ARROWS Workshop Sparks New Frontiers in Autonomous Science
This week, from May 19-21, 2025, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Colorado School of Mines had the distinct pleasure of hosting the Autonomous Research for Real-World Science (ARROWS) workshop. It was an incredibly energizing and productive three days, bringing together leading experts, researchers, and students to explore the pivotal moment where materials science, chemistry, and autonomous experimentation converge. The enthusiasm and collaborative spirit demonstrated by all participants were truly inspiring, highlighting the immense potential for AI-driven methods to accelerate scientific discovery and deliver real-world solutions.
The workshop was filled with insightful presentations showcasing cutting-edge research platforms, advanced AI models, innovative synthesis workflows, and in-situ discovery techniques. Our dynamic breakout sessions fostered deep discussions on grand challenges, domain-specific analytics, autonomous decision-making, and real-world implementations, providing a rich foundation for future work. We also enjoyed valuable networking opportunities during the NREL facility tours, which showcased NREL's capabilities in combinatorial synthesis, autonomous microscopy, and supercomputing, and a vibrant poster session. The final day culminated in a collaborative writing session, where we began synthesizing the workshop's major themes into foundational text.
None of this would have been possible without the immense efforts of many. I extend my deepest gratitude to all our attendees for their active participation and brilliant contributions. A huge thank you goes to the entire organizing team, including my co-organizers Andriy Zakutayev and Hilary Egan, our dedicated NREL administrative and communications staff (Pat Kline, Risha Bradshaw, Susannah Shoemaker, Harrison Dreves), and the technical team, session chairs, and breakout leads who ensured the event ran flawlessly. We are also incredibly grateful for the support of our Gold Sponsors, JEOL and APEX, and our hosts at the Colorado School of Mines.
The conclusion of the workshop marks not an end, but a beginning. We are excited about the tangible next steps emerging from ARROWS. Our immediate focus is on developing the collaborative perspective article, drawing from the themes synthesized during our writing day, to share our collective vision with the broader scientific community. Furthermore, we strongly encourage everyone to pursue the new collaborations and proposal opportunities that were sparked during our time together. The future of autonomous, real-world science is bright, and we look forward to continuing this important journey together.