Using federated search technology, Science.gov serves as a gateway to United States government scientific and technical information and research.

Science.gov 1.0[5] was launched in December 2002, providing for the first time wide public access and a unified search of the government's stores of scientific and technical information.

This technology, funded by the Department of Energy, helps users sort through the government's research and return results relevant to individual needs.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham and Director of the Office of Science Dr. Raymond L. Orbach both remarked positively on the launch of Science.gov 2.0 on May 11, 2004.

[13] The Oak Ridger covered the release[14] as did UPI,[15] Open Access News,[16] Federal Computer Week,[17] Econtent,[18] and SLA Government Information Division.

[22] The web page search function is provided by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and the "Explore Selected Science Websites by Topic" portion of the site is maintained by the CENDI Secretariat.

The Science.gov website is hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI), located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, which also supplies the site's "deep web search" capability.