Energy and Innovation
Michael Cunningham
Jul 13, 2025
Carnegie Mellon University will host the inaugural Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit convened by Sen. Dave McCormick on July 15.
CMU thrives at the busy intersection of AI, innovation and energy, and our world-class researchers are tackling some of society's toughest challenges today while also pioneering new solutions for tomorrow.
Advances in AI mean increasingly sophisticated cybersecurity threats. CMU is well positioned to meet these challenges with innovative solutions spun out of the CyLab Security and Privacy Institute, which coordinates cybersecurity research and education across all university departments.
Learn more about the work that CyLab researchers are currently doing to boost cybersecurity and defense.
Using AI to Defend Against Cyber Threats
By Lujo Bauer and Vyas Sekar
Science is being revolutionized by AI. The U.S. has the opportunity to remain a global leader by transforming the way we do scientific research and translate it to high-impact innovations. Carnegie Mellon University researchers are leading the way by harnessing and integrating advances in AI, robotics, and autonomy in new ways to accelerate the pace of innovation.
CMU Research Helps the Air Force 'Fuel More Fight'
By Eric Heim and Thomas Longstaff
The U.S. Air Force (USAF) conducts training, combat, mobility, support, deterrence and other critical flight operations. Fueling these missions places a heavy financial burden on the USAF organizations that fly them. A team of researchers and engineers at the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) at Carnegie Mellon University is applying new AI and machine learning models that can reduce the fuel consumption of aircraft while USAF accomplishes the mission. This innovation has the potential to save the USAF millions of dollars in fuel every year.
AI and National Security: Harden the Grid To Win the Race
By Harry Krejsa and Audrey Kurth Cronin
America’s electric grid represents a ‘soft target’ for international adversaries in the AI arms race. The country needs a new grid security framework to adapt to the changing nature of the threat.
Securing the Grid: A Call for Rigorous Modeling and Standardization
By Lujo Bauer, Larry Pileggi, and Vyas Sekar
Despite increasing concerns over cyber threats to the electrical grids, the academic, operational, and policy communities remain divided on which threats are most pressing — and why.
Our CMU team recently showed that these disagreements are rooted in wide disparities and inconsistencies in how cyber threats against the grid are modeled and analyzed, leading to divergent threat assessments.
Securing the Future of Robotics and Autonomous Systems
By Limin Jia, Eunsuk Kang, Christopher Timperley, and Sarah Scheffler
Soon, robotics and autonomous systems will be ubiquitous within America's industrial infrastructure. But these systems are as susceptible — if not more — to privacy and security threats as existing online systems.
CMU Research Helps the Navy Power Up
By Matthew Butkovic, Thomas Longstaff, and Brett Tucker
Nuclear reactors are critical to the U.S. Navy missions of maintaining global reach and maritime dominance. These systems provide the power and propulsion for U.S. Navy vessels, including submarines and aircraft carriers. Yet designing and building new nuclear propulsion plants can take decades. Researchers at the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon are applying new AI models and methods that will significantly reduce the time needed for the design and construction of new nuclear propulsion plants while maintaining high safety and security standards.