Bridging Physics and AI for Smarter Climate Decisions | EP. 44

In this episode of Hidden Layers, host Ron talks with Dr. Hannah Lu, assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin and core faculty at the Odin Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences. Dr. Lu is pioneering the use of AI-powered surrogate models to make complex scientific simulations—like CO₂ absorption in geological formations—faster, more accurate, and more useful for real-world decision-making.

They discuss:

• How surrogate models work and why they’re so powerful
• The challenges of applying AI to physics-based systems
• How digital twins and uncertainty quantification are shaping the future of environmental modeling
• The intersection of generative AI, physics constraints, and climate science