Developing new #AI and #chemistry to radically accelerate and democratize molecule synthesis and functional materials discovery. Supported by @NSF.
Urbana, IL
Joined November 2020
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🎉 Big news! MMLI has been renewed for another 5 years! We’re excited to continue pushing the boundaries of AI-driven molecular discovery with our amazing collaborators.
#NSFfunded #AI #MolecularScience #Chemistry #artificialintelligence
news.illinois.edu/nsf-reinve…
New in Nucleic Acids Research: CLEAN Database, with 55M+ AI-predicted enzyme functions across ~1.1M strains, plus an ESM-2 mutation-effect explorer with heatmaps and 3D views. Free, no login.
Congratulations, @HuiminZhaoLab at Illinois! doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkag1003 #AIforScience
Our NSF MMLI Director, @HuiminZhaoLab and his team at Illinois just released the iCloudBioFoundry platform for autonomous biochemical research. Check out the preprint doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.30.… and the platform (and its associated pubs) here: icloudbiofoundry.illinois.ed…
X: Thrilled to release a new preprint on the development of an AI-powered cloud biofoundry for autonomous biological research on bioRxiv (biorxiv.org/content/10.64898…). By integrating agentic AI with physical AI, iCloudBiofoundry provides a cloud accessible, self-evolving, and scalable platform that unifies computational design and robotic execution. Congrats to an outstanding group of students and postdocs from @HuiminZhaoLab and a couple of staff scientists from @NCSAatIllinois. Hope the iCloudBiofoundry platform will unleash a new era in scientific research just like what NCSA Mosaic transformed the Internet in 1993.
Discovery doesn't happen in silos, and that's why MATRIX-Uni helps students explore interdisciplinary #AIresearch.
@UofIllinois transfer student Mariia Martova worked with #NSFMMLI researchers to apply her #computerscience skills to #biochemistry. @NSF
youtu.be/tuSwA_b5RgU
Take a look inside the MATRIX-Uni experience, where undergraduate students work alongside NSF MMLI scientists, crossing disciplines while building skills in AI, machine learning, and real-world research.
Read more: go.illinois.edu/matrix-uni-s…
#AI #STEM #AIresearch #NSFfunded @NSF
For undergrads, research can feel out of reach. That’s where the MATRIX-Uni program comes in.
MATRIX fellow, Soohwan Kim, a @UofIllinois junior, worked alongside #NSFMMLI researchers to advance #AI models for #biotechnology.
Watch his story: youtu.be/_7CYiOS-5K8
#STEM @NSF
Between researching plant enzymes and keeping his houseplants alive, Shivank Nag has cultivated a variety of specialized interests that keep him busy in and out of the office. 🌱
Read Shivank's #NSFMMLI Spotlight: go.illinois.edu/NSFMMLI-Shiv…
#syntheticbiology #AIscience #NSFfunded
NSF Molecule Maker Lab Institute (NSF MMLI) retweeted
CABBI's Ting Lu, Jeremy Guest, Huimin Zhao, Vijay Singh, Christopher Rao and Hong Yang are featured in this excellent piece on #bioeconomy research at @UofIllinois. Innovations by these @GraingerEng
researchers promote a more circular & resilient economy.
grainger.illinois.edu/news/s…
Whether it's engineering enzymes or experimenting with a recipe in the kitchen, Le Yuan has a knack for discovering new ways to transform materials into impressive results.
Read Le's #NSFMMLI Community Spotlight: go.illinois.edu/NSFMMLI-Le-Y…
#syntheticbiology #AIscience #NSFfunded
ALT A colorful graphic promoting NSF MMLI's Community Spotlight, featuring postdoctoral researcher, Le Yuan. An image of Le hiking is framed by a polaroid graphic with playful items, like an airplane, frying pan, a chef hat, and a compass, are scattered around the image to reference his interview in the linked article. The photo has handwriting that says, "Check out Le's Q&A"
Congrats to the inaugural #NSFMMLI MATRIX-Uni participants! 🎉
After several weeks of robust research, lit review lunches, grueling poster presentations, and, of course, well-deserved sightseeing, our fellows have returned to their undergrad programs.
#NSFfunded #AIresearch
Complex problems are kind of Kate Arneson’s thing and building user-centered solutions is her specialty — she even taught her dog a few tricks.
Learn about Kate and her award-winning UIX work with #NSFMMLI on research software like AlphaSynthesis. go.illinois.edu/NSFMMLI-Kate…
A new PEERspectives episode has dropped -🎙📺📖
What happens when Evolutionary Scale Models (ESMs) learn from each other?
Tune in to the lit review to find out.
youtu.be/NBJ9xfVYpwA
#AIResearch #proteinengineering #artificialintelligence
At #NSFMMLI, we know our team is exceptional, and once again, the global scientific community has taken notice too!
Prof. Scott E. Denmark has been recognizing his transformative work and leadership in #organicchemistry.
Read more: chemistry.illinois.edu/news/…
#universityofillinois
ALT Image of Prof. Scott E. Denmark overlayed on the words "Congratulations". The bottom says"Prof. Scott E. Denmark, Named Inaugural Angewandte Chemie Chair. Congratulations on receiving international recognition for excellence in organic chemistry"
Summer research has begun for our 2026 MATRIX-Uni Fellows and their graduate mentors.
#Research projects include:
• Agentic Systems for #Chemistry
• AI #ProteinEngineering
• LLMs for #Enzyme Prediction
• #AI-Guided Solar Cell Discovery
#ArtificialIntelligence @NSF #NSFFunded
AI/ML for #ProteinEngineering needs infrastructure for standardized sequence–function data. youtube.com/watch?v=oxhsBVr6…
In the new PEERspectives, Le Yuan (NSF MMLI postdoc) explores EnzEngDB, a database platform linking enzyme sequences, mutations, reactions, and performance data.
Congrats graduates! We're proud of the many undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral students with #NSFMMLI whose #research and collaboration continue to advance #AI-enabled molecular discovery & computational science.
#Graduation #ArtificialIntelligence #chemistry #computerscience
Check out our first episode of PEERspectives!
youtube.com/watch?v=rHfh4QFw…
Tanner Dean (NSF-MMLI grad student) provides a lit review:
Kim et al. Computational design of metallohydrolases. Nature 649, 246–253 (2026). doi:10.1038/s41586-025-09746-w
#ArtificialIntelligence #Research
Are you a US-based STEM college student seeking a summer research opportunity in AI+Chemistry? Join us at NSF-MMLI! Applications will close on February 17, 2026. To know more, go to go.illinois.edu/matrix-uni
#summerresearch #AIchemistry #NSFfunded #chemistry #ArtificialInteligence
NSF Molecule Maker Lab Institute (NSF MMLI) retweeted
I was very excited that our AI Institute for Molecule Synthesis (MMLI) got renewed for another 5 years. See: NSF announces $100 million investment in National Artificial Intelligence Research Institutes awards to secure American leadership in AI nsf.gov/news/nsf-announces-1…
