Energy Department research arm funds a Houston led team using AI to search for new magnet materials
Rice University published on September 1st, 2026 that the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy awarded a three year grant to a coalition led by the University of Houston. The other partners are Rice and Colorado State University and Carrier Global and Newfound Materials. Rice brings artificial intelligence and atomistic modeling and high throughput computing to the work. Its part is choosing which magnetic materials get made and tested. The stated goal is to find entirely new materials while balancing supply constraint concerns.
How to take part
The university publishes its own account of the award and names the agency alongside the partners. No public body is taking comment on it. A researcher reaches the work through the named principal investigators.
Where
1 county. In Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands.
Timeline
- ordered
Date Rice published its account of the award
- Today
How this decision moved
One dated line per check, oldest first. A line that says nothing changed means somebody looked and it had not.
- 2026-09-05
Admitted on the university's own account of the award, fetched today. The Energy Department's own award document was not located, so the award number is not carried here.
- 2026-09-08
The Energy Department award to the Houston led team searching for new magnet materials still stands as made, and the coalition named in it is unchanged.
- 2026-09-09
The Houston led magnet search is still funded on the terms the Energy Department research arm announced.
- 2026-09-12
The Houston led magnet search is still funded on the terms the Energy Department research arm announced. The university page carrying the award description would not answer this run, so its wording is unconfirmed today.
- 2026-09-13
The magnet search is still funded on the terms the Energy Department research arm announced, and the university still names the same partner institutions.
- 2026-09-16
The award to the Houston led magnets team still stands as made, and both universities still describe it the same way. Nothing has been revised.
- 2026-09-19
The award stands as the energy department's research arm announced it.
- 2026-09-23
The three year award to the Houston led coalition still stands with the same partners.
- 2026-09-26
The University of Houston's own account of the award still reads as it did. The partner university's account could not be read again, so its part is unconfirmed this run.
- 2026-09-27
Both universities' accounts of the magnet materials award still read as announced.
- 2026-09-30
The universities' account of the Energy Department award for the search for new magnets still reads as published.
- 2026-10-03
The universities' account of the Energy Department award for an AI search for new magnets still reads as published.
- 2026-10-06
Both universities still describe the Energy Department award for an AI search for new magnets as they did when it was announced.
- 2026-10-09
Rice's account of the Energy Department award for an AI search for magnet materials still reads as announced.
- 2026-10-12
The Energy Department award for an AI search for magnet materials still reads as Rice announced it.
- 2026-10-15
Rice's account of the Energy Department award for an AI search for magnet materials reads as published.
- 2026-10-18
The University of Houston's release on the Energy Department award for an AI search for magnet materials reads as published. Rice's account is unconfirmed.
The evidence
Every fact above rests on one of these. The words are the source's own.
Our goal is to use artificial intelligence to find entirely new materials while simultaneously balancing these supply constraint concernsRice News, Rice brings AI expertise to DOE backed search for next generation magnets Primary source, official · news.rice.edu
Advanced Research Projects Agency-EnergyRice News, Rice brings AI expertise to DOE backed search for next generation magnets Primary source, official · news.rice.edu
The project has received a three-year, $2.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-EnergyRice News, Rice brings AI expertise to DOE backed search for next generation magnets Primary source, the company · news.rice.edu
The coalition led by Jakoah Brgoch, principal investigator and the Eby Nell McElrath Professor of Chemistry at UH, includes researchers from Rice, Colorado State University, Carrier Global, and Houston startup Newfound Materials.Rice News, Rice brings AI expertise to DOE backed search for next generation magnets Primary source, the company · news.rice.edu
His research team will employ AI, atomistic modeling and high-throughput computing to identify promising magnetic materials for testingRice News, Rice brings AI expertise to DOE backed search for next generation magnets Primary source, official · news.rice.edu
The UH-led team aims to surpass the properties of neodymium iron boron, the current industry-standard material for high-performance permanent magnetsUniversity of Houston, Department of Energy Awards UH-led Team to Use AI to Strengthen America's Critical Mineral Supply Chain Primary source, official · uh.edu
Questions about this decision
Answered from the record itself. Every answer is assembled from stored fields, so an answer the record has no basis for is left out rather than guessed.
What is this decision?
Rice University published on September 1st, 2026 that the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy awarded a three year grant to a coalition led by the University of Houston. The other partners are Rice and Colorado State University and Carrier Global and Newfound Materials. Rice brings artificial intelligence and atomistic modeling and high throughput computing to the work. Its part is choosing which magnetic materials get made and tested. The stated goal is to find entirely new materials while balancing supply constraint concerns.
Who decides it?
U.S. Department of Energy, Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy decides. The record names the deciding body for every entry it carries.
Can the public take part?
The university publishes its own account of the award and names the agency alongside the partners. No public body is taking comment on it. A researcher reaches the work through the named principal investigators. No dated public window is on the record. The deciding body is named and reachable.
Where in Texas does it apply?
It covers Harris County in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX area.
Has it been decided?
It has been decided. The dates on the item page carry when.
What happens next?
No future date is on the record. The last dated step on it was ordered on September 1st.
When did it start?
The earliest date on its record is September 1st, 2026.
What kind of decision is it?
It is filed under research and science.
What sources back it?
Two sources back it. Two of them are primary.
Is it on the ERCOT grid?
Yes. It sits inside the ERCOT interconnection.
When was it last checked?
Every fact on it was last verified against its source on October 18th, 2026.
Cite this
Texas AI Docket, Energy Department research arm funds a Houston led team using AI to search for new magnet materials. Tracked since September 1st, 2026. Last verified October 18th, 2026. https://texasaidocket.com/item/tx-2026-0124/. Reuse permitted under CC BY 4.0 with attribution. The same entry is in the docket JSON as item tx-2026-0124.
Beat
Filed under Research and science, with every other decision on that beat.