Overview
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 Nation’s 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 Government’s
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 makes extensive
use of peer review and federal advisory
committees to develop general directions for research
investments, to identify priorities, and to determine
the very best scientific proposals to support.
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. The other five are
single-program national laboratories: Ames
Laboratory, Fermi
National Accelerator Laboratory, Thomas
Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, Princeton
Plasma Physics Laboratory, and Stanford
Linear Accelerator Center.
The Office of Science oversees the construction
and operation of some of the Nation’s most advanced
R&D user
facilities, located at national laboratories and
universities. These include particle and nuclear physics
accelerators, synchrotron light sources, neutron scattering
facilities, supercomputers and high-speed computer networks.
Each year these facilities are used by
more than 18,000 researchers from universities, other
government agencies and private industry.
The Office of Science is a principal supporter
of graduate students and postdoctoral researchers early
in their careers. About 50 percent of its research funding
goes to support research at 250 colleges, universities,
and institutes nationwide.
The Office of Science also reaches out
to America’s youth in grades K-12 and their teachers
to help improve students’ knowledge of science
and mathematics and their understanding of global energy
and environmental challenges.
To attract and encourage students to choose
an education in the sciences and engineering, the Office
of Science also supports the National Science Bowl,
an educational competition for high school students
involving all branches of science. Each year, over 12,000
students participate in the contest, and some 300 finalists
typically prepare for months to attend the national
event in Washington, DC.
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