Mission
BER advances world-class biological and environmental research programs and scientific user facilities to support DOE’s energy, environment, and basic research missions. Mission priorities:
- Develop biofuels as a major secure national energy resource
- Understand relationships between climate change and Earth’s ecosystems, and assess options for carbon sequestration
- Predict fate and transport of subsurface contaminants
- Develop new tools to explore the interface of biological and physical sciences
Organizational Structure
- Biological Systems Science Division (BSSD) - supports fundamental research and technology development to achieve a predictive, systems-level understanding of complex biological systems to advance DOE missions in energy, climate, and environment.
- Climate and Environmental Sciences Division (CESD) - supports fundamental research to achieve a predictive, systems-level understanding of climate change, as well as subsurface contaminant fate and transport, to advance DOE missions in energy, climate, and environment.
Research Activities Since initiating the Human Genome Project in 1986, BER has spearheaded the development of modern genomics-based systems biology and played a major role in seeding and fostering the contemporary biotechnology revolution, while at the same time supporting forefront research on the impacts of energy production and use on climate change. BER’s research program, closely aligned with DOE mission goals, aims at understanding complex biological and environmental systems across many spatial and temporal scales, from the sub-micron to the global, from individual molecules to ecosystems, from nanoseconds to millennia, to develop predictive knowledge relevant to DOE mission challenges. Two areas vital to the Nation’s energy security and environmental future lie at the core of the BER research agenda: developing cost-effective cellulosic biofuels and improving our ability to understand, predict, and mitigate the impacts of energy production and use on climate change.
Strategic Plan and Long Term Measures