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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Register Today: U.S. Department of Energy Hosts a Two-Day Virtual Clean Fuels & Products Shot™ Summit!
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will host the Clean Fuels & Products Shot™ Summit on April 8, 2024, from 11am – 2pm ET, and April 9, 2024, from 11am - 4pm ET. Register today for the virtual event that will gather stakeholders across government, industry, academia, and non-profit organizations to engage on the objectives, progress, priorities, and future plans for the seventh DOE Energy Earthshot™.
U.S. CMS Collaborators Receive Approval for Massive Detector Upgrade
DOE has formally approved the start of full production for the $200 million DOE-funded contributions to the upgrade of the CMS experiment at CERN.
Magnesium Protects Tantalum, a Promising Material for Making Qubits
Scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory have discovered a thin-film coating prevents oxidation that impairs superconductivity & quantum coherence
In a Warming World, Climate Scientists Consider Category 6 Hurricanes
Researchers investigated a hypothetical Category 6 on the Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale - storms with wind speeds greater than 192 mph.

University and Stakeholder News

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Scientists Uncover Link Between the Ocean’s Weather and Global Climate
Using mechanical rather than statistical analysis, the team offers a new framework for understanding the climate system.
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UCLA Joins $42 Million Department of Energy Hubs to Advance Fusion Energy
Five UCLA physicists, engineers & materials scientists will partner with hubs led by Lawrence Livermore National Lab and the University of Rochester.
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Nanostructured Flat Lens Uses Machine Learning to 'See' More Clearly, While Using Less Power
The imagers are designed to work with a digital backend to off-load computationally expensive operations into high-speed and low-power optics.
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Illuminating the Source-Sink Balancing Act of Photosynthetic 'Tiny Green Bacteria'
The research implies that the central network regulating energy balance in cyanobacteria may rest on a relatively few regulatory proteins.
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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, $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