Issue: ORN-2026-05

Energy Department Announces Members of the Office of Science Advisory Committee, Strengthening Gold Standard Science in America

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the chair and members of the newly established Office of Science Advisory Committee (SCAC), a unified advisory body that will provide independent advice on complex scientific and technical challenges across the Department’s Office of Science. The announcement advances the Department’s implementation of President Trump’s Executive Order Restoring Gold Standard Science as the cornerstone of federal research—ensuring that the Department and its National Laboratory systems' science is collaborative, transparent, and guided by evidence to rebuild public trust in science. As DOE modernizes and strengthens its scientific enterprise, SCAC will provide expert input to help inform priorities, improve coordination, and address cross-cutting research challenges across the Office of Science.

Members of SCAC, appointed by Under Secretary Gil, represent the full breadth of Office of Science research, drawing expertise from leaders across academia, industry, science philanthropy, and the Department's National Laboratories. The Committee will help the Office of Science adapt to a rapidly evolving research landscape and address interdisciplinary challenges in a streamlined and flexible manner. It will also provide advice on initiatives that are priorities for the entire Office, including the Genesis Mission, scientific discovery, fusion energy, and quantum science.

SCAC will be chaired by Persis Drell, professor of materials science and engineering and physics at Stanford University, provost emerita of Stanford, and director emerita of SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. The Committee will adopt the core functions of the Office of Science’s six former discretionary advisory committees. Any current charged responsibilities of these former committees will transfer to SCAC, providing a single, coordinated source of independent expert advice. A full list of the 21 SCAC members is available here.

_____________________________

FY 2026 R&D Appropriations: Final R&D Report

With all twelve conferenced appropriations bills released, and eleven of them now signed into law (six at time of writing, and the numbers remained the same), this report aims to indicate the impact of the bills on the federal R&D ecosystem. This report will use the funding levels in the bills to estimate the funding that will go directly to the performance of R&D, as well as highlight the discretionary funding at a selection of R&D-intensive agencies.  The data in this report and the associated R&D appropriations dashboard come from a variety of sources, but the research and development (R&D) estimates are compiled from data provided through the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and select agency documents for additional detail. The final estimates are calculated by scaling the fiscal year (FY) 2026 request numbers up or down based on the conferenced numbers provided in bill text and report language for each program. The numbers provided in the Agency Highlights section are pulled directly from bill text and report language. 

            The final numbers include a slight increase for the National Institutes of Health, a 26.5% increase for the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and flat funding or relatively small reductions to other major science agencies. Check out our newly released report and this graphic to see the details for R&D-intensive agencies versus the proposed drastic cuts from the President’s Budget Request.

Download the Report