Grant: Collaborative Science, Technology and Innovation Program - Collaborative R&D Initiatives
Queen's University at Kingston
$176,000.00
Developing Large Language Models with Reasoning Ability for Intelligent Design in Material Search
FY 2024-25 · 2024-11-01
Summary
Recently, revolutionary progress has been made on large language models (LLMs) such as the GPT/Llama series, among others. Since the models provide unprecedented capabilities in representing and accessing knowledge, they have started to be used in scientific discovery/design, a new research trend that is still at its infant stage but will have a transformative impact.
An essential component that is seriously understudied is reasoning for intelligent design. Reasoning is one of the most basic components of intelligence, which draws conclusions from existing knowledge. Without a solid reasoning ability, the progress that can be achieved for AI for design is seriously limited.
The project aims to develop novel LLMs with enhanced reasoning. In a feasible setup, the project focuses on material discovery. The team targets two key objectives: (i) Developing novel reasoning models to effectively narrow down the search space of material design. (ii) Researching better graph networks to represent materials and building LLM-based agents to find material design solutions.
Department
Program
Collaborative Science, Technology and Innovation Program - Collaborative R&D Initiatives
Recipient
Location
Kingston|Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Recipient Type
Academia
Business Number
107868705
Type
Grant
Source
Proactive Disclosure - Grants and Contributions
As published
Agreement End Date
2026-03-31
Agreement Number
1019797
Agreement Start Date
2024-11-01
Agreement Title
Developing Large Language Models with Reasoning Ability for Intelligent Design in Material Search
Agreement Title (French)
Élaboration de grands modèles de langage dotés d’une capacité de raisonnement pour intégrer la conception intelligente dans la recherche de matériaux
Agreement Type
Grant
Agreement Value
$176,000.00
Amendment Number
0
Description
Recently, revolutionary progress has been made on large language models (LLMs) such as the GPT/Llama series, among others. Since the models provide unprecedented capabilities in representing and accessing knowledge, they have started to be used in scientific discovery/design, a new research trend that is still at its infant stage but will have a transformative impact.
An essential component that is seriously understudied is reasoning for intelligent design. Reasoning is one of the most basic components of intelligence, which draws conclusions from existing knowledge. Without a solid reasoning ability, the progress that can be achieved for AI for design is seriously limited.
The project aims to develop novel LLMs with enhanced reasoning. In a feasible setup, the project focuses on material discovery. The team targets two key objectives: (i) Developing novel reasoning models to effectively narrow down the search space of material design. (ii) Researching better graph networks to represent materials and building LLM-based agents to find material design solutions.
Description (French)
Récemment, des progrès révolutionnaires ont été réalisés dans le domaine des grands modèles de langage (GML), notamment avec GPT et Llama. Puisque ces modèles offrent des capacités sans précédent en matière de représentation des connaissances et d’accès aux connaissances, on a commencé à les utiliser dans la découverte et la conception scientifiques, une nouvelle tendance encore embryonnaire dans le secteur de la recherche, mais dont les effets seront transformateurs.
L’application du raisonnement pour la conception intelligente est un élément essentiel qui est très peu étudié. Le raisonnement, qui permet de tirer des conclusions à partir des connaissances existantes, est l’une des composantes les plus fondamentales de l’intelligence. Les progrès réalisables avec l’intelligence artificielle dans le domaine de la conception sont sérieusement limités en l’absence d’une solide capacité de raisonnement.
Le projet vise à créer de nouveaux GML dotés d’un raisonnement amélioré. Dans un contexte réaliste, le projet est axé sur la découverte de matériaux. L’équipe vise deux objectifs clés : i) élaborer de nouveaux modèles de raisonnement pour circonscrire efficacement l’espace de recherche pour la conception des matériaux; ii) rechercher de meilleurs réseaux graphiques pour représenter les matériaux et créer des agents basés sur les GML pour trouver des solutions en matière de conception de matériaux.
Expected Results
In the short term, anticipated outcomes will be strengthened collaborations across industry, academia, and government to support research excellence. In the medium term, anticipated outcomes will be the development of new and potentially disruptive technologies with collaborators. In the long term, find collaborative solutions to public policy challenges and create stronger innovation systems.
Expected Results (French)
À court terme, les résultats prévus seront des collaborations renforcées entre l'industrie, le milieu universitaire et le gouvernement pour soutenir l'excellence en recherche. À moyen terme, les résultats attendus seront le développement de nouvelles technologies potentiellement perturbatrices avec des collaborateurs. À long terme, trouver des solutions collaboratives aux défis des politiques publiques et créer des systèmes d'innovation plus solides.
Federal Riding
Kingston and the Islands
Federal Riding (French)
Kingston et les Îles
Federal Riding Number
35046
NAICS Code
541710
Organization Code
nrc-cnrc
Organization
National Research Council Canada | Conseil national de recherches Canada
Program Name
Collaborative Science, Technology and Innovation Program - Collaborative R&D Initiatives
Program Name (French)
Programme de collaboration en science, en technologie et en innovation - Initiatives de collaboration en R-D
Program Purpose
Collaborate on multiparty research and development programs to catalyze transformative, high-risk, high-reward research with the potential for game-changing scientific discoveries and technological breakthroughs in priority areas.
Program Purpose (French)
Collaborer à des programmes multipartites de recherche-développement dans le but de profiter de la synergie entre la recherche transformatrice à haut risque et à haut rendement et le potentiel de découvertes scientifiques et de percées technologiques révolutionnaires dans des secteurs d’intervention prioritaires.
Recipient Business Number
107868705
Recipient City
Kingston|Kingston
Recipient Country
CA
Recipient Legal Name
Queen's University at Kingston
Recipient Postal Code
K7L 3N6
Recipient Province or Territory
ON
Recipient Type
S
Reference Number
172-2024-2025-Q3-1019797