Dr. Raymond Orbach leads the Office of Science at the
U.S. Department of Energy, where he coordinates and manages
the department’s basic scientific research. As the nation’s
first under secretary for science, he also serves as the chief
scientific and technology advisor to the secretary of energy,
monitoring the department’s research and development programs,
the management of its national laboratories, and its
technology transfer activities. In his dual role, he manages an
organization that is the largest source of federal funding for
basic research in the physical sciences, providing about 40
percent of total funding over the past three years. In comparison,
this is roughly twice the funding from the National
Science Foundation for basic research in the physical sciences.
With this investment, the department works to improve
U.S. global competitiveness, energy security, the environment,
and our fundamental understanding of the universe.