- Vision [1]
- We envision a future where our contributions to the physical, biological, and environmental sciences have transformed the
world as we know it. Our discoveries have changed forever how we provide for life’s most basic needs — and how we view our
own existence within a complex, ever-changing universe. By 2023, our science will have helped us achieve a large measure of
energy independence. The energy intensity of our economy decreases, and energy sources are now more plentiful and clean. There
is a new, more competitive menu of renewable energy sources, a safer generation of nuclear power, a hydrogen-based energy
storage utilization infrastructure, and an efficient energy distribution network that is greatly enhanced by breakthroughs
in nano-designed materials, computation, and other relevant fields of science. Having completed key experiments, the promise
of fusion power — lean, almost limitless energy — is closer than ever. We see a world where our science provides enduring
solutions to the environmental challenges posed by growing world populations and energy use. New, cost-effective approaches,
some based on the use of engineered microbes, enable us to tackle some of our most intractable cleanup problems. On a global
scale, we have a clearer picture of the complex process of climate change, and we have solutions in hand made possible through
the biological and environmental sciences, and in particular, through genomics. Through 2023, our science will sustain critical
growth and strength in the U.S. economy. During this period, entirely new industries will be created, and virtually all industries
will benefit through the enormously broad reach of breakthroughs in energy and the physical sciences. Our mastery of catalysis,
nano-assembly, self-replicating, and complex systems will not only increase our industrial efficiency, but it will create
entirely new opportunities for harnessing the power of our material world. Science fiction will give way to science fact as
medical miracles unfold and a new set of promises arises to fill the void. DOE will continue to capitalize on its strengths
at the nexus of the physical and life sciences, delivering the nanoscience, biology, precision engineering, and advanced computation
that will “close the deal” in these developments and secure our valued contributing role in medical science. Restoring sight
to the blind with microassembled retinal implants will start the journey, with the next stop, hope for those with spinal cord
injuries. As the future unfolds, not only do our citizens enjoy an improved quality of life, but they are more secure. Our
Nation is more secure. DOE science will have provided the science behind innovations in monitors, sensors, computational analysis,
structures, materials, and countless areas that help to provide early threat detection and protect those that we serve. In
the not-too-distant future, our universe will seem more familiar to us, and the mysterious properties of matter and energy
less complex. Our pursuit of answers to some of the most persistent questions of science will have revealed important secrets
and assured U.S. intellectual leadership in key areas of science and mathematics. At the end of the day, we envision a future
where our discoveries have resulted in improved benefits to mankind,whether it was to light the night, heat a home, transport
food, cure an illness, or to see and understand the beginning of time itself.
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