The Department of Energy's Office of Science Materials Sciences and Engineering subprogram supports research on molecularly tailored nanostructured materials, stress corrosion and corrosion fatigue, interfacial dynamics during heterogeneous deformation, irradiation assisted stress corrosion cracking, bulk defect and defect processing in ceramics, chemistry and physics of ceramic surfaces and interfacial deformation mechanisms in aluminum alloys. 

Through the Materials Sciences subprogram, DOE extends the frontiers of materials sciences and engineering to expand the scientific foundations for the development of materials that improve the efficiency, economy, environmental acceptability, and safety in energy generation, conversion, transmission, and use.   This subprogram also plans, constructs, and operates the major x-ray scattering and neutron scattering scientific user facilities.

The Material Sciences subprogram supports basic research to understand the atomistic basis of materials properties and behavior and how to make materials perform better at acceptable cost through new methods of synthesis and processing.   Basic research is supported in magnetic materials, semiconductors, superconductors, metals, ceramics, alloys, polymers, metallic glasses, ceramic matrix composites, catalytic materials, surface science, corrosion, neutron and x-ray scattering, chemical and physical properties, welding and joining, non-destructive evaluation, electron beam microcharacterization, nanotechnology and microsystems, fluid dynamics and heat transfer in materials, nonlinear systems, and new instrumentation.

This Materials Sciences subprogram is a premier sponsor of condensed matter and materials physics in the U.S., is the primary supporter of the Basic Energy Sciences user facilities, and is responsible for the construction of the Spallation Neutron Source.