AMES, Iowa – During a scientific discussion about strategically using artificial intelligence tools to discover new crystal structures that can lead to super-strong magnets, a scientist dropped a name:

“Magneto.”

“The master of magnetism,” according to a Marvel Comics character biography. A complicated figure, Magneto sometimes aids mankind, sometimes fights the superheroes. But he has a true defining superpower: “He can manipulate all forms of magnetism.”

Well, noted Julia Zaikina, an Iowa State University associate professor of chemistry, making new permanent magnets is a complicated process as well – from conceiving ideas to final realization. Now there’s a program within the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) that’s looking for magnetic superpowers. It wants to “find entirely new physics, chemistries, and structures for ultra-powerful magnets,” according to a program summary. Its name?

“MAGNITO.”

That stands for “Magnetic Acceleration Generating New Innovations and Tactical Outcomes.”

The program recently awarded a $2.7 million grant to a research team led by Kirill Kovnir, an Iowa State University professor of chemistry, to identify, synthesize and test new magnetic materials that can outperform neodymium-iron magnets. Those are today’s strongest permanent magnets and are used in electric motors and electricity generators.

This grant is part of a larger, $72 million ARPA-E effort to support “early-stage research and development projects to boost domestic magnet manufacturing and help secure America’s supply chains of critical minerals that are essential to American energy dominance and the industrial base,” according to the agency news release announcing the projects.

‘Where to start’

Iowa State University and Ames National Laboratory researchers have experience synthesizing alloys with magnetic properties. Photo provided by Yaroslav Mudryk, Iowa State University, Ames National Laboratory.

The research team has dubbed its project, “MAGNUMS,” or “Machine-learning Assisted Generation of Novel Ultra-strong Magnets via Synthesis.”

The idea is to use machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence that features computers learning from data and finding patterns, to quickly screen possible materials and material combinations for promising magnetic properties, Kovnir said. 

James Chelikowsky, a professor of physics and director of the Center for Computational Materials at the University of Texas at Austin, and Yongxin Yao, a laboratory scientist for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames National Laboratory and adjunct associate professor of physics and astronomy at Iowa State, will lead the machine-learning work.

“Armed with state-of-the-art theoretical and AI-driven tools, it is truly like embarking on a treasure hunt for new magnetic materials,” Yao said.

The rest of the team – Kovnir, Zaikina, Yaroslav Mudryk, a scientist for Ames National Laboratory and Iowa State’s department of materials science and engineering, and Michael Shatruk, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Florida State University – will work to synthesize, test and characterize prototype magnets.

“A lot of current research is about improving known compounds,” Mudryk said. “The goal of the MAGNITO program is to discover new compounds. That’s why chemists are involved.”

Zaikina explained that the chemists will “guide” elements into unprecedented structures to realize novel materials by carefully controlling ratios, synthesis methods, synthesis temperatures and, ultimately, magnetic properties and performance.

“We look forward to working closely with the computational group that will provide guidance on where to start and where to go, while saving time and resources from exploring the ‘dead ends,’” Zaikina said.

Where the project aims to go – creating compounds “that have the superpower of generating and maintaining high magnetic fields,” Zaikina said – will be a boost to U.S. energy and industry interests.

These super magnets, according to project and program summaries, could “improve energy productivity, reduce the cost of electricity generation, and enable smaller, lighter motors for American industry and transportation.”

Contacts

Kirill Kovnir, Chemistry, kovnir@iastate.edu, 515-294-3111

Yaroslav Mudryk, Materials Science and Engineering, Ames National Laboratory, slavkomk@iastate.edu, 515-294-2728

Julia Zaikina, Chemistry, yzaikina@iastate.edu, 515-294-3125

Yongxin Yao, Physics and Astronomy, Ames National Laboratory, ykent@iastate.edu, 515-294-9191

Mike Krapfl, News Service, mkrapfl@iastate.edu, 515-294-4917