Facing our Energy Challenges in a New Era of Science

As our nation and the world face daunting challenges in energy supply and the environmental consequences of energy use, how can basic science contribute to transforming the way in which we generate and use energy? How can we use the power of modern science, notably chemical physics, to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable energy future? In this talk, I shall present some of the current strategic thinking from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences (BES). In particular, I shall present how the department is approaching the entire R{\&}D spectrum for energy technologies and how BES engages the scientific community to identify basic research needs for advancing energy technologies.