In the history of the Human Genome Program, Dr. Charles DeLisi and Dr. Alvin Trivelpiece of the Department of Energy (DOE) were instrumental in moving the seeds of the program forward. This May 1986 memo from DeLisi to Trivelpiece, director of DOE's Office of Energy Research, documents this fact. Following the March 1986 Santa Fe workshop on the subject of mapping and sequencing the human genome, Delisi's memo outlines workshop conclusions, explains the relevance of this project to DOE and the importance of the Department's laboratories and capabilities, notes the critical experience of DOE in managing projects of this scale and potential magnitude, and recognizes the fact that the project will impact biomedical science in ways which could not be fully anticipated at the time. Subsequently, program guidance was further sought from the DOE Health Effects Research Advisory Committee (HERAC) and the April 1987 HERAC report recommmended that DOE and the nation commit to a large, multidisciplinary, scientific and technological undertaking to map and sequence the human genome.