James F. Decker

Dr. Decker is the former Principal Deputy Director of the Office of Science at the U.S. Department of Energy, a position that he held for 21 years. The Office of Science is one of the premier science organizations in the federal government supporting research in nearly every scientific discipline. The Office of Science also has responsibility for 10 Department of Energy laboratories and the construction and operation of major scientific facilities that serve the U.S. and international research communities. As the top career official in the Office of Science, Dr. Decker was the acting director of the office between Presidential Appointees on numerous occasions for a total of nearly 7 years.

During Dr. Decker’s tenure at the Department of Energy, he played a key role in the successful funding and management of the construction of a number of large scientific facilities including synchrotron light sources, accelerators and neutron sources. He was also instrumental in developing and obtaining funding for a number of scientific initiatives including high performance computing, human genome sequencing and nanotechnology. Dr. Decker testified before Congress over thirty times on various issues related to the Department of Energy’s missions. He also represented the U.S. in many international forums and negotiations on international scientific collaborations.

Dr. Decker was recognized for management excellence with the Presidential Distinguished Executive Award and with two Presidential Meritorious Executive Awards. He also received the Department of Energy’s highest award, the Secretary’s Gold Medal, and the National Nuclear Security Agency’s Gold Medal.

Since joining Dave Garman and John Sullivan in the formation of Decker, Garman, Sullivan & Associates, LLC, Dr. Decker has provided strategic and tactical advice on obtaining federal research funding and research management to universities, industry and national laboratories. Dr. Decker serves on the Secretary of Energy’s Advisory Board Task Force on the National Laboratories. He also serves on advisory boards at Michigan State University, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Dr. Decker holds a B.S. in physics from Union College and M.S. and Ph. D. degrees in physics from Yale University.