Colgate University

Colgate University, through its University Grants And Sponsored Research Division, receives federal research funding as a grant recipient in fundamental science, STEM education, and infrastructure modernization — with 90% of recent awards as prime recipient and 10% as sub-recipient under larger federal research initiatives. The institution, a private, tax-exempt liberal arts college based in Hamilton, New York, competes in full-and-open federal grant programs rather than set-asides; it holds no SBA designations.

Colgate's federal footprint centers on the National Science Foundation, which accounts for the plurality of recent awards (59 awards across multiple NSF divisions). Recent prime-recipient work spans chemistry catalysis research funded by NSF's Division of Chemistry (two $350,000 and $360,000 Project Grants for metal-ligand-cooperative hydrogenation and ruthenium-catalyzed reactions led by Professors Anthony Chianese and Jason Keith, with work conducted by undergraduate researchers); earth sciences geodynamic modeling funded by NSF's Division of Earth Sciences ($253,989 for African crust and upper mantle dynamics integrating seismic and geodetic data); cognitive neuroscience and artificial intelligence funded by NSF's Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences ($234,610 for task-relevant visual feature learning linking large language models and deep convolutional neural networks); and cyberinfrastructure upgrades funded by NSF's Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure ($499,948 for the CCARE project adding GPU computing and network infrastructure to Colgate's supercomputer). The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Shared Services Center follows as a secondary customer (16 awards, $710,000 combined potential value), primarily funding undergraduate research internships in astrophysics and planetary research through Cornell University subawards and mission operations support for lunar surface science. The National Endowment for the Humanities funds humanities teacher development (11 awards), including a $198,857 Project Grant for a summer institute on abolitionism and the Underground Railroad. NSF's Office of Integrative Activities and Division of Polar Programs each contributed multiple awards; the latter funded Arctic vegetation mapping using drone imagery and deep learning ($116,134) and fire-impacts research on terrestrial ecosystems ($253,989 as a collaborative award spanning Wyoming and California fire-impacted landscapes).

In its sub-recipient role, Colgate provides computational chemistry expertise to the University of Iowa on borenium ligand development and catalysis research, supplies undergraduate student internship funding sourced through Cornell University for NASA-funded astrophysics programs, and contributes to multi-institution environmental science projects led by the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Cornell. A single sub-award links to New York State Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Services for COVID-19 testing logistics (2020–2022).

Recent activity has fluctuated — ten awards in 2023, eleven in 2024, five in 2025, and four in 2026 — suggesting a cyclical recompete and new-proposal pattern typical of academic research funding. Four awards reach ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months and face recompete exposure. Colgate's research portfolio emphasizes undergraduate student engagement as both a research workforce and as educational outcome; multiple awards explicitly highlight undergraduate research participation, summer outreach to high school students, and development of curricular materials. The institution operates as a research funding recipient for fundamental science and education rather than as a federal contractor or vehicle-holder; it holds no federal IDIQs, GWACs, or BPAs, and sits on one indefinite-delivery contract vehicle (F0860685C0012) with a single task order, indicating minimal prime contracting footprint. Colgate's research spans the sciences (chemistry, physics, geosciences, environmental sciences, neuroscience, computational biology), engineering (materials and electronic devices), STEM education, and humanities, with performance at Hamilton, New York and field research sites across Wyoming, California, New York State, the Arctic, and Antarctica.