{"692179":{"#nid":"692179","#data":{"type":"news","title":"New Center Seeks to Unlock the Science of Turbulence for Energy, Flight, and Discovery","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMost people know turbulence as the force that can make airplane flights bumpy. Scientists recognize it as one of the most important, yet unsolved, problems in physics.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDespite decades of research, the chaotic nature of turbulence makes it difficult to predict and control. This challenge impedes more than smoother air travel. Solving the turbulence problem could lead to advances in areas ranging from sustainable energy to training a smarter workforce for the era of artificial intelligence (AI).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo advance understanding of turbulence, the National Science Foundation is establishing a new, $30 million Science and Technology Center (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nsf.gov\/news\/nsf-launches-three-new-science-technology-centers-90m\u0022\u003ESTC\u003C\/a\u003E) at Michigan State University. Georgia Tech is among eight universities supporting the center.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAssistant Professor\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/tangqi.github.io\/\u0022\u003EQi Tang\u003C\/a\u003E will join the STC for Transformative Explorations in Multi-Physics and Engineering of Scientific Turbulence (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/tempest-stc.msu.edu\/\u0022\u003ETEMPEST\u003C\/a\u003E). TEMPEST, launching on Sept. 1, aims to build trustworthy, predictive models of real-world turbulence.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETang will lead TEMPEST\u2019s modeling and scientific machine learning (ML) efforts. NSF will fund Tang and Georgia Tech with over $1 million from the center\u2019s five-year, $30 million award.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy understanding and predicting turbulence, TEMPEST can unlock new applications, with a focus on fusion energy and national security. The center will also generate long-term research projects with applications in air and space flight, manufacturing, chemistry, and broaden science education and AI fluency.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cTurbulence has resisted prediction for a century,\u201d said Tang, a faculty member in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cse.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Computational Science and Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E (CSE).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cSTC TEMPEST aims to develop a unified, predictive science that advances fusion energy, improves hypersonic technologies, and deepens our understanding of how stars created the elements that make up our world and ourselves. For everyday people, the center points toward abundant clean energy and faster, more efficient flight.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETurbulence is the motion of a fluid characterized by chaotic changes in pressure and speed. Turbulent flows can occur across all scales, from interactions between subatomic particles to astrophysical scales, including supernovas, black holes, and cosmic rays.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile turbulent flows are common and occur naturally, scientists still do not fully understand them. Small changes in a turbulent flow can produce dramatically different outcomes. Combined with the countless interactions across multiple scales of time and space, this makes turbulence extraordinarily difficult to predict.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cRather than studying individual pieces of this enormously complex problem in isolation, we are bringing together theory, experimentation, computation and artificial intelligence to develop a deeper understanding of turbulence across scales,\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/msutoday.msu.edu\/news\/2026\/08\/nsf-grant-turbulence-research-center\u0022\u003Esaid Michael Murillo\u003C\/a\u003E, an MSU professor and the director of TEMPEST.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur goal is not simply to understand turbulence better, but to make it predictable and controllable in ways that will enable new technologies and scientific discoveries.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe NSF TEMPEST award supports students and researchers at Michigan State University,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/wire.auburn.edu\/content\/cosam\/2026\/08\/261600-nsf-turbulence-center.php?utm_source=auburn-today\u0026amp;utm_medium=web\u0022\u003EAuburn University\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/news.web.baylor.edu\/news\/story\/2026\/baylor-astrophysicists-among-partners-30-million-nsf-grant-establish-turbulence\u0022\u003EBaylor University\u003C\/a\u003E, Georgia Tech,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/blogs.sjsu.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/sjsu-researchers-join-30m-nsf-science-and-technology-center-to-tackle-turbulence\/\u0022\u003ESan Jos\u00e9 State University\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.tamucc.edu\/news\/2026\/08\/images\/tamu-cc-researcher-to-be-part-of-nsf-funded-turbulence-research-center.php\u0022\u003ETexas A\u0026amp;M University-Corpus Christi\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/nsf-funded-tempest-turbulence-research-center-716372\/\u0022\u003EUniversity of Rochester\u003C\/a\u003E, and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/news.yale.edu\/2026\/08\/28\/tempest-collaboration-will-take-turbulence\u0022\u003EYale University\u003C\/a\u003E to combine theory, computation, AI techniques, and experimentation to build trustworthy predictive models of real-world turbulence for high-consequence applications.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAdditional partners include Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Pacific Fusion, and General Atomics.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETogether, TEMPEST researchers will build more accurate and reliable physics-grounded models. The center will test new ideas against real-world observations, then use those results to refine the models.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETang contributes expertise in ML, scientific computing, and plasma physics to STC TEMPEST.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEarlier this year, Tang received an \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/news\/department-energy-award-power-nuclear-research-machine-learning\u0022\u003EEarly Career Research award\u003C\/a\u003E from the Department of Energy\u2019s Office of Science. He is using the award to build ML and data science tools that help scientists analyze massive datasets from fusion experiments and simulations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis interdisciplinary approach is intended to move science from understanding why turbulence behaves as it does to predicting how it will behave. Through prediction and simulation, scientists could eventually engineer solutions to control turbulence in real-world scenarios.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe center will make its data and software broadly available and engage the public through museum exhibitions, immersive media, and educational programs that are expected to reach more than 10,000 K-12 students annually. TEMPEST will also help train an AI-fluent scientific workforce prepared to tackle complex problems across disciplines.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOne reason I am excited to work in TEMPEST is because it aligns perfectly with our School of CSE mission. As a discipline, CSE complements theory and experimentation as a mode of scientific discovery,\u201d Tang said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe build computational models to simulate scientific and engineering concepts, like turbulence in this case, so that we can test theories that are too difficult, expensive, or risky for physical experiments.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMost people know turbulence as the force that can make airplane flights bumpy. Scientists recognize it as one of the most important, yet unsolved, problems in physics.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDespite decades of research, the chaotic nature of turbulence makes it difficult to predict and control. This challenge impedes more than smoother air travel. Solving the turbulence problem could lead to advances in areas ranging from sustainable energy to training a smarter workforce for the era of artificial intelligence (AI).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo advance understanding of turbulence, the National Science Foundation is establishing a new, $30 million Science and Technology Center (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nsf.gov\/news\/nsf-launches-three-new-science-technology-centers-90m\u0022\u003ESTC\u003C\/a\u003E) at Michigan State University. Georgia Tech is among eight universities supporting the center.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAssistant Professor\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/tangqi.github.io\/\u0022\u003EQi Tang\u003C\/a\u003E will join the STC for Transformative Explorations in Multi-Physics and Engineering of Scientific Turbulence (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/tempest-stc.msu.edu\/\u0022\u003ETEMPEST\u003C\/a\u003E). TEMPEST, launching on Sept. 1, aims to build trustworthy, predictive models of real-world turbulence.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETang will lead TEMPEST\u2019s modeling and scientific machine learning (ML) efforts. NSF will fund Tang and Georgia Tech with over $1 million from the center\u2019s five-year, $30 million award.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"To advance understanding of turbulence, the National Science Foundation is establishing a new, $30 million Science and Technology Center (STC) at Michigan State University. Georgia Tech is among eight universities supporting the center."}],"uid":"36319","created_gmt":"2026-09-01 16:21:43","changed_gmt":"2026-09-03 21:47:23","author":"Bryant Wine","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-09-01T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-09-01T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"681026":{"id":"681026","type":"image","title":"TEMPEST-Head-Image.png","body":null,"created":"1788279712","gmt_created":"2026-09-01 16:21:52","changed":"1788279712","gmt_changed":"2026-09-01 16:21:52","alt":"TEMPEST Supernova","file":{"fid":"265373","name":"TEMPEST-Head-Image.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/01\/TEMPEST-Head-Image.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/01\/TEMPEST-Head-Image.png","mime":"image\/png","size":900620,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/09\/01\/TEMPEST-Head-Image.png?itok=SqyzW4L4"}},"681027":{"id":"681027","type":"image","title":"Collapsing-Star.png","body":null,"created":"1788281400","gmt_created":"2026-09-01 16:50:00","changed":"1788281400","gmt_changed":"2026-09-01 16:50:00","alt":"TEMPEST Collapsing Star","file":{"fid":"265375","name":"Collapsing-Star.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/01\/Collapsing-Star.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/01\/Collapsing-Star.png","mime":"image\/png","size":169940,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/09\/01\/Collapsing-Star.png?itok=GAu9n5Pu"}}},"media_ids":["681026","681027"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"136","name":"Aerospace"},{"id":"194606","name":"Artificial Intelligence"},{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"42911","name":"Education"},{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"132","name":"Institute Leadership"},{"id":"194685","name":"Manufacturing"},{"id":"147","name":"Military Technology"},{"id":"194610","name":"National Interests\/National Security"},{"id":"150","name":"Physics and Physical Sciences"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"654","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"166983","name":"School of Computational Science and Engineering"},{"id":"9153","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"10199","name":"Daily Digest"},{"id":"181991","name":"Georgia Tech News Center"},{"id":"187812","name":"artificial intelligence (AI)"},{"id":"9167","name":"machine learning"},{"id":"170447","name":"Institute for Data Engineering and Science"},{"id":"195119","name":"applied physics"},{"id":"4079","name":"astrophysics"},{"id":"2082","name":"aerospace engineering"},{"id":"186858","name":"go-sei"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193655","name":"Artificial Intelligence at Georgia Tech"},{"id":"39431","name":"Data Engineering and Science"},{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"},{"id":"39461","name":"Manufacturing, Trade, and Logistics"},{"id":"39481","name":"National Security"},{"id":"193657","name":"Space Research Initiative"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBryant Wine, Communications Officer\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:bryant.wine@cc.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebryant.wine@cc.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}