The Office of Science is a Program Office within the Department of Energy. The Office is led by a Presidentially-nominated, Senate-confirmed Director and two senior career federal Deputy Directors.
For more information about the Department of Energy Office of Science organization please visit https://science.osti.gov/About/Organization.
Director, Office of Science
(Vacant)
Acting Director for the Office of Science and Deputy Director for Science Programs
Dr. Harriet Kung
Dr. Harriet Kung is the Acting Director of the Office of Science in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). She also serves as the Deputy Director for Science Programs and is the senior career official providing scientific and management direction and oversight for the SC research programs, including Advanced Scientific Computing Research, Basic Energy Sciences, Biological and Environmental Research, Fusion Energy Sciences, High Energy Physics, and Nuclear Physics, as well as other supporting functions and offices. Dr. Kung served in various leadership roles in Basic Energy Sciences, the largest program in the Office of Science, from 2002 - 2020. Before joining DOE in 2002, Dr. Kung was a technical staff member and a project leader at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Her research focused primarily on nanoscale materials and high temperature superconductivity.
With over 20 years of service in the Department of Energy, Dr. Kung led and cultivated one of the nation’s premier physical sciences programs. During her tenure, she developed a new basic research paradigm in team-science approach to advance DOE’s science and energy missions by spearheading a decade-long, strategic planning initiative to assure timely, science-based solutions. She also positioned the Office of Science as a National Quantum Initiative leader by establishing strategies to capitalize on strong synergy between disciplines such as physics, biology, materials, and engineering, as well as the world-leading scientific user facilities. She has chaired and co-chaired high-level interagency working groups to develop and implement national science priorities.
Dr. Kung received her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Cornell University. She is the recipient of numerous awards including the Presidential Meritorious Executive Rank Award in 2009 and the Distinguished Executive Rank Award in 2022.
Deputy Director for Operations
Juston Fontaine
Juston Fontaine is the Deputy Director for Operations in the Office of Science (SC) at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). In this capacity Mr. Fontaine is responsible for management and operational oversight of the Office of Science field complex, including 10 national laboratories executing leading scientific research and development. In addition, Mr. Fontaine provides executive leadership for operations support provide by the Office of Science’s Consolidated Service Center and Headquarters organizations, which provide essential business and technical support to the Department’s national laboratories and scientific research programs. This portfolio includes strategic planning and management of the Science Laboratories Infrastructure program and the Office of Isotope R&D and Production.
Mr. Fontaine has over 15 years of experience with the Department of Energy, serving in a variety of roles to provide leadership and coordination on a wide range of complex operational and technical issues, as well as oversight of agency programs and operations. Prior to joining the Office of Science, Mr. Fontaine was the Chief of Staff for the Office of the Under Secretary for Management and Performance. In this capacity, he led day-to-day operations of the Office of the Under Secretary, coordinating project management and the mission support functions of the Department, and overseeing the safe cleanup of the environmental legacy brought about from nuclear weapons development and government-sponsored nuclear energy research. Mr. Fontaine served a key role in the development of Departmental strategic planning efforts and innovative business solutions to support organizational improvement. In this role, Mr. Fontaine was responsible for the strategic development and coordination of the Office of the Under Secretary’s nearly $7 billion budget portfolio.
Mr. Fontaine joined the Department of Energy in 2004, initially serving as an Inspector with the Department’s Office of Inspector General. Subsequently, as Special Assistant to the Inspector General, he conducted oversight of Department of Energy operations, assessed programmatic efficiency and effectiveness, and managed the development and dissemination of external communications with senior agency officials, Congress, and external entities. During this period, Mr. Fontaine also served as an Investigator for the Committee on Appropriations, Surveys and Investigations Division, where he was responsible for leading bipartisan investigations of specific current or emerging issues facing government agencies.