Materials Research & Design Inc.

Materials Research & Design Inc., doing business as Mr&D, is a small business subchapter S corporation based in Wayne, Pennsylvania, that conducts applied and exploratory research and development on advanced composite and ceramic materials for aerospace and defense applications, competing predominantly as a prime contractor (97% of recent awards) under total small business set-asides across SBIR and STTR programs. The company holds no SBA disadvantaged-business certifications beyond small-business status but operates across 24 distinct federal customer agencies with combined potential value of $138.8 million and $103.9 million in obligated dollars (75% realization rate).

Mr&D's capability portfolio centers on high-temperature materials systems for hypersonic, thermal protection, and missile defense platforms. Representative work includes a $3.4 million DoD SBIR Phase II contract (awarded November 2025, completion November 2027) for development of domestically available ablative materials; a $2.69 million Air Force Research Laboratory cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (April 2024, completion April 2029) for maturation and validation of shape-stable leading edges for hypersonic boost-glide vehicles under the Great Leading Edge Advanced Materials (GLEAM) program; a $3.04 million AFRL cost-plus-fixed-fee effort (November 2023, completion October 2025) for production readiness of complex carbon-carbon assemblies used in hypersonic glide aeroshells; and a $1.31 million Army Research Development and Engineering Command STTR Phase II contract (September 2025, completion September 2027) for computational modeling of pyrolysis processes for carbon-carbon composite advanced manufacturing. Smaller-ticket SBIR Phase I awards in the $150 thousand range span 3D-reinforced composites for spacesuits, silicide coatings for surface morphing interceptors, ceramic matrix composites for shape-stable nosetips, and laser-heated tensile test methods.

Customer concentration splits between defense science and technology investment and uniformed-service components. The top five funding agencies account for 58% of awards by count but only 62% by combined potential value, reflecting a mix of high-value exploratory programs and numerous lower-value Phase I innovations. The Department of the Navy leads by dollar value ($25 million across 13 awards), the Air Force Research Laboratory dominates by award count (30 awards, $21.6 million potential value), the Missile Defense Agency maintains steady engagement (25 awards, $13.6 million), and NASA Langley accounts for $14.9 million across 7 awards. The Naval Air Warfare Center ranks highest by award count (32 awards, $10.7 million), indicating sustained volume in naval aerospace systems materials.

Mr&D holds positions on three Indefinite Delivery Contracts. The Navy's IDC N6833502D0027 represents the dominant vehicle, with 14 task orders carrying $25.2 million in combined potential value — substantially higher than the Air Force Materiel Command IDC FA910117D0023 (6 task orders, $2.3 million) and the single-award Air Force IDC FA910122DB006 ($587 thousand under one task order). The bulk of task orders under these vehicles support applied research on composite and ceramic formulations, manufacturing process modeling, damage tolerance analysis, and thermal performance characterization.

Activity has grown incrementally year over year from 4 awards in 2021 to 12 in 2024, with 4 awards logged in 2025 (a partial-year snapshot). Eleven awards carrying $18.4 million in combined potential value reach ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, creating recompete exposure across ablative materials, carbon-carbon assembly production, hypersonic window development, and high-temperature nozzle extension programs. Mr&D operates as a subcontractor in a minor footprint (6 awards, 3% of recent work): recent engagements include research on speed-optimized innovative flowpath technology (SWIFT) propulsion systems under Northrop Grumman, CFD modeling and combustor design for pressure-gain combustion scramjets under Physical Sciences Inc., and analytical support for leading-edge coatings and landing-protection foams under PSI subcontracts. The NAICS concentration reflects the materials science profile — 72 awards under NAICS 541712 (Physical Engineering and Life Sciences R&D, excluding Biotechnology) and 18 under engineering services — while PSC codes surface defense-system electronics and space R&D.