Leadership

The Office of Science is a Program Office within the Department of Energy. The Office is led by a Presidentially-nominated, Senate-confirmed Director and three senior career federal Deputy Directors.

Dr. Chris Fall was confirmed by the Senate in May of 2019 as Director of the Department of Energy Office of Science. The Office of Science is the nation's largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences and is responsible for 10 of the 17 DOE national laboratories.

Before leading the Office of Science, Fall served as a Senior Advisor to the Undersecretary for Energy and as Acting Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). Fall came to DOE from the Office of Naval Research (ONR), where he served as Acting Chief Scientist and Lead for the Research Directorate, Deputy Director of Research, Director of the International Liaison Office, and the ONR Innovation Fellow. Fall also served for three years in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy as Assistant Director for Defense Programs and then as Acting Lead for the National Security and International Affairs Division.

Fall came to government service from academia, where his focus was basic neurobiology and bioengineering. Fall earned a Ph.D. in Neuroscience and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Virginia, and an MBA from Northwestern University.

J. Stephen (Steve) Binkley is the Principal Deputy Director in the Office of Science (SC) at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). In this capacity, Dr. Binkley is the senior career science official in the Office of Science, which is third largest Federal sponsor of basic research in the United States, the primary supporter of the physical sciences in the U.S., and one of the premier science organizations in the world.

As the Principal Deputy Director of SC, Dr. Binkley serves as the principal overall advisor to the Director on all aspects of the Office of Science. Dr. Binkley determines the financial and personnel resources needed to achieve mission objectives and support mission operations; oversees and directs the internal organization, staffing, policies, and personnel authorities required to carry out the responsibilities of the organization, including the recruitment of senior managers and technical experts necessary to ensure the success of the programs. He ensures that program activities are strategically conceived and executed to maximize the benefit to organization, the Department, and the United States. Dr. Binkley also serves as the champion for crosscutting issues that affect more than one program office and special research initiatives of priority to Director and the Department leadership.

Dr. Binkley has held senior positions at Sandia National Laboratories, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Department of Energy. He has conducted research in theoretical chemistry, materials science, computer science, applied mathematics, and microelectronics. At Sandia, Dr. Binkley managed computer science, fundamental chemistry, combustion science, and chemically reacting flow organizations. He also has served as the manager for the Office of Science’s Combustion Research Facility, at Sandia's Livermore, California location. Dr. Binkley managed Sandia's Office of Science Program, comprising activities in materials science, chemistry, geoscience, magnetic fusion energy, atmospheric measurement technology, and scientific computing at Sandia’s New Mexico and California locations. He also managed activities in Sandia’s national security program, including distributed information systems technology.

At DOE, Dr. Binkley served as a technical advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Defense Programs (subsequently the Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs after the establishment of the National Nuclear Security Administration). At DHS, Dr. Binkley served as the deputy director for technology within the DHS Operations Directorate, where he led and managed the development of systems for monitoring and disseminating situational awareness to federal, state, and local law-enforcement organizations and for coordinating emergency response activities. Returning to DOE in 2006, Dr. Binkley served as a senior technical advisor to the Under Secretary for Science and the Director of the Office of Science.

As head of SC’s Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research, Dr. Binkley served as one of the Associate Directors for the Office of Science, and was responsible for the overall management of the ASCR program including: strategic planning; budget formulation and execution; project management; program integration with other Office of Science activities and with the DOE technology offices; and interagency integration.

Dr. Harriet Kung is the Deputy Director for Science Programs in the Office of Science (SC) at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The SC mission is to deliver the scientific discoveries and major scientific tools that transform our understanding of nature and advance the energy, economic, and national security of the United States. SC accomplishes its mission and advances national goals by supporting the frontiers of basic research, the world’s largest suite of major scientific user facilities, and science for energy and the environment.

As Deputy Director for Science Programs, Dr. Kung is the senior career official providing scientific and management direction and oversight for the SC research programs, including Advanced Scientific Computing Research, Basic Energy Sciences, Biological and Environmental Research, Fusion Energy Sciences, High Energy Physics, and Nuclear Physics. Dr. Kung also provides management direction and oversight of the Offices of Science Communications and Public Affairs, Scientific and Technical Information, Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists, and Grants and Contracts Support.

Dr. Kung served as the SC Associate Director of Science for Basic Energy Sciences (BES) from June 2008 to April 2020 and as the Materials Sciences and Engineering (MSE) Division Director in BES from 2004 to 2008. During her tenure in BES, Dr. Kung led a number of strategic planning activities to define scientific research directions for science-to-technology pathways and was instrumental in the success of interagency collaborations, DOE research integration efforts, and international coordination activities. Under her leadership, BES pursued new funding modalities in advancing the science for the energy research agenda, including the establishment of Energy Frontier Research Centers and two Energy Innovation Hubs, and successfully delivered nearly $2 billion of construction projects within the designed scope on time and budget.

Before joining DOE in 2002 as a program manager in MSE, Dr. Kung was a technical staff member and a project leader at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Her research focused primarily on nanoscale materials and high temperature superconductivity. She has published approximately 100 refereed papers and has given over 50 invited technical presentations.

Dr. Kung received her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering with a minor in Applied and Engineering Physics from Cornell University. She is the recipient of numerous awards including the DOE Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship award, several performance and leadership service awards at LANL, and the Presidential Meritorious Executive Rank Award in 2009.

Juston Fontaine is the Deputy Director for Field Operations in the Office of Science (SC) at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). In this capacity Mr. Fontaine is responsible for management and operational oversight of the Office of Science field complex, including 10 national laboratories executing leading scientific research and development. In addition, Mr. Fontaine provides executive leadership for operations support provide by the Office of Science’s Consolidated Service Center and Headquarters organizations, which provide essential business and technical support to the Department’s national laboratories and scientific research programs. This portfolio includes strategic planning and management of the Science Laboratories Infrastructure program.  

Mr. Fontaine has over 15 years of experience with the Department of Energy, serving in a variety of roles to provide leadership and coordination on a wide range of complex operational and technical issues, as well as oversight of agency programs and operations. Prior to joining the Office of Science, Mr. Fontaine was the Chief of Staff for the Office of the Under Secretary for Management and Performance. In this capacity, he led day-to-day operations of the Office of the Under Secretary, coordinating project management and the mission support functions of the Department, and overseeing the safe cleanup of the environmental legacy brought about from nuclear weapons development and government-sponsored nuclear energy research. Mr. Fontaine served a key role in the development of Departmental strategic planning efforts and innovative business solutions to support organizational improvement. In this role, Mr. Fontaine was responsible for the strategic development and coordination of the Office of the Under Secretary’s nearly $7 billion budget portfolio. 

Mr. Fontaine joined the Department of Energy in 2004, initially serving as an Inspector with the Department’s Office of Inspector General. Subsequently, as Special Assistant to the Inspector General, he conducted oversight of Department of Energy operations, assessed programmatic efficiency and effectiveness, and managed the development and dissemination of external communications with senior agency officials, Congress, and external entities. During this period, Mr. Fontaine also served as an Investigator for the Committee on Appropriations, Surveys and Investigations Division, where he was responsible for leading bipartisan investigations of specific current or emerging issues facing government agencies.