Federal Executive Branch
Here's a look at documents from the U.S. Executive Branch
Featured Stories
Twice Convicted Rhode Island Businessman Sentenced for Federal Tax Crimes
PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island, Jan. 14 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Rhode Island posted the following news release on Jan. 13, 2026:
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Twice Convicted Rhode Island Businessman Sentenced for Federal Tax Crimes
A Cranston man, previously twice convicted for federal tax charges, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court for tax evasion, announced United States Attorney Charles Calenda.
William N. L'Europa, 60, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge John J. McConnell, Jr. to two years' probation and ordered to pay $1,367,336.08 in restitution to the IRS for unpaid
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PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island, Jan. 14 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Rhode Island posted the following news release on Jan. 13, 2026:
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Twice Convicted Rhode Island Businessman Sentenced for Federal Tax Crimes
A Cranston man, previously twice convicted for federal tax charges, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court for tax evasion, announced United States Attorney Charles Calenda.
William N. L'Europa, 60, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge John J. McConnell, Jr. to two years' probation and ordered to pay $1,367,336.08 in restitution to the IRS for unpaidtaxes, penalties, fees, and interest owed for the years 2007 through 2013.
L'Europa pleaded guilty on August 14, 2025, to tax evasion, admitting that he failed to pay more than $1.3 million owed to the IRS.
According to court documents, L'Europa was previously convicted in 2012 of conspiracy to defraud the United States and filing a false tax return after he and his business partner underreported business receipts for tax years 2007 through 2010, resulting in the underpayment of more than $500,000 in federal taxes. In January 2013, he was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison and ordered to file accurate, amended federal tax returns and pay all taxes due to the IRS.
After release from federal prison, the IRS issued deficiency notices to L'Europa for payment of the over $500,000 he owed. Court records reflect that in March 2019, L'Europa submitted documentation to the IRS falsely indicating that he had little or no income, causing the IRS to suspend collection efforts. In 2022, L'Europa signed an Offer in Compromise to reduce his tax liability while knowingly understating his personal income. Investigators determined that he manipulated business finances and records to conceal income and personal expenditures, including the purchase of a new motorcycle, the payment of a debt owed to the State of Rhode Island, and the down payment on a new truck for his wife. His evasion of payment resulted in growth of his tax debt to $1,367,336.08.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Milind M. Shah.
The matter was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
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Original text here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ri/pr/twice-convicted-rhode-island-businessman-sentenced-federal-tax-crimes
NRC Releases Partial Holtec Application for Small Modular Reactor Construction Permit at Palisades
WASHINGTON, Jan. 14 -- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued the following news release:
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NRC Releases Partial Holtec Application for Small Modular Reactor Construction Permit at Palisades
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has received the first part of a two-part construction permit application from SMR, LLC, a Holtec International subsidiary, related to the proposed Pioneer dual-unit SMR-300 plant that would be co-located with the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Covert, Michigan. The submission is now available for public inspection on the NRC website.
The company submitted the application
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 14 -- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued the following news release:
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NRC Releases Partial Holtec Application for Small Modular Reactor Construction Permit at Palisades
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has received the first part of a two-part construction permit application from SMR, LLC, a Holtec International subsidiary, related to the proposed Pioneer dual-unit SMR-300 plant that would be co-located with the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Covert, Michigan. The submission is now available for public inspection on the NRC website.
The company submitted the applicationon Dec. 31, seeking a Limited Work Authorization for certain construction activities for two potential SMR-300 units, each of which would produce approximately 340 megawatts electric. The application covers activities such as soil compaction, backfilling, and installing foundations. The NRC anticipates the company will submit the construction permit application's second part by mid-2027. If the NRC issues that permit, the company would still be required to achieve additional safety milestones to obtain a license to operate the facility.
The NRC staff is reviewing the application to determine if it is complete and acceptable for processing. If the application is determined to be sufficient, the staff will docket it and notify SMR, LLC of the staff's planned resources and schedule, not to exceed 18 months, for the detailed technical review. The NRC will then publish a notice of opportunity to request an adjudicatory hearing on the application before the NRC's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board.
Information about the NRC's interactions regarding the SMR-300 project is available on the NRC website (https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/advanced/who-were-working-with/pre-application-activities/holtec/smr300).
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The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission was created as an expert, technical agency to protect public health, safety, and security, and regulate the civilian use of nuclear materials, including enabling the deployment of nuclear power for the benefit of society. Among other responsibilities, the agency issues licenses, conducts inspections, initiates and enforces regulations, and plans for incident response. The global gold standard for nuclear regulation, the NRC is collaborating with interagency partners to implement reforms outlined in new Executive Orders and the ADVANCE Act to streamline agency activities and enhance efficiency.
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Original text here: https://www.nrc.gov/sites/default/files/cdn/doc-collection-news/2026/26-008.pdf
Justice Department Announces Charges Against Illegal Alien, Known Tren De Aragua Associate, for Violent Attack on Border Patrol Agents in Portland, Oregon
PORTLAND, Oregon, Jan. 14 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon posted the following news release on Jan. 12, 2026:
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Justice Department Announces Charges Against Illegal Alien, Known Tren de Aragua Associate, for Violent Attack on Border Patrol Agents in Portland, Oregon
Today, the Justice Department announced criminal charges against Luis Nino-Moncada, an illegal alien and known Tren de Aragua (TdA) associate living in the Portland, Oregon area for violently striking a federal law enforcement vehicle. During a targeted enforcement operation, Nino-Moncada is alleged
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PORTLAND, Oregon, Jan. 14 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon posted the following news release on Jan. 12, 2026:
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Justice Department Announces Charges Against Illegal Alien, Known Tren de Aragua Associate, for Violent Attack on Border Patrol Agents in Portland, Oregon
Today, the Justice Department announced criminal charges against Luis Nino-Moncada, an illegal alien and known Tren de Aragua (TdA) associate living in the Portland, Oregon area for violently striking a federal law enforcement vehicle. During a targeted enforcement operation, Nino-Moncada is allegedto have repeatedly struck a federal law enforcement vehicle, placing Border Patrol agents in harm's way and resulting in significant damage to federal property. Nino-Moncada is in the country illegally, having previously been ordered removed by an immigration judge in 2024.
"Anyone who crosses the red line of assaulting law enforcement will be met with the full force of this Justice Department," said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. "This man -- an illegal alien with ties to a foreign terrorist organization -- should NEVER have been in our country to begin with, and we will ensure he NEVER walks free in America again."
Nino-Moncada has been charged with aggravated assault of a federal officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon and depredation of federal property in excess of $1,000. Nino-Moncada is scheduled to make his Initial Appearance today at 1:30 PM PST.
According to the complaint, Border Patrol agents initiated a targeted immigration enforcement operation on a vehicle believed to belong to a female involved in a TdA prostitution ring. The female was sitting in the passenger-side seat of the vehicle at the time of the enforcement operation. This female had previously been arrested by Border Patrol in El Paso, Texas and later failed to report to immigration authorities. According to law enforcement reports, the female is believed to have been involved in a shooting stemming from a bad prostitution deal.
After commanding Nino-Moncada to exit the vehicle, Nino-Moncada is alleged to have placed his vehicle in reverse, colliding with an unoccupied Border Patrol vehicle with enough speed and force to cause significant damage. Nino-Moncada continued the forward and reverse maneuver multiple times, striking the Border Patrol vehicle multiple times. A Border Patrol agent interviewed by FBI special agents described being fearful that Nino-Moncada could strike them and other Border Patrol agents with the target vehicle. After the attack, Nino-Moncada and the female passenger fled the scene in the target vehicle.
Damage to the border patrol vehicle was significant. Serious damage was sustained to the front bumper, resulting in the bumper being torn from the vehicle, both headlights being destroyed, the front driver-side quarter panel being dented, including the fender liner being detached, and the driver side rear-passenger door and quarter panel being dented.
In an interview following the incident, Nino-Moncada admitted to intentionally ramming the Border Patrol vehicle in an attempt to flee and stated that he knew it was an immigration enforcement vehicle.
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Original text here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-or/pr/justice-department-announces-charges-against-illegal-alien-known-tren-de-aragua
IDB Group, Bolivia Agree on Major $4.5 Billion Support Package
WASHINGTON, Jan. 14 -- The Inter-American Development Bank issued the following news release:
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IDB Group, Bolivia Agree on Major $4.5 Billion Support Package
LA PAZ -- The Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB Group) and Bolivian authorities agreed on a $4.5 billion package for 2026-2028 to support the new government's ambitious reform agenda to stabilize the economy, restore growth, and expand job creation. It includes targeted financing for social protection, private investment, infrastructure, budget support, and capital mobilization. The package represents nearly six times the
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 14 -- The Inter-American Development Bank issued the following news release:
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IDB Group, Bolivia Agree on Major $4.5 Billion Support Package
LA PAZ -- The Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB Group) and Bolivian authorities agreed on a $4.5 billion package for 2026-2028 to support the new government's ambitious reform agenda to stabilize the economy, restore growth, and expand job creation. It includes targeted financing for social protection, private investment, infrastructure, budget support, and capital mobilization. The package represents nearly six times theBank's previous allocation to Bolivia.
President Ilan Goldfajn reaffirmed the IDB Group's support for Bolivia's economic stabilization and pro-growth reforms during a historic visit -- the first by a Bank president in 15 years. It marks a new phase of collaboration, focused on helping the country address current challenges while laying the groundwork for sustainable growth.
"We are here to support Bolivia to drive growth that benefits the entire population," said Goldfajn. "Stabilization is essential, but not sufficient. Lasting growth depends on a shared effort, including by the private sector."
"We welcome the support and visit of the Inter-American Development Bank to our country. We fully agree that economic stabilization is only the first step; the real challenge lies in building a sustainable and equitable growth model that reaches every Bolivian household and translates into public works, infrastructure, health, education, and jobs," said Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz.
In the first year, the IDB Group expects to deploy about $2 billion to support a stabilization program that protects the most vulnerable segment of the population and helps restore macroeconomic stability. Immediate actions include direct financing for cash transfers to low-income households. This is part of a coordinated multilateral effort to support fiscal consolidation while helping the most vulnerable.
The IDB Group is also supporting the Bolivia Crece agenda to accelerate economic recovery and attract investment. The program focuses on removing bottlenecks, increasing productivity, and advancing reforms at limited fiscal cost. This includes support for execution capacity, regulatory reform, and key investments in mining, energy, agribusiness, and tourism -- together with efforts to strengthen trade and logistics in the Southern Bioceanic Corridor, supported by the IDB Group's flagship South Connection program.
Beyond financing, the IDB Group brings technical capacity, more than 65 years of experience, and practical solutions drawn from across Latin America and the Caribbean to support Bolivia's agenda. As part of this effort, the IDB is providing non- reimbursable resources of up to $4.5 million in technical assistance to strengthen project preparation and pre-investment for priority initiatives, including under Bolivia's national development plan (PDES), improving access to public and private financing and accelerating execution.
With limited fiscal space, the strategy depends on efforts by all, including the private sector. IDB Invest, the IDB Group's private-sector arm, will expand its portfolio in Bolivia twentyfold, investing up to $450 million over the next three years in agribusiness, infrastructure, industry, and financial inclusion. Enabling reforms include 24-hour customs operations in Santa Cruz, streamlining procedures to support investments, expanding IDB Pay for digital payments and formalization, and simplifying business registration.
To support this, the IDB Group and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) will mobilize private investment at scale, supporting competitive local companies and advancing projects in mining, agribusiness, tourism, energy, sustainable infrastructure, financial inclusion, and value-added manufacturing. In parallel, the IDB Group is discussing ways to advance efforts with the U.S. International Development Finance Cooperation (DFC) to mobilize private capital and support high-impact projects across sectors.
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About the IDB Group
The Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB Group) is the leading source of financing and knowledge for improving lives in Latin America and the Caribbean. It comprises the IDB, which works with the region's public sector and enables the private sector; IDB Invest, which directly supports private companies and projects; and IDB Lab, which spurs entrepreneurial innovation.
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Original text here: https://www.iadb.org/en/news/idb-group-bolivia-agree-major-45-billion-support-package
Homeland Security Terminates Somalia's Temporary Protected Status Designation
WASHINGTON, Jan. 14 -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued the following news release on Jan. 13, 2026:
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Homeland Security Terminates Somalia's Temporary Protected Status Designation
The termination will be effective on March 17, 2026
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Today, the United States Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced the termination of Somalia's designation for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). The termination will be effective on March 17, 2026.
"Temporary means temporary. Country conditions in Somalia have improved to the point that
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 14 -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued the following news release on Jan. 13, 2026:
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Homeland Security Terminates Somalia's Temporary Protected Status Designation
The termination will be effective on March 17, 2026
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Today, the United States Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced the termination of Somalia's designation for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). The termination will be effective on March 17, 2026.
"Temporary means temporary. Country conditions in Somalia have improved to the point thatit no longer meets the law's requirement for Temporary Protected Status," said Secretary Noem. "Further, allowing Somali nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to our national interests. We are putting Americans first."
Somalia's designation expires March 17, 2026. At least 60 days before a TPS designation expires, the Secretary of Homeland Security, after consultation with appropriate U.S. government agencies, must review the country to determine whether the conditions supporting its designation continue to be met and, if so, how long to extend the designation.
Somali nationals who do not have a legal status other than TPS that would allow them to remain in the United States should use the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's CBP Home mobile app to report their departure from the United States. The app is a safe, secure way to self-deport and includes a complimentary plane ticket, a $1,000 exit bonus, and the opportunity for potential future legal immigration.
Additional information is available in the Federal Register Notice.
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Original text here: https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/news-releases/homeland-security-terminates-somalias-temporary-protected-status-designation
FDA Issues Warning Letter to Purushothaman Damodara Kumaran, M.D.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 14 -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration issued the following warning letter to Purushothaman Damodara Kumaran, M.D. from the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research:
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Recipient: Purushothaman Damodara Kumaran, M.D., Senthil Specialty Hospital, Number 10 and 12, Thillai Maistry Street, Pondicherry 605001 Puducherry, India
Issuing Office: Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), United States
WARNING LETTER
FDA Ref. No.: 25-HFD-45-12-03
Dear Dr. Damodara Kumaran:
This Warning Letter informs you of objectionable conditions
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 14 -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration issued the following warning letter to Purushothaman Damodara Kumaran, M.D. from the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research:
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Recipient: Purushothaman Damodara Kumaran, M.D., Senthil Specialty Hospital, Number 10 and 12, Thillai Maistry Street, Pondicherry 605001 Puducherry, India
Issuing Office: Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), United States
WARNING LETTER
FDA Ref. No.: 25-HFD-45-12-03
Dear Dr. Damodara Kumaran:
This Warning Letter informs you of objectionable conditionsobserved during the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspection conducted at Senthil Specialty Hospital in Pondicherry, Puducherry, India, between January 20 and 24, 2025. The investigator representing FDA reviewed your conduct of a clinical in vivo bioequivalence study (Protocol (b)(4), "(b)(4)") of the investigational drug (b)(4), performed for (b)(4).
This inspection was conducted as a part of FDA's Bioresearch Monitoring Program, which includes inspections designed to evaluate the conduct of research and to help ensure that the rights, safety, and welfare of human subjects have been protected.
At the conclusion of the inspection, the FDA investigator presented and discussed with you the Form FDA 483, Inspectional Observations. We acknowledge receipt of your February 14, 2025, written response to the Form FDA 483.
From our review of the FDA Establishment Inspection Report, the documents submitted with that report, and your written response dated February 14, 2025, it appears that you did not adhere to the applicable statutory requirements in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) and applicable regulations contained in Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations, part 312 (21 CFR 312), governing the conduct of clinical investigations and the protection of human subjects./1 We wish to emphasize the following:
You failed to ensure that the investigation was conducted according to the investigational plan [21 CFR 312.60].
As a clinical investigator, you are required to ensure that your clinical investigations are conducted in accordance with the investigational plan. The investigational plan for Protocol (b)(4) required you to collect safety assessments, including hematology and pulmonary function tests, every week after the first dose of investigational drug in Period I (during the study washout period) and for six weeks after dosing in Period II (that is, on Day 8, Day 15, Day 22, Day 29, Day 35, and Day 42 of each dosing period).
You failed to adhere to these requirements. Specifically, for Subjects (b)(6), and (b)(6), hematology and pulmonary function safety assessments were not completed after investigational drug dosing on Day 8, Day 22, and Day 35 during both Period I and Period II, as required by the protocol. As a result, half of the protocol-required safety assessments for these subjects were not completed during the study.
In your February 14, 2025, written response to the Form FDA 483, you stated that you modified the study visit schedule for pragmatic reasons, including subjects' needs, their travel commitments, and their ongoing treatment plans. You stated that the deviation considered the established late onset of myelosuppression, and that the selection of subjects was based on their historical tolerability of (b)(4). You also stated that you employed regular follow-ups, including telephone consultations, to identify and promptly address any adverse events. Furthermore, you stated that this monitoring strategy was tailored to ensure maximum oversight of subject safety, which was discussed and planned during the study initiation visit, and that the sponsor and ethics committee remained aware of these protocol deviations.
While we acknowledge your statement that you purposely deviated from the investigational plan to limit protocol-required study visits for pragmatic reasons, and that the sponsor remained aware of these protocol deviations, you did not provide evidence to demonstrate that the sponsor approved of such actions before you deviated from the investigational plan. You also did not provide evidence of the telephone consultations you stated that you employed in regular follow-ups of subjects, to identify and address adverse events.
Furthermore, your written response is inadequate because you did not provide information about any completed or proposed corrective actions that would prevent similar violations in the future. For example, you did not provide details about how you will ensure that ongoing and future clinical investigations at your clinical research site will be conducted in compliance with the investigational plan and applicable FDA regulations. Without this information, we are unable to undertake an informed evaluation of your response.
We emphasize that, as the clinical investigator, it is your responsibility to ensure that studies are conducted in accordance with the investigational plan, both to protect the rights, safety, and welfare of subjects and to ensure the integrity of study data. The investigational drug, (b)(4), may cause subjects to experience certain adverse events, such as myelosuppression, which can lead to fatal infections and bleeding. (b)(4) may also cause subjects to experience pulmonary toxicity (lung damage), characterized as lung infiltrates and/or fibrosis. To minimize these risks, the protocol required hematology and pulmonary function tests to assess subjects' bone marrow and lung functions at baseline and at weekly safety monitoring visits after the receipt of the investigational drug. Your failure to conduct the study in accordance with the investigational plan - and specifically, your failure to ensure that Subjects (b)(6)'s bone marrow and lung functions were monitored at the study-required intervals after receiving the investigational drug - raises concerns about your protection of the study subjects enrolled at your site.
This letter is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of deficiencies with your clinical study of an investigational drug. It is your responsibility to ensure adherence to each requirement of the law and relevant FDA regulations. You should address any deficiencies and establish procedures to ensure that any ongoing or future studies comply with FDA regulations.
This letter notifies you of our findings and provides you with an opportunity to address the deficiencies noted above. Within 15 business days of your receipt of this letter, you should notify this office in writing of the actions you have taken to prevent similar violations in the future. Failure to address this matter adequately may lead to regulatory action. If you believe that you have complied with the FD&C Act and relevant regulations, please include your reasoning and any supporting information for our consideration.
Should you have any questions or concerns about this letter or the inspection, please email FDA at CDER-OSI-Communications@fda.hhs.gov. Your written response and any pertinent documentation should be addressed to:
Brittany L. Garr, MPH
Branch Chief
Compliance Enforcement Branch
Division of Enforcement and Postmarketing Safety
Office of Scientific Investigations
Office of Compliance
Center for Drug Evaluation and Research
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Building 51, Room 5352
10903 New Hampshire Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20993
Sincerely yours,
David C. Burrow, Pharm.D., J.D., Director, Office of Scientific Investigations, Office of Compliance, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
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Footnote:
1/ In accordance with 21 CFR 320.31(c), the provisions of 21 CFR part 312 are applicable to this bioequivalence study because Protocol (b)(4) was conducted under an Investigational New Drug application (IND).
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Original text here: https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/purushothaman-damodara-kumaran-md-721325-12222025
DOE Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory: Accelerating Discovery - How the Materials Project Is Helping to Usher in the AI Revolution for Materials Science
WASHINGTON, Jan. 14 -- The U.S. Department of Energy Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory issued the following news:
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Accelerating Discovery: How the Materials Project Is Helping to Usher in the AI Revolution for Materials Science
The open-access materials database managed by Berkeley Lab has surpassed 650,000 registered users, enabling AI-ready scientific datasets at an unprecedented scale for batteries, quantum computing, microelectronics, and more.
Key Takeaways
* The Materials Project is the most-cited resource for materials data and analysis tools in materials science.
* The Materials
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 14 -- The U.S. Department of Energy Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory issued the following news:
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Accelerating Discovery: How the Materials Project Is Helping to Usher in the AI Revolution for Materials Science
The open-access materials database managed by Berkeley Lab has surpassed 650,000 registered users, enabling AI-ready scientific datasets at an unprecedented scale for batteries, quantum computing, microelectronics, and more.
Key Takeaways
* The Materials Project is the most-cited resource for materials data and analysis tools in materials science.
* The MaterialsProject and its tools have been cited more than 32,000 times in peer-reviewed studies, enabling advances in batteries, quantum computing, microelectronics, catalysts for industrial manufacturing, and more.
* The Materials Project is used 5,000 times per day by more than 650,000 registered users.
By Theresa Duque
In 2011, a small team at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) launched what would become the world's most-cited materials database. Today, the Materials Project serves over 650,000 users and has been cited more than 32,000 times -- but its real impact may just be emerging.
When renowned computational materials scientist Kristin Persson and her team first created the Materials Project, they envisioned an automated screening tool that could help researchers in industry and academia design new materials for batteries and other energy technologies at an accelerated pace. A user-friendly interface would connect researchers to the largest collection of materials properties for free. Its open-source framework -- supported by supercomputers at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC), a Department of Energy user facility at Berkeley Lab - would help to democratize materials knowledge and foster collaboration across the disciplines. Another plus: No programming experience required.
Word of this pioneering database soon got around the materials science community, and the Materials Project quickly became one of the most popular materials-data providers in the world. By early 2020, as many as 120,000 people -- from national lab scientists and industry innovators to inquisitive high school students -- had joined the Materials Project community.
And now the Materials Project has reached another big milestone: surpassing 650,000 registered users. This exponential growth reflects a surging demand for curated, machine-learning-ready datasets that can immediately power AI applications without extensive preprocessing.
A data powerhouse and a machine-learning revolution
In its 14 years of operation, the Materials Project and its software tools have been cited more than 32,000 times by studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals, enabling advances in batteries, quantum computing, microelectronics, catalysts for industrial manufacturing, and more. Its library of computed materials data now includes more than 200,000 materials -- from common metals to exotic compounds -- and over 577,000 molecules. In the last two years, it delivered 465 terabytes of data to its users -- the equivalent to roughly 100 million high-resolution photos or 100,000 summer blockbusters in HD.
"Machine learning is game-changing for materials discovery because it saves scientists from repeating the same process over and over while testing new chemicals and making new materials in the lab," said Persson, the Materials Project Director and Co-Founder. "To be successful, machine learning programs need access to large amounts of high-quality, well-curated data. With its massive repository of curated data, the Materials Project is AI ready."
Since the beginning, the Materials Project leadership team at Berkeley Lab -- consisting of Persson, who also holds titles of Faculty Senior Scientist in Berkeley Lab's Materials Sciences Division and Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at UC Berkeley; Anubhav Jain, a Berkeley Lab Staff Scientist and the Materials Project Associate Director; and Patrick Huck, a Berkeley Lab Senior Computing Engineer and the Materials Project Technical Lead -- have worked closely with numerous contributors from industry, the national labs, and academia, many of whom are listed as co-authors in a perspective article Persson and team published recently in the journal Nature Materials.
Together, they improved the Materials Project with more materials, better algorithms and search capabilities, and more diverse coverage of properties. With user-friendliness as a guiding principle, they had the foresight to help researchers understand and identify functional materials by building state-of-the-art machine-learning algorithms into the system, years before the ascendance of AI.
"The Materials Project has been at the forefront of enabling this machine-learning revolution in materials science," said Jain. "Many machine-learning companies -- from new startups to established companies -- rely on the Materials Project to train their machine-learning models for predicting materials properties, which their engineers and scientists in turn use to develop their products."
Materials Project by the Numbers
650,000+ registered users
32,000+ scientific journal citations
~ 5,000 active users a day
200,000+ materials - from common metals to exotic compounds
577,000+ molecules
465+ TBs of data delivered over the past 2 years
300 million+ data requests a year
99.98% uptime
1 of 7 DOE PuRe Data Resources
AI-ready: The power of curated data
Researchers are currently looking for new battery materials to more effectively store energy for the grid or for transportation, or new catalysts to help improve efficiencies in the chemical industry. But experimental data are available for fewer than one percent of compounds in open scientific literature, limiting our understanding of new materials and their properties. This is where data-driven materials science can help.
"Accelerating materials discoveries is the key to unlocking new energy technologies," Jain said. "What the Materials Project has enabled over the last decade is for researchers to get a sense of the properties of hundreds of thousands of materials by using high-fidelity computational simulations. That in turn has allowed them to design materials much more quickly as well as to develop machine-learning models that predict materials behavior for whatever application they're interested in."
The Materials Project platform uses high-throughput computational modeling at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) to screen large libraries of materials for specific purposes. Properties are calculated using advanced computational methods and validated against real-world experiments. This approach allows researchers to rapidly test and evaluate many different materials, accelerating the discovery process.
The platform also provides standardized datasets formatted for training machine-learning systems, including detailed information about a material's electron density. Such curated data allow researchers to validate new AI models against performance benchmarks. This extensive preparation eliminates the months typically required to assemble and clean materials datasets, allowing researchers to focus on developing new AI algorithms and making scientific discoveries.
During the pandemic, the Materials Project's AI-readiness allowed materials research to continue despite site-access restrictions to experimental research laboratories. "Experimental materials scientists who traditionally performed hands-on laboratory experiments turned to digital tools to analyze data and run simulations while working remotely. And today, a modern platform like the Materials Project is now expected to operate around the clock to support a user community that has grown by a factor of 2.5 since May 2022," said Huck.
To support this growing demand, Huck and team worked with industry partners such as MongoDB, a leading database for modern applications, the observability platform Datadog, and the cloud computing provider Amazon Web Services to migrate the Materials Project to a cloud-based infrastructure that supports everything from rapid property searches to massive data downloads, and interactive tools enabling real-time exploration of how different materials relate to each other. This innovative cloud infrastructure ensures a 99.98% uptime, the industry standard for high availability.
From database to discovery
The Materials Project has been adopted across universities, research labs, and companies worldwide, serving research into batteries, semiconductors, catalysts, and structural materials.
Longtime user Toyota Research Institute (TRI), which is headquartered in Los Altos, California, and has facilities in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Ann Arbor, Michigan, has relied on the Materials Project's open-source tools and data to develop new materials. TRI is a research and scientific development subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation focused on developing technologies in artificial intelligence, vehicle automation, materials science, and robotics.
"The Materials Project serves as a strong bridge between industry and academia by providing the entire research community with transparently developed open-source tools. Almost every industrial effort focused on AI for materials discovery -- either at established companies or new startups -- is being led by one of the many brilliant young scientists who have been trained at the Materials Project. Their fingerprints are everywhere," said Brian Storey, Toyota Research Institute Vice President.
The Microsoft Corp. has also used the Materials Project to train models for materials science, most recently to develop a tool called MatterGen, a generative model for inorganic materials design. Microsoft Azure Quantum developed a new battery electrolyte using data from the Materials Project.
Other notable studies used the Materials Project to successfully design functional materials for promising new applications. In 2020, researchers from UC Santa Barbara, Argonne National Laboratory, and Berkeley Lab synthesized Mn1+xSb, a magnetic compound with promise for thermal cooling in electronics, automotive, aerospace, and energy applications. The researchers found the magnetocaloric material through a Materials Project screening of over 5,000 candidate compounds.
In addition to accessing the vast database, the materials community can also contribute new data to the Materials Project through a platform called MPContribs. This allows national lab facilities, academic institutions, companies, and others who have generated large data sets on materials to share that data with the broader research community.
Other community contributions have expanded coverage into previously unexplored areas through new material predictions and experimental validations. For example, Google Deepmind -- Google's artificial intelligence lab -- used the Materials Project to train initial GNoME (graph networks for materials exploration) models to predict the total energy of a crystal, a key metric of a material's stability. Through that work, which was published in the journal Nature in 2023, Google DeepMind contributed nearly 400,000 new compounds to the Materials Project, broadening the platform's vast toolkit of material properties and simulations.
The Materials Project contributes or manages more datasets registered with the Department of Energy's Office of Science and Technical Information (OSTI) Data ID Service than any other platform, signifying its leadership in open science and data sharing, and setting standards for data management and accessibility through search engines such as Google Dataset Search. Today, it is just one of seven DOE Office of Science Public Reuseable (PuRe) Data Resources that make curated data publicly available to further scientific discovery and technical knowledge.
The platform's vast library of materials data has not only helped to inspire new energy technologies but also the next generation of materials scientists. "Grad students, postdocs, and professors at public and private colleges and universities rely on the Materials Project to be available 24/7 as a resource for their research. The fact that we're getting cited in research papers more than six times a day on average now shows how much of an educational resource the Materials Project has become in just a decade," said Huck.
Connecting to autonomous labs
As materials science embraces data-driven discovery, the Materials Project's curated datasets position it as an essential infrastructure for AI-powered materials design. The platform is continuing to evolve its machine learning capabilities, with plans for enhanced computational methods and improved handling of complex materials behavior.
"One of the exciting areas that we've been working on is connecting this simulation pipeline to autonomous experiments carried out at Berkeley Lab's A-Lab. Not only are we simulating things in the computer, but we're also bringing new materials into reality," said Jain.
The A-Lab is a fully automated lab that uses robots guided by artificial intelligence to speed up materials science discoveries. Since its launch in 2023, the A-Lab has collaborated with the Materials Project to synthesize novel materials with promise for future technologies.
This combination of comprehensive data coverage, rigorous quality standards, and community-driven expansion creates a foundation for accelerating discovery timelines for new materials with specific desired properties, Jain added.
The Materials Project is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.
The National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) at Berkeley Lab is the mission computing facility for the DOE Office of Science.
Berkeley Lab's Alison Hatt contributed to this article.
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Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is committed to groundbreaking research focused on discovery science and solutions for abundant and reliable energy supplies. The lab's expertise spans materials, chemistry, physics, biology, earth and environmental science, mathematics, and computing. Researchers from around the world rely on the lab's world-class scientific facilities for their own pioneering research. Founded in 1931 on the belief that the biggest problems are best addressed by teams, Berkeley Lab and its scientists have been recognized with 17 Nobel Prizes. Berkeley Lab is a multiprogram national laboratory managed by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.
DOE's Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science.
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Original text here: https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2026/01/13/accelerating-discovery-how-the-materials-project-is-helping-to-usher-in-the-ai-revolution-for-materials-science/
