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The Under Secretary for Science and Innovation, formerly the Under Secretary for Science and Energy, is a high-ranking position within the
United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United States ...
. The position was created by the
Energy Policy Act of 2005 The Energy Policy Act of 2005 () is a federal law signed by President George W. Bush on August 8, 2005, at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The act, described by proponents as an attempt to combat growing energy probl ...
, and the first Under Secretary for Science,
Raymond L. Orbach Raymond Lee Orbach (born 1934) is an American physicist and administrator. He served as Under Secretary for Science in the United States Department of Energy from 2006 until 2009, when he was replaced by Steven E. Koonin. Until his resignation i ...
, was sworn in on June 1, 2006. The under secretary is appointed by the
president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...
and confirmed by the
United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...
. In March 2009,
Steven E. Koonin Steven Elliot Koonin (born December 12, 1951) is an American theoretical physicist and former director of the Center for Urban Science and Progress at New York University. He is also a professor in the Department of Civil and Urban Engineering at ...
was nominated to replace Orbach. Franklin (Lynn) M. Orr was sworn in as the Under Secretary for Science and Energy on December 17, 2014, and served in this position through the end of the Obama administration. The most recent under secretary was
Paul Dabbar Paul M. Dabbar (born July 8, 1967) is an American investment banker and government official who served as Under Secretary of Energy for Science. Prior to assuming his current role, he was the managing director for mergers & acquisitions at J.P. M ...
. The under secretary serves as the
Secretary of Energy The United States secretary of energy is the head of the United States Department of Energy, a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and fifteenth in the presidential line of succession. The position was created on October 1, 1977, when Pr ...
's Science and Technology advisor, monitors the Department of Energy's research and development programs, and advises the secretary on any gaps or duplications in them. The under secretary advises the secretary on the management and the state of the national laboratories overseen by the department. The under secretary also advises the secretary on the department's educational and training activities. Other aspects include advising the secretary on the coordinating and planning of research activities, advising the secretary on financial assistance for research activities, and carrying out additional duties assigned by the secretary, including supervising and supporting the lower-ranking Assistant Secretaries' research activities. In the words of the Act, the under secretary is required to have "extensive background in science or engineering fields," and to be "well qualified to manage the civilian research and development programs of the Department." The office was reorganized in 2022 to include the Assistant Secretary of Energy (Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy), Assistant Secretary of Energy (Fossil Energy and Carbon Management), Assistant Secretary of Energy (Electricity), and Assistant Secretary of Energy (Nuclear Energy), among other programs.


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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Under Secretary Of Energy For Science