USA Energy Sec Says We’re at the Start of a New Manhattan Project

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USA Energy Sec Says We’re at the Start of a New Manhattan Project

We’re at the start of a new Manhattan Project. That’s what U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said in a release posted on the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) website on Saturday. Wright made the statement “after participating in the launch of an AI collaboration session involving more than 1,000 Energy Department scientists and OpenAI […]

We’re at the start of a new Manhattan Project.

That’s what U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said in a release posted on the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) website on Saturday.

Wright made the statement “after participating in the launch of an AI collaboration session involving more than 1,000 Energy Department scientists and OpenAI employees”, the release highlighted.

The DOE release noted that Wright joined Senator Bill Hagerty, Chairman of House Committee on Energy and Waters Chuck Fleischmann, and OpenAI President and Co-Founder Greg Brockman, at the ‘1,000 Scientist AI Jam Session’ on February 28. This first of its kind event co-hosted by OpenAI and nine of the U.S. Department of Energy’s national labs explored how AI can accelerate scientific discovery, the release stated.

“More than 70 years ago, experts from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Lab joined with innovators from around the United States in one of the greatest scientific and engineering accomplishments in history: the Manhattan Project,” Wright said in the release.

“We’re at the start of a new Manhattan Project. With President Trump’s leadership, the United States will win the global AI race, but first, we must unleash our energy dominance and restore American competitiveness,” he added.

“Today’s collaboration of DOE’s national labs and technology companies is an important step in our efforts to secure America’s future,” he continued.

Hagerty, Fleischmann, and Brockman also made statements following the event, the DOE release highlighted.

“It was great to join Secretary Wright and Representative Chuck Fleischmann this morning in Oak Ridge,” Hagerty said in the release.

“In order for the U.S. to win the Artificial Intelligence race, we need computing power and energy, and Tennessee has both,” he added.

“The U.S. can lead in this space with the Volunteer State at the tip of the spear. I am more than confident that we can achieve this under President Trump’s leadership,” he continued.

Chairman Fleischmann said in the release, “I’m honored to have welcomed Energy Secretary Chris Wright to East Tennessee and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory to showcase the groundbreaking work ORNL is doing to advance breakthroughs in AI, develop new nuclear that will create America’s New Nuclear Future, which is necessary to power our nation through the 21st Century, and strengthen our national and energy security”.

“I’ve seen his determination to deliver on President Trump’s agenda to unleash American energy and innovation, and I look forward to partnering with Sec. Wright over the next four years to create America’s New Golden Age, win the AI Arms Race, and make our country energy dominant again,” he added.

Brockman stated in the release, “advancing scientific research is one of the most promising applications of AI”.

“We’re proud to work with the U.S. national labs to put our advanced technology into the hands of our country’s top scientists,” he added.

“OpenAI believes working closely with the U.S. government is essential to unlocking AI’s full potential. I want to thank Secretary Wright for his commitment to ensuring the U.S. continues to lead on AI, including through public-private collaborations like today’s event,” Brockman went on to state.

On its site, the DOE states that it traces its origins to World War II and the Manhattan Project effort to build the first atomic bomb.

“As the direct descendent of the Manhattan Engineer District, the organization set up by the Army Corps of Engineers to develop and build the bomb, the Department continues to own and manage the Federal properties at most of the major Manhattan Project sites, including Oak Ridge, Tennessee; Hanford, Washington; and Los Alamos, New Mexico,” the DOE site notes.

“The Manhattan Project is the story of some of the most renowned scientists of the century combining with industry, the military, and tens of thousands of ordinary Americans working at sites across the country to translate original scientific discoveries into an entirely new kind of weapon,” it adds.

At its peak, the project employed 130,000 workers and, by the end of the war, had spent $2.2 billion, the DOE site states.

Wright was confirmed by the Senate to be the new Secretary of Energy for the United States last month, the Congress.gov website showed.

Wright was confirmed by the Senate in a Yea-Nay vote of 59 – 38, the site revealed. In a statement posted on the White House website on January 20, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he nominated Wright for the role.

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