Our Mission

DOE’s Office of Science has a mission to deliver scientific discoveries and major scientific tools to transform our understanding of nature and advance the energy, economic, and national security of the United States. We are the nation’s largest federal sponsor of basic research in the physical sciences and are a major supporter of research in such key scientific fields as physics, materials science, computing, and chemistry. We are also the lead federal agency supporting fundamental scientific research related to energy.

To keep America in the forefront of discovery and innovation, we sponsor research at hundreds of universities, national laboratories, and other institutions across the country. We also build and maintain a vitally important array of large-scale scientific facilities at the DOE national laboratories, which are used by thousands of researchers every year.

About the Office of Science

Video Url
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Science is the nation’s largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences, the steward of 10 DOE national laboratories, and the lead federal agency supporting fundamental research for energy production and security. Our job is to keep America at the forefront of discovery. This video is an overview of the Office of Science’s mission, people, and resources.
Video courtesy of DOE's Office of Science

Science Headlines

VIEW ALL
Machine Learning Could Help Reveal Undiscovered Particles Within Data from the Large Hadron Collider
Scientists used a neural network, a type of brain-inspired machine learning algorithm, to sift through large volumes of particle collision data.
Holding the Quantum Keys, Innovation Helps Keep the Power Grid Safe
ORNL, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and private industry partner Qubitekk developed the nation’s first industry-led commercial quantum network.
Supercool Delivery: Final Section of Souped-Up Neutron Source Trucks Out of Jefferson Lab
The Proton Power Upgrade of Spallation Neutron Source strengthens Jefferson Lab’s decades-long partnership with Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Neutrons Rule the Roost for Cage-Free Lithium Ions
An international team of scientists found a way to improve battery design that could produce safer, more powerful lithium batteries.

University and Stakeholder News

VIEW ALL
Discovery Points Path to Flash-Like Memory for Storing Qubits
Storing qubits in topologically protected states could potentially reduce decoherence-related errors that have plagued quantum computing.
Learn more
First Results from DESI Make the Most Precise Measurement of Our Expanding Universe
UC Santa Cruz researchers hold crucial roles in Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument collaboration.
Learn more
A Focused Approach Can Help Untangle Messy Quantum Scrambling Problems
The technique focuses on a single feature that describes how various amounts of energy can be held by different configurations in a quantum system.
Learn more
To Capture Methane Emissions, Scientists Create Nanoshell Catalysts
A University at Buffalo-led team is developing new catalysts that aim to turn climate-warming methane emissions into useful commercial products.
Learn more

Recently Featured Articles

VIEW ALL

Science Highlights

VIEW ALL
Dept. of Energy Office of Science delivers scientific discoveries, tools for the nation via programs in Advanced Scientific Computing Research; Basic Energy Sciences; Biological & Environmental Research; Fusion Energy Sciences; High Energy Physics; Nuclear Physics. Also supports Accelerator Research; Isotope Research; Small Business Innovation Research and Technology Transfer; 5 national quantum centers; 2 energy innovation hubs. Stewards 10 DOE national labs. 100-plus Nobel Prizes, $8.1 billion budget.

The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time.

Image courtesy of the Department of Energy Office of Science