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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Science Bowl Returns
The regional high school competition will be held in-person at Jefferson Lab on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024; middle school on Saturday, March 2, 2024.
Alexander Zholents Recognized with 2023 Dieter Möhl Award
Zholents is a senior physicist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Lab and distinguished fellow in the Accelerator Systems division.
Fermi Mission Creates 14-Year Time-Lapse of the Gamma-Ray Sky
Supermassive black holes at the hearts of distant galaxies – and even our own sun – shine in the new movie.
Progress Made on Sophisticated Sensors for the International ITER Fusion Facility
The completed diagnostics will probe the plasma, an electrically charged soup of electrons and atomic nuclei.

University and Stakeholder News

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Department of Physics Awarded $1.8M from U.S. Department of Energy
Five faculty members from the Oklahoma State University Department of Physics have been awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.
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Physical Review Letters Paper Examines the Elusive Nature of Nitrogen-9
Nitrogen-9 represents the first known case of a nucleus that decays by emitting five protons from its ground-state.
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YSU Professor’s High Energy Physics Pattern Recognition Project Receives DOE Grant
The grant, made possible through the Funding for Accelerated, Inclusive Research (FAIR) initiative, was awarded to Youngstown State's Alina Lazar.
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Lightening the Load: Beckman Researchers Develop Autonomous Electrochemistry Robot
Researchers have developed an automated laboratory robot to run complex electrochemical experiments and analyze data.
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Recently Featured Articles

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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