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Government embraces AI for national security, guided by Sandia expertise

BY TROY RUMMLER

THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2025

Staff showcase capabilities at AI+ Expo

STANDOUT — The DOE stood up the largest exhibit space at the event, combining all 17 national labs. (Photo by Andy Lee)
STANDOUT — The DOE stood up the largest exhibit space at the event, combining all 17 national labs. (Photo by Andy Lee)

Sandia and the DOE national lab complex showcased artificial intelligence capabilities in Washington, D.C., in June, exemplifying their role as trusted advisers among government officials.

Staff from the Labs hosted two demos and gave one presentation at the AI+ Expo, a relatively new event that has quickly become a major conference for government and industry. Sandia highlighted its AI efforts related to advanced manufacturing. All 17 national labs exhibited from a combined DOE booth, the largest at this year’s event.

“Elected officials, their staff and government agencies are turning to Sandia and our partner labs for our expertise and capabilities when making decisions about AI for national security,” said Caylin Howard, chief of staff for Sandia’s AI board of directors. “We are a key player in this space.”

REPRESENTING — Sandia’s Dwight Beck, left, and Lorenzo Gutierrez enjoy the DOE exhibit space at the AI+ Expo in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Andy Lee)
REPRESENTING — Sandia’s Dwight Beck, left, and Lorenzo Gutierrez enjoy the DOE exhibit space at the AI+ Expo in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Andy Lee)

The event itself, which was open to the public, was indicative of how fast the government has come to see AI as critical to continued U.S. competitiveness.

ChatGPT launched only three years ago, abruptly changing how people view and use AI technologies. And yet this was already the second year the AI+ Expo has been held, which focused heavily on AI adoption and national security issues.

“Everything was about competition with China,” said Sandia’s Anthony Garland, one of about 15,000 attendees, according to the event website.

While sponsorships and keynotes were drawn from a mix of tech and defense staples, the event drew many government and military officials. Adm. Samuel Paparo, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves addressed the conference, among other public sector representatives.

“I had the privilege of presenting my demo briefly in front of DOE Secretary Chris Wright,” Sandia’s Nathan Brown said.

Wright touted the national labs during an interview with Ylli Bajraktari, president and CEO of the Special Competitive Studies Project, which hosts the expo.

“AI is certainly in the sweet spot of the Department,” Wright said, answering a question about how he sees his role as secretary, adding that the national labs have been pioneers in launching AI.”

Although the conference was well-attended, Caylin said there’s more work to be done to coordinate and amplify the national labs’ expertise, and at least one attendee recognized that need, too.

“I was expecting more people to come and check out all the DOE area,” Anthony said. “I think people don’t understand what the DOE does, especially for AI.”

Sandia exhibitors impress listeners

Nathan Brown calls himself “one of two oddball mechanical engineers” on a team of information scientists. But his background proved useful at the AI+ Expo, where he showed how open-source AI tools can save engineers hours of time preparing computer-aided design models for simulations with natural language prompts.

“If we can get that virtual environment set up faster and we can test out more samples and test out more designs, we’re going to be able to get to a superior-performing design significantly faster,” he said.

The message seemed to strike home with at least one listener. Nathan said a military representative who watched the demo expressed interest in collaborating on a similar system.

Another demo presenter, Steve Owen, found Sandia’s message resonated with students, whom he said asked him thoughtful questions about how Sandia is applying AI to CAD.

“Several mentioned they were finishing their degrees or expressed interest in opportunities at Sandia,” Steve said.

Anthony Garland gave a presentation on using AI to find defects in 3D-printed parts, a concept with clear benefits for manufacturing industries and Sandia mission work.

“We are not sitting idly on the side while all this cool AI stuff is going on,” Anthony said. “We’re taking all that and combining it with our needs and capabilities to make something that helps national security.”

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