "AI/ML, Data Intensive Science, and High-Performance Computing," the DOE Advanced Scientific Computing Advisory Committee (ASCAC) specifically called for a fellowship program to train computational and data scientists to address exascale and data-intensive computing challenges. This integration of empirical and theoretical modeling will increasingly guide federal policymakers in making decisions that impact American society and future generations. It demands a workforce of highly skilled and intellectually agile computational scientists capable of navigating the rapid advancements in scientific computing within the DOE National Laboratory research environment. The DOE CSGF program has consistently addressed this critical need.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

A restructured and updated global soil respiration database (SRDB-V5)

Field-measured soil respiration (R S , the soil-to-atmosphere CO 2 flux) observations were compiled into a global soil respiration database (SRDB) a decade ago, a resource that has been widely used by the biogeochemistry community to advance our understanding of R S dynamics. Novel carbon cycle science questions require updated and augmented global information with better interoperability among datasets. Here, we restructured and updated the global R S database to version SRDB-V5. The updated version has all previous fields revised for consistency and simplicity, and it has several new fields to include ancillary information (e.g., R S measurement time, collar insertion depth, collar area). The new SRDB-V5 includes published papers through 2017 (800 independent studies), where total observations increased from 6633 in SRDB-V4 to 10 366 in SRDB-V5. The SRDB-V5 features more R S data published in the Russian and Chinese scientific literature and has an improved global spatio-temporal coverage and improved global climate space representation. We also restructured the database so that it has stronger interoperability with other datasets related to carbon cycle science. For instance, linking SRDB-V5 with an hourly timescale global soil respiration database (HGRsD) and a community database for continuous soil respiration (COSORE) enables researchers to explore new questions. The updated SRDB-V5 aims to be a data framework for the scientific community to share seasonal to annual field R S measurements, and it provides opportunities for the biogeochemistry community to better understand the spatial and temporal variability in R S , its components, and the overall carbon cycle.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Wilkins: HPC in situ workflows made easy

In situ approaches can accelerate the pace of scientific discoveries by allowing scientists to perform data analysis at simulation time. Current in situ workflow systems, however, face challenges in handling the growing complexity and diverse computational requirements of scientific tasks. In this work, we present Wilkins, an in situ workflow system that is designed for ease-of-use while providing scalable and efficient execution of workflow tasks. Wilkins provides a flexible workflow description interface, employs a high-performance data transport layer based on HDF5, and supports tasks with disparate data rates by providing a flow control mechanism. Wilkins seamlessly couples scientific tasks that already use HDF5, without requiring task code modifications. We demonstrate the above features using both synthetic benchmarks and two science use cases in materials science and cosmology.

HPC↗

Data Analysis of X-ray Panels Used in X-ray CT Scientific Instruments

This report is a follow-up study on M. Skeate’s study on System Drift Detection for Health Monitoring (Skeate, 2023). The following report highlights analyses of the panel’s behavior with extended use. This includes effects of burn-in on the panel from over-use and bad pixels (defined in Methodology.) Using data-forward statistical analyses across a sequence of scans, and given that the other conditions present in the data can be replicated, this study show that overtime use of panels does not affect bad pixel count. Also, I present conclusive evidence of a direct relationship between the regions of the panel that are exposed to radiation and burn-in damage to that region overtime. Additionally, this study also highlights the effect of the duty cycle on the dark current change in the panel.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Using a Genetic Algorithm to Optimize Configurations in a Data-Driven Application

Users of highly-configurable software systems often want to optimize a particular objective such as improving a functional outcome or increasing system performance. One approach is to use an evolutionary algorithm. However, many applications today are data-driven, meaning they depend on inputs or data which can be complex and varied. Hence, a search needs to be run (and re-run) for all inputs, making optimization a heavy-weight and potentially impractical process. In this paper, we explore this issue on a data-driven highly-configurable scientific application. We build an exhaustive database containing 3,000 configurations and 10,000 inputs, leading to almost 100 million records as our oracle, and then run a genetic algorithm individually on each of the 10,000 inputs. We ask if (1) a genetic algorithm can find configurations to improve functional objectives; (2) whether patterns of best configurations over all input data emerge; and (3) if we can we use sampling to approximate the results. We find that the original (default) configuration is best only 34% of the time, while clear patterns emerge of other best configurations. Out of 3,000 possible configurations, only 112 distinct configurations achieve the optimal result at least once across all 10,000 inputs, suggesting the potential for lighter weight optimization approaches. We show that sampling of the input data finds similar patterns at a lower cost.

Sinha, Urjoshi↗

Empowering Scientific Discovery Through Computing at the Advanced Photon Source

This paper explores the challenges and solutions for managing and processing the vast amount of data generated by the Advanced Photon Source (APS), a synchrotron light source facility producing ultra-bright x-rays for diverse scientific domains. With 68 experimental beamlines covering materials research, biology, and more, the APS serves a wide user base across academia, government, and industry. The ongoing upgrade of the APS storage ring and installation of new instruments will amplify data generation and processing demands. This paper discusses the approach to address these demands through automated data processing using standardized workflows that produce faster scientific insights. The APS Data Management System coordinates various data related tasks to manage storage, data transfer, metadata cataloging, data processing, and interfaces with tools provided by Globus. Through integration with the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF), APS users can efficiently access high-performance computing resources. Standardized workflows have led to reduced computational burdens on scientists and greater accessibility of high performance computing resources. We demonstrate how standardization and collaboration enable scientists to rapidly convert raw data into meaningful scientific results, establishing a streamlined path from data collection to analysis and ultimately to publication.

Parraga, Hannah↗

RISE: Reducing I/O Contention in Staging-based Extreme-Scale In-situ Workflows

While in-situ workflow formulations have addressed some of the data-related challenges associated with extreme-scale scientific workflows, these workflows involve complex interactions and different modes of data exchange. In the context of increasing system complexity, such workflows present significant resource management challenges, requiring complex cost-performance tradeoffs. This paper presents RISE, an intelligent staging-based data management middleware, which builds on the DataSpaces framework and performs intelligent scheduling of data management operations to reduce I/O contention. In RISE, data are always written immediately to local buffers to reduce the effect of the transfer impact upon application performance. RISE identifies applications’ data access patterns and moves data towards data consumers only when the network is expected to be idle, reducing the impact of asynchronous background data movement upon critical data read/write requests. Here, we experimentally demonstrate that RISE can take advantage of staging nodes to offload data during writes without degrading application data movement performance.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Machine Learning and Data Science to Advance Laboratory Earthquake Prediction and Illuminate the Mechanics of Precursors to Failure

Earthquakes represent one of our greatest natural hazards and in recent years human induced seismicity is adding to the threat. Even a modest improvement in the ability to forecast devastating large earthquakes or smaller shallow events associated with fluid injection could save thousands of lives and billions of dollars. Current efforts to forecast earthquakes are limited by knowledge of earthquake physics and hampered by a lack of reliable lab or field observations. However, recent work has provided a critical opportunity for advancement. We have found: 1) clear and consistent precursors prior to earthquake-like failure in the laboratory and 2) that lab earthquakes can be predicted using machine learning (ML). These works show that stick-slip failure events –the lab equivalent of earthquakes– are preceded by a cascade of micro-failure events that radiate elastic energy in a manner that foretells catastrophic failure. Remarkably, ML predicts the fault zone stress state, the failure time and in some cases the magnitude of lab earthquakes. In addition, the observations include clear precursors to failure in the form of changes in fault zone properties prior to lab earthquakes. Precursors have been observed in previous laboratory studies but their origin is poorly understood and their possible connection to ML based earthquake prediction is unknown. The work conducted under our project has dramatically expanded these efforts. We have developed an integrated data science approach to illuminate the physics of earthquake precursors and lab earthquake prediction. Our work has accelerated the development of ML, artificial intelligence (AI), and related data science approaches by providing massive data sets that are tightly connected to critical scientific problems and by bringing together leading subject matter experts and data scientists. Earthquake physics involves phenomena that are far from equilibrium. Our work has leveraged data science methods to illuminate these phenomena and investigate how they relate to earthquake prediction. In addition to a large database with many types of labeled events that is available to everyone, our work has advanced the fundamental understanding of seismic forecasting, earthquake physics, and fault rheology

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Visualization for Scientific Discovery, Decision-Making, and Communication

Visualization–the use of visual elements to explore data, form hypotheses, or convey conclusions–is an integral part of the scientific process. Starting from an initial exploration of new data to illustrating outcomes to the general public, visualization is one of the most intuitive and powerful modes of communication. With the explosion of new data sources and types, unprecedented volumes of data, and new technologies, such as virtual reality and AI, visualization has become increasingly essential but also ever more challenging. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) sponsored a Basic Research Needs workshop in January 2022 to understand the major opportunities and grand challenges in visualization tools and technologies for scientific computing, with a special focus on DOE-relevant applications and goals. The workshop identified five priority research directions (PRDs) for visualization to support scientific discovery, decision-making, and communication.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗