The U.S. Department of Energy supports basic research that underpins each of its missions, and constructs and operates large scientific facilities for the U.S. science community. DOE research teams utilize expertise and facilities across the nation, and increasingly around the world as well.

Through collaboratories, researchers can share access to facilities, large datasets and environments, support the frequent interactions needed to address complex problems, and speed up discovery and innovation.

Therefore, DOE is promoting the advancement of collaboratories through a series of research projects in the Mathematical, Information, and Computational Sciences Division, both as a major component of the Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC) program, and as an element of the MICS base program.

These projects are providing the essential infrastructure, middleware technologies, and collaboatory experience needed to bring collaboratories into the mainstream of day-to-day research in DOE and elsewhere.