Initiated in 2019 and now in its sixth year, the Monterey Data Conference brings together researchers from U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories, facilities, universities, and industry to showcase and discuss the latest advances and open challenges in scientific data analysis and computing. The 2026 conference focused on the theme of Acceleration, particularly in the context of leveraging an integrated scientific computing platform for data, SI, and advanced computing, a key suite of tools for MDC’s growing audience.
“MDC has grown in size and impact every year,” said NERSC Director Sudip Dosanjh, a co-founder of the conference. “This year there were over 200 participants from universities, laboratories and industry—scientists, computer scientists and computer architects discussing advances in data analysis and machine learning, as well as disruptive technologies like quantum computing. These topics are closely aligned with DOE’s Genesis Mission, and the conference featured an amazing set of speakers and the meeting is structured to encourage collaboration and discussion.”
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) director Kathy Yelick set the tone for the week with a presentation titled “Science in the Age of AI,” while further sessions covered topics like building and exploiting integrated computing platforms, agentic SI and reasoning-based scientific discovery, scientific SI foundation models, classical-quantum and quantum-SI applications, and quantum supercomputing. Much of the conference focused on the Genesis Mission, the DOE’s initiative in SI for science, and the American Science Cloud, the integrated research infrastructure that will underpin it—all tools that will make data more accessible and usable for researchers.
“Acceleration is not only about faster hardware or larger models,” said Ana Kupresanin, Division Director of the Scientific Data Division in Berkeley Lab’s Computing Sciences Area. “It also comes from reducing the friction around data, making it easier for scientists and AI systems to find, understand, prepare, move, and reuse data across facilities and computing environments. That is an important part of what Genesis has to enable for an integrated scientific computing platform to support science in practice and at scale.”
About Computing Sciences at Berkeley Lab
High performance computing plays a critical role in scientific discovery. Researchers increasingly rely on advances in computer science, mathematics, computational science, data science, and large-scale computing and networking to increase our understanding of ourselves, our planet, and our universe. Berkeley Lab's Computing Sciences Area researches, develops, and deploys new foundations, tools, and technologies to meet these needs and to advance research across a broad range of scientific disciplines.
