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

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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

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DOE Announces $46 Million for Commercial Fusion Energy Development
8 Companies Across 7 States Will Receive Funding to Help Solidify U.S. Leadership in Developing Clean Energy From Fusion
Mixing Metals for Improved Performance
Jefferson Lab’s Shreyas Balachandran is being honored for his advances toward turning niobium alloys into next-gen accelerator parts.
A First Step to Designing Better Solid-State Batteries
A recent study using Argonne’s Advanced Photon Source shows that electrochemical reactions within solid-state batteries are highly variable.
Early Frontier Users Seize Exascale Advantage, Grapple With Grand Scientific Challenges
The Frontier supercomputer at ORNL remains in the number one spot on the May 2023 TOP500 rankings.

University and Stakeholder News

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Three IU Physics Graduate Students Win DOE SCGSR Awards
Kylie Dickerson and Gabe Otero will work at Los Alamos National Lab and Bo Johnson will work at Oak Ridge National Lab.
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CABBI Researchers Chart Oilcane Microbiome
Scientists at the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation have identified the types of microbes that associate w/ engineered oilcane.
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Metal-Filtering Sponge Removes Lead From Water
Northwestern University engineers have developed a reusable sponge that can capture and recover critical metals and heavy-metal pollutants.
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Scientists Reveal Breakthrough That Could Lead to Cleaner Hydrogen Energy
Chemists have results from pulse radiolysis experiments laying bare the reaction mechanism for an important group of “water-splitting” catalysts.
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Recently Featured Articles

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Science Highlights

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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, $7.5 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