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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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.
Kalinin Receives Microanalysis Society Award
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory joint appointee Sergei Kalinin has earned the Peter Duncumb Award for excellence in microanalysis.
Springing Simulations Forward with Quantum Computing
Researchers developed an algorithm with exponential advantage for simulating systems of coupled masses and springs on quantum computers.
Theoretical Physicist Dekrayat Almaalol Receives 2024 Leona Woods Lectureship Award
The postdoctoral theorist is recognized for her work in hydrodynamic simulations, shedding light on the earliest moments after the big bang.

University and Stakeholder News

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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.
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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.
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New Findings Reveal Clearer Picture of Expanding Universe
The DESI collaboration consists of 900+ researchers from around the world, engaged in a multiyear experiment to increase understanding of the cosmos.
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A New Estimate of U.S. Soil Organic Carbon to Improve Earth System Models
Environmental scientists combined field-level data with machine-learning techniques to estimate soil organic carbon at the U.S. continental scale.
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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