As a new employee of the Department of Energy (DOE), you are entering a Cabinet-Level Executive Branch Agency with a long history of achievement. The DOE has won more R&D awards than any private sector organization, and twice as many as all other Federal agencies combined. As the nation's top sponsor of research on promising technologies, the Department is responsible for many key accomplishments in the fields of Alternative Fuel Vehicles, Biological and Environmental Research, Clean Power Technologies, Computers and Microelectronics, Energy Efficiency, Gene Research and Therapy, High Efficiency Vehicles, Material Sciences, Medical Technology, Nanoscience, Pollution Prevention, Renewable Energy, Solar Energy, and Transportation Technologies.

The Department's history can be traced to the Manhattan Project and the race to develop the atomic bomb during World War II. Soon after the war, the Atomic Energy Act of 1946 created the Atomic Energy Commission, which took over the Manhattan Engineer District's sprawling scientific and industrial complex. In response to changing needs in the mid 1970's, the Atomic Energy Commission was abolished and the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 created two new agencies: the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to regulate the nuclear power industry and the Energy Research and Development Administration to manage nuclear weapon, naval reactor, and energy development programs. However, the extended energy crisis of the 1970's soon demonstrated the need for unified energy organization and planning. The Department of Energy Organization Act brought the Federal government's agencies and programs into a single agency. The Department of Energy, activated on October 1, 1977, assumed the responsibilities of the Federal Energy Administration, the Energy Research and Development Administration, the Federal Power Commission, and parts and programs of several other agencies.

Today, the DOE contributes to the future of the nation by ensuring our energy security, maintaining the safety and reliability of our nuclear stockpile, cleaning up the environment from the legacy of the Cold War, and developing innovations in science and technology. For more information about the Department and the Program or Staff Office where you will be working, please visit the Department of Energy Home Page.

There are many benefits provided, and responsibilities entrusted, to you as a Federal employee. Please take time to read the material provided in this orientation program. Additional information will be provided at your Entrance-on-Duty orientation session.

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