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
Bringing Compact Particle Accelerators to Industry
Scientists aim to combine cryogenic and superconducting technologies in the development of compact accelerator prototypes for commercial applications.
ORNL’s Tourassi Named IEEE Fellow
Gina Tourassi is the associate laboratory director for computing & computational sciences at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Brighter, Whiter Snow Could Help Offset Global Warming. PNNL Scientists Study Why
Significant curtailing of carbon dioxide emissions would still result in loss of snowpack, but the cleaner snow cut that loss in half.
PIP-II Team Successfully Transports First Cryomodule Between U.K. and Fermilab
The fully equipped prototype of a cryomodule is one of the many components that will be part of the new linear particle accelerator at Fermilab.

University and Stakeholder News

VIEW ALL
Rare and Diverse Giant Viruses Unexpectedly Found in a Forest Soil Ecosystem
Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the Department of Energy's Joint Genome Institute describe 16 new large-DNA virus species.
Learn more
Federal Physics Advisory Panel Recommends Groundbreaking Strategies for U.S. Investment in Particle Physics Research
The P5 report consisted of a panel of about 30 scientists worldwide, including University of New Mexico Assistant Professor Francis-Yan Cyr-Racine.
Learn more
New Solar Cell Shows Promise for Harnessing More Sunlight
A new type of solar cell that might be used in tandem with current commercial solar cell technologies would improve solar conversion efficiency.
Learn more
Rice Engineers Tackle Hard-to-Map Class of Materials
Scientists mapped out the structural features of a 2D ferroelectric material made of Sn & Se atoms, showing how domains impact the material’s behavior
Learn more

Recently Featured Articles

VIEW ALL

Science Highlights

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