Pictured above: Justin Wilson, left, leads the HARVEST-CMM project, and Yang Yang leads its protein-design component. The project will use AI to improve the extraction and separation of critical minerals as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Genesis Mission. Courtesy photos; composite by UCSB Science.
Wilson will lead an AI-guided project to improve critical-mineral separation, with Yang directing its protein-design component.
UC Santa Barbara chemistry and biochemistry professors Justin Wilson and Yang Yang will lead key components of a project selected for Phase I support through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Genesis Mission, a national initiative using artificial intelligence and advanced scientific infrastructure to accelerate discovery.
Wilson’s project, “HARVEST-CMM: Hybrid AI-driven Chelator-Protein Co-design for Robust Extraction and Selective Separation of Critical Mineral Materials,” addresses the difficult separation of minerals used in advanced energy technologies, electronics and national security. Critical minerals such as nickel, cobalt and rare-earth elements often have nearly identical chemical properties, making them difficult to isolate from ores, recycled electronics and industrial waste.
Justin Wilson, a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, will lead the project and the design of chelators, small molecules that capture metal ions. Yang Yang, an associate professor in the department, will lead the protein-design component.
The researchers will use AI to design a two-stage molecular system. A chelator will first capture a metal ion, and an engineered protein will provide a second recognition step to help distinguish the target from chemically similar materials.
“We will demonstrate the feasibility of AI-guided protein design tailored specifically for critical-material recovery and separation,” Yang said.
The closed-loop process will combine generative AI, machine learning, quantum-chemistry calculations and experimental feedback. The team expects the approach to reduce the experimental search space by at least tenfold and shorten design cycles from months to weeks.
A second UC Santa Barbara-led project, directed by chemical engineering and bioengineering professor Michelle O’Malley, will use AI and an automated anaerobic biofoundry to design microbial communities that convert plant waste into useful chemical building blocks. The two UCSB teams are among 278 projects selected for Phase I of the Genesis Mission.