Cantwell Talks AI Advancements in Agriculture, Tours Cutting-Edge Hydrogen Research Lab during WSU Visit
Cantwell: “Research institutions like WSU… can usher in the next phase of innovation here in the United States”
PULLMAN, WA – Today, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) joined Washington State University officials for a roundtable discussion on the role of artificial intelligence technology in agriculture followed by a tour of Washington State Universities’ HYPER Labs, where researchers are studying the properties of hydrogen.
Sen. Cantwell’s visit followed the passage of the historic CHIPS & Science Act, a new law that marks the largest-ever federal investment in research, development and innovation in the nation’s history. The law includes a mandate to develop AI technology like that used in precision agriculture – a well-established research area at WSU.
“Companies have announced expansion of investments in the United States and in our state, and we want to see more of that. We want to see the supply chain brought back to the United States, we want to see the jobs and investments here in the United States. We think with our research institutions like WSU and others, that you can usher in the next phase of innovation here in the United States,” Sen. Cantwell said during the roundtable discussion. “We’ve done this in our history, but we want to do it again.”
Audio of the full roundtable discussion is available HERE (pt.1) and HERE (pt.2), and a transcript of Sen. Cantwell’s remarks is available HERE. Other roundtable participants included:
- Chris Keane, Ph.D., Vice President of Research
- Colleen Kerr, J.D., Vice President for External Affairs and Government Relations
- Haluk Beyanal, Associate Dean for Research at Voiland College of Engineering
- Ananth Kalyanaraman, Professor, Boeing Centennial Chair in Computer Science and Associate Director of the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
- Janardhan Rao ( Jana ) Doppa,?Huie-Rogers Endowed Chair in Computer Science & Associate Professor?
- Mike Brady, Associate Professor and Extension Economist
- Kirti Rajagopalan, Assistant Professor of Biological Systems Engineering
- Jake Schrader, AgAID Smart Farm Engineer and senior PhD student in Biosystems Ag.
- Paola Pesantez, Research Assistant Professor in Computer Science at the School of EECS and the AgAID Data Scientist
Immediately following the roundtable, HYPER Labs founder and associate professor Jake Leachman, Ph.D., led Sen. Cantwell and others on a tour of the HYPER Labs’ engineering and teaching research lab as well as the outdoor research facility. During the tour, Sen. Cantwell observed the techniques used to research hydrogen properties at cryogenic temperatures. She also shattered a cryogenically-frozen marshmallow with a mallet (photos of the event are available HERE.)
WSU’s HYPER Labs are focused on storage, production, and use of liquid hydrogen in the clean energy and aerospace fields. The work conducted at the facility plays a key role in working toward a cleaner and more affordable net-zero energy system.
On the tour, Dr. Leachman cited the lab’s ongoing work developing liquid hydrogen that could replace diesel as a power source for semi-trucks, ferries, and data storage centers.
“(There’s) many pieces that people will tell you are not possible right now. You have seen with your own eyes -- that it's possible and it's happening. And so the next phase in this new space is going to be very exciting for the state of Washington. We want to make it a reality,” Dr. Leachman said.
Sen. Cantwell, the lead Democratic negotiator in the recently passed CHIPS & Science Act, secured support for doubling the National Science Foundation (NSF) annual budget over five years, to nearly $19 billion, with a mandate to invest in key technologies and in workforce development.
WSU has received $106 million in NSF funds over the past 5 years.
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