Dr. Kusne is honored for creating the Closed-loop Autonomous Materials Exploration and Optimization (CAMEO) algorithm, a cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence (AI) application that accelerates advanced materials discovery and optimization. It is the first AI system to combine knowledge of physical laws and fully autonomous cycles of experimental design, measurement and data analysis to make materials research markedly more efficient. It is the first such system to discover new materials, and the first demonstration of AI-driven materials research at a synchrotron user facility.