Quantum Chemistry Optimized Server

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is seeking to procure one Quantum Chemistry Optimized Server for their Thermodynamics Research Center Group at the Material Measurement Laboratory. The server must meet extensive technical specifications including dual-socket AMD EPYC 9355 CPUs with minimum 32 cores and 64 threads, 2304 GBytes of registered ECC RAM, multiple NVMe SSD storage drives, dual 10 Gb/s fiber-optic Ethernet ports, and FIPS 140-2/140-3 compliant encrypted storage in a 1U rackmount configuration running Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Linux. The procurement requires delivery within 60 days of award, with NIST staff handling installation and testing within 30 days of delivery, and the contractor must provide a minimum three-year warranty with optional additional warranty years. The evaluation will use the Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) method, where NIST will first assess technical capability on an acceptable/unacceptable basis and then select the lowest-priced quote that meets minimum technical requirements. The solicitation was posted on July 14, 2025, with quotes due by July 24, 2025, and must be submitted on company letterhead to lisa.stevens@nist.gov.

This procurement is set aside exclusively for small businesses under NAICS code 334419 with a size standard of 750 employees, and no incumbent contractors are identified in the solicitation documents. While no specific award value or budget range is disclosed, offerors must provide firm fixed pricing with Net 30 payment terms and demonstrate their technical capability to meet all contract requirements. The solicitation seeks exactly one server unit to be delivered within sixteen weeks after receipt of order, with performance taking place at NIST's Boulder, Colorado facility located at 80305. The server will upgrade NIST's computational infrastructure specifically for quantum chemistry and molecular dynamics calculations, addressing current hardware limitations in meeting data encryption requirements. Contractors must maintain active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) and comply with various federal regulations and NIST campus security protocols for any on-site work.