Language Models for Geoscience Applications
Tracks
Short Course
| Thursday, March 12, 2026 |
| 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
Details
Instructor
Dr Thomas Bartholomew Grant
Domain Expert
Cegal
The course will explore the potential of Generative AI (Gen-AI) for geoscience. By examining the key concepts of large language models, and real-world applications of them, participants will gain insights into how these cutting-edge technologies are being used to solve complex geoscience challenges. The course material is aimed at geoscientists that are looking to use AI applications and want a better understanding of how they work, how to get the best out of them and how to critically evaluate their performance.
The course will begin by covering the basic concepts for understanding generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs), including data embedding, benchmarking, and the mechanics of transformer architectures. The second section of the course will take a deeper look into advanced techniques and methodologies, including retrieval augmented generation (RAG), agents, and improving model results through prompting and grounding.
Finally, the participants will apply the course content to examine critical discussions for the ethical use of generative AI, cybersecurity concerns, and the necessary regulatory frameworks governing AI deployment in geoscience.
Two group discussion sessions during the day include problem-solving tasks that apply the course material to real-world problems.
Course objectives
- Understand the main use cases of generative AI for geoscience data
- Cover the main concepts of how language models work and common architectures for building chat-bots and agents.
- Critical evaluation of model outputs and techniques for improving results.
- Highlight considerations for safe and ethical use of generative AI.
