Dr. Benji Maruyama, a distinguished alumnus of the University of Pennsylvania (B.S., Materials Science and Engineering) and the University of Texas at Austin (M.S. and Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering), is a Principal Materials Research Engineer at the Air Force Research Laboratory, Materials & Manufacturing Directorate. As the Autonomous Materials Lead and ACT3 Liaison, he has revolutionized materials research with ARES™, the first autonomous experimentation system for advanced materials. Dr. Maruyama’s expertise spans carbon nanomaterials, polymer and metal matrix composites, and energy storage. His pioneering work in polymeric materials focuses on their integration into composites for enhanced performance in aerospace and energy applications. Passionate about accelerating scientific discovery, he advocates for “Moore’s Law for research,” emphasizing exponential progress. Beyond his technical contributions, Dr. Maruyama explores AI’s impact on science and workforce development, shaping the future of materials innovation and autonomous decision-making.

2025 NASA Symp

Overview on the Materials Genome Initiative and the Autonomous Materials Innovation Infrastructure

The Materials Genome Initiative is a federal multi-agency initiative for discovering, manufacturing, and deploying advanced materials twice as fast and at a fraction of the cost compared to traditional methods. The initiative creates policy, resources, and infrastructure to support U.S. institutions in the adoption of methods for accelerating materials development.

The Materials Genome Initiative Subcommittee on Autonomous Materials Innovation Infrastructure (AMII) held a workshop in May 2024 with 80+ participants across academia, industry, and over 15 Federal Agencies for “Accelerating Materials Solutions to Meet National and Global Challenges,” in support of the Materials Genome Initiative (MGI) 2021 Strategic Plan.

Over the first decade of the MGI, significant attention has been paid to the ever-increasing predictive power of materials models and their role in accelerating materials design. Now, profound changes are being realized to further accelerate materials experimentation (both synthesis and characterization) through human-enhanced artificial intelligence, integration of modeling & simulation, and application of robotics via autonomous experimentation.

Building on a series of prior federal government-sponsored workshops, this workshop focused on: The current infrastructure landscape for accelerated materials experimentation within the context of the broader Materials Innovation Infrastructure (MII), framing of National and Global Challenges, and identifying gaps in the AMII that must be filled to achieve the goals and targets.