Cooperative Agreement 2607581

The National Science Foundation awarded Georgia TECH Research Corp a $5 million cooperative agreement on August 1, 2026, to establish and operate the Programmable Cloud Laboratories—Artificial Intelligence for Manufacturing and Materials Pilot Facility Node (PCL-AIMMPF), one node in a national network of autonomous, web-accessible laboratories that enable U.S. researchers to deploy AI-driven workflows for discovering and scaling new materials and manufacturing technologies.

The PCL-AIMMPF integrates Georgia Tech's Advanced Manufacturing Pilot Facility with Duke University's Automatic Flows for Materials Discovery software libraries and the Contextualize Carta knowledge and data management platform. The facility supports autonomous research workflows combining programmable experiments and simulations, de-risking the transition from basic research discovery to industry application. The award also funds development of community standards, best practices, and knowledge systems that enable researchers at varying education levels to access and benefit from taxpayer-funded research data generated through automated laboratories.

The cooperative agreement runs through July 31, 2030, with place of performance in Atlanta, Georgia. Under the NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084), this investment increases access to advanced scientific equipment and serves as a test bed for next-generation automated laboratory infrastructure and governance.