Navigating the Science Funding Landscape: Role of Multi-sector Partnerships

Collaboration is key to scientific advancement. Several fields of science, including fusion and plasma science, are now seeing growing multi-sector partnerships, including unprecedented private investment in the fusion energy sector. Based on my experience as an academic leader and former director of the DOE Office of Science, I will discuss potential implications of this evolving multi-sector partnership landscape for scientific progress. I will discuss strategies for productive collaboration that leverage private capital while preserving the rigorous, peer-reviewed research culture essential for addressing critical knowledge gaps that hold the key to translating basic research into applications.