Profile: Harriet Kung is the Deputy Director for Science Programs in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science and a nationally recognized leader in materials science, condensed‑matter physics, and federal research strategy. She earned her B.S. in Physics from Stanford University and her Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Cornell University, where she specialized in advanced characterization of quantum and nanoscale materials. Before assuming her current role, Kung served as Director of the Office of Basic Energy Sciences, overseeing one of the world’s largest portfolios in materials, chemical, and energy research. She has been a strong partner to the American Chemical Society through DOE‑supported user facilities and major chemical sciences initiatives. Kung’s leadership continues to shape U.S. scientific priorities, large‑scale research infrastructure, and transformative materials discovery.

Bio: Harriet Kung is a distinguished American physicist and Deputy Director for Science Programs in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science, where she has served since 2020 as the senior career official providing scientific and management direction and oversight for the Office’s research portfolio. She oversees programs in Advanced Scientific Computing Research, Basic Energy Sciences, Biological and Environmental Research, Fusion Energy Sciences, High Energy Physics, and Nuclear Physics.

Her leadership centers on pioneering team-science approaches to basic research and spearheading decade-long strategic planning initiatives to advance DOE’s science and energy missions, with key contributions to interdisciplinary collaboration, the integration of quantum technologies across disciplines, and the effective use of scientific user facilities.

Kung received her M.S. (1987) and Ph.D. (1991) in Materials Science and Engineering from Cornell University. She began her career as a research fellow at the University of Michigan and later worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where her research focused on nanoscale materials and high-temperature superconductivity. She joined the Department of Energy in 2002, advancing through leadership roles in Basic Energy Sciences—the largest program in the Office of Science—and serving as its Associate Director from 2008 to 2020.Her honors include the Presidential Meritorious Executive Rank Award (2009) and the Presidential Distinguished Executive Rank Award (2022).

2026 CME NASA Symposium Abstract – Science for Energy in the Age of AI

As we approach the middle of the 21st century, the society as a whole will continue to develop more advanced energy technologies that are abundant, affordable, and sustainable. Transforming the ways we generate, supply, transmit, store, and use energy are the paramount opportunities for the world in the coming decades. To realize these new energy technologies requires the development of new materials and chemical processes with unprecedented functionality and performance. The advent of combining artificial intelligence with scientific discovery has shown the potential for vastly accelerating the pace of innovation, which is critical for meeting future energy challenges. The Department of Energy recently announced the Genesis Mission, which is a national initiative to build the world’s most powerful scientific platform to harness AI to accelerate discovery science, drive energy innovation, and strengthen national security. This presentation will provide an overview of DOE’s Office of Science, which is the nation’s largest federal sponsor of basic research in the physical sciences and for decades has been a major supporter of basic research in physics, materials science, and chemistry. This talk will also cover key aspects of our portfolio in energy technologies, as well as provide insights into the ways in which the Genesis Mission will impact scientific discovery and innovation in energy technologies to strengthen our nation’s energy security and economic prosperity.