PNNL Scientist Encourages Student Competitors to Embrace AI at Nationals

Nancy Washton, a Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) chemist by trade and artificial intelligence (AI) scientist by training, shared her current research and thrill for science with hundreds of high school students from across the country at the National Science Bowl® (NSB), hosted on April 24–28, 2025, in Washington, DC.

The Department of Energy created the NSB in 1991 to encourage students to excel in mathematics and science and to pursue careers in these fields.

Washton’s dream to pursue science formed when she was six years old, living in a rented house in LA with her father.

“My dad sat me down under an avocado tree where there was hard packed dirt,” said Washton. “He took his Coca-Cola, which he loved, and dumped a little puddle out from it.”

Because the dirt was hard packed, the soda did not absorb.

“Sit here and watch,” Washton’s father said.

For 20 minutes, Washton watched as one little brown ant found the puddle, went back to communicate with its nest, and came back with a line of ants.

“The ants started to carry little drops of soda in their claws and on their backs. My dad explained to me that they can communicate with each other through chemicals called pheromones,” said Washton, “and that was the beginning of everything.”

Today, her dream has transformed from becoming a chemist to inspiring and preparing the next generation of scientists, particularly in AI.

From chemist to recognized leader in AI

For 20 years, Washton was an experimental physical chemist. Her research focused on analyzing catalysts—substances that speed up a chemical reaction or lower the temperature or pressure needed to start one—and helping to develop new and improved catalysts for applications like fuel or vehicle emissions technology.

“If you give me your sample, it will sing its secrets to me and I can hear its song,” said Washton. “I can compare a freshly made catalyst, or parent sample, under my instrument with one that has been used for 500 hours or that’s dead. I can look for what has changed, what has moved, and what connections are different.”

So how did a chemist become an AI enthusiast?

Washton stumbled across a large language model program, a type of AI that is trained on vast amounts of information available in our digital world, and was entranced.

“It was like magic,” said Washton. “That is what I love about science—it’s like magic. You have access to secrets of the universe if you want them, and it’s not to have information that others don’t have but so that you can show them the magic too.”

Washton started learning more about AI and envisioning the possibilities for scientific discovery.

“I spent every waking moment on the weekends and at night to teach myself about generative AI,” said Washton. “These algorithms will accelerate scientific discovery in ways most of our colleagues in science don’t understand yet.”

After spending 20 years as a chemist, Washton pivoted her career to focus on AI literacy and helping to develop AI programs for scientists.

“I help develop programs specific to domains of science so that scientists can quickly connect to it and understand how these models can help them move faster and get to the answers they’re looking for,” said Washton.

Washton uses her background and expertise as a scientist to help computer scientists understand the science domain as well as identify AI opportunities that meet experimental scientists where they’re at.

Inspiring the next generation of AI scientists

Becoming a scientist wasn’t always easy for Washton. During her studies, she often struggled to understand concepts in advanced math, no matter how hard she tried.

“I feel like with these AI tools, it would have explained it to me 50 different ways and I would have gotten it,” said Washton. “These models don’t shame you. They don’t say that you’re not smart, or why don’t you understand this? And that was something that I constantly struggled with.”

After giving a presentation on AI literacy to students from the Department of Energy, Office of Science, Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists (WDTS) program, Washton was invited to speak about her passion for AI at NSB Science Day, an honor extended to a select group of scientists every year.

Washton also mentors WDTS Office of Science Graduate Student Research Program awardees and participates in WDTS workforce development programs at PNNL.

Recently, she helped guide AI literacy for the “1,000 Scientist AI Jam Session,” a first-of-its-kind OpenAI event, hosting leading scientists from nine national laboratories to put the most advanced available AI models to the test in accelerating scientific discovery.

At the NSB, Washton gave a presentation titled “When the Data Sings: Revealing Scientific Secrets through Generative AI.” She focused on teaching students the fundamentals of generative AI and inspiring them, as the next generation of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professionals, to harness the power of AI and use it to solve difficult problems at an accelerated speed.

“I think that the world is entirely different for students today. It’s a different world from even five years ago,” said Washton. “And that’s not a bad thing. It is a wonderful thing. If they harness the power there, and they literally can, they can fly to the stars. I just want them to see that—and feel it—because it’s true.”

STEM education and workforce development at PNNL

Attracting and preparing a skilled future workforce in STEM is part of PNNL’s mission as a Department of Energy national laboratory. Last year, PNNL welcomed more than 1,700 high school, undergraduate, and graduate students into a suite of programs to develop their research skills, receive mentoring from leading experts, and learn more about STEM career opportunities. The Regional Science Bowl, which leads up to the NSB, is one of many efforts by the Office of STEM Education and Workforce Development to ignite interest and build opportunities among the next generation of STEM experts. Interested students can learn more on the PNNL STEM Education website.