Sonoma State University

Sonoma State University, located in Rohnert Park, California, is a public, state-controlled institution of higher learning and Hispanic Serving Institution within the California State University system. Through its Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, the university serves as a prime recipient of federal contract and grant awards to support research, education, and community engagement initiatives. The institution leverages expertise across multiple disciplines including biology, computer science, environmental science, physics, anthropology, and engineering to advance federal agency missions and provide valuable research and educational services to the government.

Sonoma State University has received multiple federal contract awards primarily focused on research and communications support through grants and other transaction agreements. The university's contract work has centered on space science communications and outreach, including two awards totaling approximately $600,000 supporting communications and outreach efforts for NASA's Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope and Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, with completion dates extending through 2028. Additional contract work includes a $499,527 Other Transaction Agreement from the Office of the Secretary of Defense for the STORM Prototype project, which developed guidance and tools for identifying and mitigating risk in the design and deployment of artificial intelligence-enabled capabilities. The university also received a $99,229 research grant from NASA for developing a web-based application for animal species detection and monitoring using bioacoustics and artificial intelligence, and a $24,696 sole-source purchase order from the Bureau of Land Management for archaeological collection curation services at the Humboldt Harbor Lighthouse site. The majority of these awards carry no set-aside designations and are classified as grants for research or other transaction agreements, demonstrating the university's capacity to conduct specialized work that aligns with federal agency priorities.

Sonoma State University maintains an extensive portfolio of federal grant awards spanning research, education, and student support programs across numerous funding agencies. The institution has received substantial grants from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration totaling over $1.3 million for projects including the Eclipse Megamovie 2024 project characterizing solar corona plasma flows, bioacoustics and remote sensing research for habitat-animal diversity, and tree biodiversity mapping using terrestrial laser scanning technology. The National Science Foundation has awarded the university approximately $2.1 million for initiatives including the ChemCompute computational chemistry gateway for undergraduate education, virtual field experiences for science learning, extended reality in STEM courses, and graduate research fellowship support. The Department of Education's Office of Postsecondary Education has provided over $4.4 million in grants supporting TRIO programs including Student Support Services, Upward Bound, Academic Talent Search, and the Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence for teacher preparation and diversity recruitment. Additional grants include $8.7 million from the Education Innovation and Research program for scaling the STEMACES model for science learning, $1 million from the National Endowment for the Humanities for climate futurism professional development institutes for teachers, and approximately $300,000 from the Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women for interpersonal violence prevention initiatives. The university also receives grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Office of Naval Research, and the National Park Service for diverse initiatives ranging from cultural resource preservation and film programming to marine mammal research and volcanic field mapping. As a sub-grantee, Sonoma State has participated in collaborative research networks including the Interplanetary Magnetic Field Space Technology Collaborative cubesat project with the University of New Hampshire and Howard University. These grants collectively demonstrate the university's commitment to research excellence, student development, and community partnerships while maintaining no set-aside designations across the vast majority of awards.