Department of Energy Office of Science

Rule Changes

Received $8.4B for FY2026, a 2% increase despite proposed cuts

Congress preserved federal science budgets for 2026, rejecting President Trump's proposed cuts of 40% to 57%. The administration has kept pressing through agency actions. The National Science Foundation diverted $1.4 billion from its research account and awarded no new grants in economics or archaeology this year.

Updated Nov 3

New Capabilities

As of May 2026: Primary U.S. funder of superconductor research

Scientists just cracked a problem that's plagued superconductor research for decades: how to make these wonder materials work without crushing them under diamond-anvil pressures. In February 2025, teams at SLAC and Stanford stabilized nickelate superconductors at everyday pressure using substrate compression, while University of Houston researchers locked in a superconducting state using a rapid pressure-release technique.

Updated May 19