Department of Energy Office of Science

The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, providing more than 40 percent of total funding for this vital area of national importance. It oversees and is the principal federal funding agency of the Nations research programs in high-energy physics, nuclear physics, and fusion energy sciences. The Office of Science manages fundamental research programs in basic energy sciences, biological and environmental sciences, and computational science. In addition, the Office of Science is the Federal Governments largest single funder of materials and chemical sciences, and it supports unique and vital parts of U.S. research in climate change, geophysics, genomics, life sciences, and science education. The Office of Science manages this research portfolio through five interdisciplinary program offices: Advanced Scientific Computing Research, Basic Energy Sciences, Biological and Environmental Research, Fusion Energy Sciences, and High Energy Physics and Nuclear Physics. In addition, the Office of Science sponsors a range of science education initiatives through its Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists program. The Office of Science also manages 10 world-class laboratories, which often are called the crown jewels of our national research infrastructure. The national laboratory system, created over a half-century ago, is the most comprehensive research system of its kind in the world. Five are multi-program facilities: Argonne National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory