National Strategic Research Institute
Katelyn Ideus, January 28, 2021
National Strategic Research Institute expands to NIC to increase engagement with NU
The National Strategic Research Institute at the University of Nebraska has opened a satellite office at Nebraska Innovation Campus to more closely collaborate with NU researchers and students.
As COVID restrictions lift and on-campus activities ramp up, NSRI will use its office suite and other NIC spaces to host meetings and events and provide collaboration space to NSRI team members traveling in from across the country to work with NU colleagues in person.
“It is important that our institute has the opportunity to interact with researchers and students regularly, so we can continually understand the scope of their work and the opportunities the university has to serve our Department of Defense customers,” said Maj. Gen. USAF (ret.) Rick Evans, NSRI interim executive director. “Nebraska Innovation Campus is designed to facilitate exactly what NSRI is all about — big ideas, hard work and collaboration.”
NSRI is one of just 14 University Affiliated Research Centers in the country designated by the Department of Defense. With NU researchers and students as well as academic and private partners, the institute helps the DOD and other federal agencies meet evolving national security objectives in multiple domains through research, development and training.
Since it was established in 2012, NSRI has received $298 million in contract and grant awards from the DOD and other federal government agencies, collaborating with hundreds of NU researchers and students to deliver on 122 contracts.
In fall 2020, the institute received a $92 million contract ceiling and UARC designation renewal from its sponsor, the U.S. Strategic Command. NSRI is also ranked eighth in Nebraska for top defense contractors, according to the Fiscal Year 2019 Defense Spending by State report published by the DOD’s Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation.
This is the fifth location for the institute, which is headquartered at Scott Technology Center in Omaha. The Fredericksburg Field Office and Laboratory in Fredericksburg, Virginia, National Capital Region Laboratory and Conference Center in Annapolis Junction, Maryland, and Space Coast Field Office in Melbourne, Florida, position the institute to host, execute and expand scientific and engineering projects efficiently for federal sponsors.
NSRI’s recent collaborations with the University of Nebraska–Lincoln include:
- Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary’s visit
- UNL wargame hosted by NSRI
- $10.3 million contract to investigate chemical, biological threats, countermeasures
“We are proud to be part of NSRI’s continued strategic growth,” said Dan Duncan, NIC executive director. “To be home to this institute, which works tirelessly to connect the DOD with university experts to meet their missions, is a small contribution to a much greater purpose.”
