Trustees Of The Colorado School Of Mines

Trustees Of The Colorado School Of Mines, doing business as Colorado School Of Mines, is a public research university that acts as a prime recipient of federal research grants and contracts across a broad portfolio of science and engineering disciplines, competing without set-aside designations in full-and-open procurements. Based in Golden, Colorado, the institution holds 1,832 total federal awards (1,671 prime awards representing 91% of the portfolio) with a combined potential value of $147.8 million and obligated dollars totaling $1.16 billion across 129 distinct federal agencies.

Colorado School of Mines delivers research and development services spanning materials science, geosciences, environmental engineering, energy technologies, advanced manufacturing, robotics, artificial intelligence, and STEM education. Recent representative contracts include a $6.971 million definitive contract from the Army Corps of Engineers (awarded April 14, 2026) for the Center for PFAS Remedial Technology Engineering addressing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances remediation under the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program; a $250,000 purchase order from the Army Corps of Engineers (December 18, 2024) for proof-of-concept research on hydrothermal treatment of PFAS contaminants; and a $50,000 purchase order from NASA (January 15, 2026) to engage for-profit entities in pre-competitive frameworks for mining and exploration sector innovation using NASA Earth Science Division datasets. The institution also serves as recipient on federal research grants, including a $1.999 million Cooperative Agreement from the Department of Energy's Office of Fossil Energy (awarded October 1, 2026) for research and development of critical materials technologies, and multiple National Science Foundation awards ranging from $230,000 to $1.002 million for CAREER awards, collaborative research, REU site operations, and STEM education initiatives.

Customer concentration is distributed across multiple federal sponsors. The top five customers by award count account for approximately 38% of recent awards: the National Science Foundation leads with 323 awards, followed by NASA's Shared Services Center (132 awards, $24 million combined potential value), the Department of Energy (87 awards), the Department of the Army (82 awards), and the Department of the Navy (68 awards). By potential-value ranking, the Army Corps of Engineers' Humphreys Engineer Center Support Activity anchors the portfolio with 36 awards and $27.5 million in combined potential value, concentrated in PFAS remediation, environmental restoration, and strategic environmental research and development program (SERDP) work. Recent activity shows year-over-year variation: 92 awards in 2023, 142 in 2024, 106 in 2025, declining to 47 in 2026, reflecting the institution's competitive award cycle. A recompete cliff of 118 awards (combined potential value $18.3 million) faces completion in the next twenty-four months.

Colorado School of Mines operates as a sub-recipient on contract and grant work under multiple primes, including Leidos (research support services), CDM Federal Programs Corporation (SERDP environmental projects), Triad National Security LLC (management and operation contracting), and Applied Research Associates (explosive ordnance disposal unmanned aerial systems). The institution also participates as a sub-grantee on collaborative research awards led by universities including Stanford University (Distributed Acoustic Sensing and seismic monitoring research), the University of Pennsylvania (robotic team operations under adversarial network conditions), and the University of California Irvine (Biology Integration Institute in Movement Science).

The institution's primary contract vehicle is a Basic Ordering Agreement (GS08B13487) carrying 66 task orders valued at $28.3 million in combined potential value. The institution competes under multiple Indefinite Delivery Contract vehicles with the Department of Defense and Department of the Navy, reflecting a research-focused posture across federal R&D programs rather than concentration in acquisition vehicles tailored to commercial or logistics support.

Colorado School of Mines characterizes itself as a "public research university" with extensive federal contracting experience since 2001, maintaining active grant portfolios exceeding $30 million annually across multiple federal agencies including the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, National Institutes of Health, and NASA, with demonstrated strength in materials science, geosciences, environmental science, and advanced engineering research. The institution's NAICS profile centers on colleges and universities (68 awards), research and development in physical, engineering, and life sciences (45 awards), and research and development in physical and engineering sciences excluding biotechnology (28 awards). No set-aside posture is present across the recent award footprint; all work competes full-and-open, reflecting the institution's role as an established research university rather than a small business or minority-owned enterprise.