Theiss Research

Theiss Research, a non-profit research organization based in La Jolla, California, functions as a federal grant recipient and researcher in advanced materials, quantum science, and measurement metrology, operating as a prime recipient on nearly all federal awards and competing in full-and-open procurements rather than set-asides.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) under the Measurement and Engineering Research and Standards program (CFDA 11.609) is the overwhelming funding source, accounting for 143 of 156 total awards in the source dataset. Theiss Research acts as prime recipient on cooperative agreements spanning semiconductor interconnect materials, quantum computing and sensing, photonic devices, catalysis metrology, biotherapeutic formulation optimization, and advanced characterization methods. Representative recent work includes a $126,313 cooperative agreement (awarded April 2026, running through March 2029) for operando spectroscopic investigation of electrodeposition processes for semiconductor interconnects using Shell-Isolated Nanoparticle-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SHINERS); a $267,153 award (August 2025 through July 2027) to develop physics-informed AI-driven agents for biotherapeutic drug formulation design integrated into NIST's Autonomous Formulation Lab platform; a $446,758 award (June 2025 through May 2028) for FPGA-based RFSoC quantum control systems with direct digital synthesis for multiplexed microwave drive and readout of quantum systems; and a $180,000 award (October 2025 through September 2028) for X-ray metrology development to characterize catalyst behavior at molecular scale. The research spans optoelectronics, DNA nanotechnology biosensors, superconducting quantum circuits, electron microscopy metrology for nanoscale dimensional measurement, textile circular economy characterization, and advanced numerical optimization of photonic devices—all conducted at the La Jolla facility with no planned subawards across the reviewed portfolio.

Customer concentration is extreme: NIST accounts for 143 awards (92% of the identified set), with the remaining five customer agencies (National Science Foundation, Department of the Navy, NASA, NSF Division of Ocean Sciences) collectively representing 13 awards. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Shared Services Center appears in the potential-value ranking with two awards carrying $83 thousand combined value, but the dollar magnitude is substantially driven by obligated funding on NIST cooperative agreements rather than new procurement value. Activity peaked in 2023 at 16 awards and has declined modestly to seven in 2025 and one in 2026 (as of the source snapshot date); 22 awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, representing a significant recompete exposure concentrated within NIST's Measurement and Engineering Research and Standards program.

Service Contract Inventory data captures one record as a named subcontractor (0.8 FTEs, FY2022 only), indicating minimal federal services-contract activity above the $150,000 reporting threshold. Theiss Research delivers research services—not traditional staffing or IT outsourcing—and operates predominantly through cooperative agreement grant mechanisms rather than billable service contracts. The vendor does not compete under 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, WOSB, or other set-aside categories; its federal footprint is characterized by merit-reviewed, competitive cooperative agreements with a single dominant customer in a research funding relationship rather than a traditional vendor-client procurement posture.