KS national security innovation center (knsic) will be a specialized high-security dry-lab and office space designed to enhance KU's ability to engage in federal research contracts, enable…

This $21,780,000 Project Grant award from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) under the Congressionally-Identified Projects (CFDA 11.617) program will support the construction and operation of the Kansas National Security Innovation Center (KNSIC) at the University of Kansas (KU) Innovation Park in Lawrence, Kansas. The KNSIC facility will be a 120,000 square-foot building comprising 60% high-security research space and 40% wet and "light" laboratory space. The center is designed to enhance KU's ability to engage in federal research contracts, enable collaborative research with defense and energy contractors, and commercialize KU technologies related to computing, cybersecurity, materials engineering, and sensing. The award, which runs from September 2024 to August 2026, will also enable the Innovation Park to recruit government agencies, federal laboratories, and R&D divisions of major federal contractors to establish a presence at the site. The project aims to expand KU's expertise in national security technologies, commercialize innovations, and create over 200 high-quality, high-paying jobs to support economic growth in the region.

Activities

Knsic will be built on the university of kansas west campus, located near the northwest quadrant of 23RD and iowa streets in lawrence, kansas, adjacent to the KU innovation park main facility and phase III buildings. IT will be built on approximately two acres of land owned by the KU endowment association and occupied by the park through a long term ground lease agreement. Design of the knsic facility is currently in development and projected to be an approximately 120,000 square-foot building comprising 60% high-security research space and 40% dedicated to wet and "light" laboratory space. Private tenant space design will be customized according to each individual entity's needs and suites will range in size from 2,000 to 15,000 square feet. The site will also include a separate weather balloon launching facility.

Expected outcomes

To expand and strengthen this foundational expertise and experience, and to better leverage these assets for economic development and the commercialization opportunities, money received for the project will support early-stage companies focused on developing technologies related to national security. Knsic will effectively combine university, government, private industry, and startup company resources and talent to develop and commercialize the technologies that will drive economic growth in the region over the next several decades. In addition to supporting KU's commercialization, the facility will house 6-10 private industry companies. These companies, in conjunction with KU's collaborative partnerships with federal agencies and private contractors, are projected to house over 200 jobs with an annual payroll of over $13,000,000 which will help KU innovation park further achieve its mission of attracting high quality, high-paying jobs to the community in order to expand and diversity of the local economies of lawrence and douglas county.

Intended beneficiaries

KU has been nationally recognized for over 60 years in the development of advanced radar technology. Over the past decade, KU has broadened the scope of its efforts in this area by developing sensor and cybersecurity expertise aimed at detecting and mitigating threats to support both the defense and commercial sectors. KU is one of only six universities nationwide to receive a national security agency (NSA) science of security lablet award, and NSA often references KU's industry advisory board as an important differentiating factor. The lablet award builds on KU's designation by the NSA and the department of homeland security as a national center of academic excellence in both cyber-defense education (CAE-CDE) and cyber research (CAE-r), which makes KU one of only 40 institutions in the united states to have this dual designation. In addition, KU has an NSF cybercorps scholarship for service award which has a focus on training security professionals to meet the critical needs of the cybersecurity missions of federal, state, and local agencies.

Subrecipient activities

The recipient does not intend to subaward funds.