PCL-test bed: the AI-enabled BIO-inspired materials discovery ecosystem (AI-BIOME)

The National Science Foundation awarded the Research Foundation of the City University of New York $4,667,934 under a Cooperative Agreement on August 1, 2026, to establish and operate AI-BIOME, a cloud-programmable national laboratory for AI agent-driven discovery, design, and production of advanced biomaterials through autonomous experimentation, robotics, and artificial intelligence.

AI-BIOME will integrate AI agents, robotic cloud laboratories, and advanced characterization within a shared experimental environment developed in partnership with Brookhaven National Laboratory. The platform will enable remote design, synthesis, characterization, and refinement of bioinspired molecular materials including advanced plastics, smart medical and industrial formulations, and optical coatings for imaging, sensing, and communications. Researchers at universities, national laboratories, industry, and small businesses will access the cloud laboratory remotely, broadening participation in materials innovation across the nation. The project includes workforce development through training, modular certifications, internships, and outreach spanning high schools, trade schools, undergraduate and graduate programs.

Work is performed in New York, New York, with a period of performance from August 1, 2026, through July 31, 2030. This award is made under NSF's Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084), which supports research and innovation addressing national, societal, and geostrategic challenges.

Abstract

PCL-test bed: the AI-enabled BIO-inspired materials discovery ecosystem (AI-BIOME) AI-BIOME is a cloud-programmable ?self-driving? National laboratory for AI agent-driven discovery, design, and production of advanced biomaterials critical to future U.S. Technology. Combining robotics, artificial intelligence, and autonomous experimentation, the platform will accelerate materials innovation inspired by biological design principles, including advanced plastics, smart medical and industrial formulations, and optical coatings for imaging, sensing, and communications. AI-BIOME will provide remote cloud-lab access to universities, national laboratories, industry, and small businesses, broadening participation in cutting-edge research nationwide. The project will strengthen the U.S. Workforce through training, modular certifications, internships, and outreach spanning high schools, trade schools, undergraduate programs, and graduate education. By enabling nationwide access to autonomous materials innovation, AI-BIOME will advance next-generation materials while strengthening U.S. Leadership, competitiveness, and resilience in AI-enabled advanced manufacturing.? AI-BIOME, the AI-enabled BIO-inspired materials ecosystem, will establish a programmable cloud laboratory node for autonomous discovery and scale-up of bioinspired molecular materials and systems. Developed in partnership with brookhaven national laboratory, the platform will integrate AI agents, robotic cloud laboratories, and advanced characterization within a shared experimental environment. Researchers will be able to remotely design experiments, synthesize materials, evaluate performance, and refine results through adaptive, AI-guided workflows. This capability will accelerate discovery by revealing how complex molecular systems achieve function, adaptability, and resilience. The research program will examine how molecular interactions and environmental conditions govern material behavior across diverse bioinspired systems. AI-BIOME will identify design principles that enable robustness, responsiveness, and efficiency, then translate those principles into simpler, scalable synthetic systems with targeted properties and advanced functionality. Automated experimentation will produce large, reproducible datasets to train interpretable AI models for materials discovery, prediction, and optimization.?by combining autonomous experimentation with AI-guided analysis, AI-BIOME could compress materials discovery cycles from years to weeks?or even days?transforming how molecular materials are designed, discovered, and translated into practical technologies. Seven pilot projects will validate the platform by targeting the discovery of optimized molecular formulations, where precise combinations of biomolecules, polymers, nanoparticles and small molecules are unlocked through automated experimentation, catalyzing growth in key technological areas including bioplastics, photonic films and coatings, energy harvesting, and drug delivery. The connected infrastructure will expand access to autonomous science while supporting collaborative research, workforce development, and innovation across industry, academia, startups, and national laboratories.? This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are planned for this award.