The U.S. Department of Energy was created in 1977 by merging two agencies with different missions: the Atomic Energy Commission, which developed, tested and maintained the nation’s nuclear weapons, and the Energy Research and Development Administration, a collection of domestic energy research programs.
Today the department describes itself, with what some might call understatement, as “one of the most interesting and diverse agencies in the Federal government.” Its annual budget of roughly US$50 billion supports some 14,000 employees and 95,000 contractors.
