University Of Houston System

University Of Houston System, doing business as University Of Houston, is a comprehensive public research university and Hispanic Serving Institution that operates as a prime recipient and contractor on federal research, development, and educational grants and contracts across civilian science agencies, with no small-business set-asides. The institution competes in full-and-open federal contracting and holds a single-award $63.5 million Indefinite Delivery Contract with the Defense Contract Management Agency for Army research and development support.

The university's federal footprint centers on basic and applied research. Recent prime work includes a $388 thousand Federal Railroad Administration definitive contract awarded September 2026 for development of a risk analysis framework assessing rail failure from transverse defects; a $184 thousand Defense Health Agency contract awarded March 2026 for intervention software development for military-specific personalized feedback; and a $1.8 million Army Research, Development and Engineering Command delivery order under the AC4 (Analysis Capabilities for Competition, Crisis, and Conflict) program for research supporting Multi-Domain Operations. On the grant side, the university is recipient of substantial funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for research spanning wireless networks, biomedical technologies, materials science, environmental science, and education. Representative NSF grants include a $220 thousand award for federated bilevel optimization methods for wireless networks and a $539 thousand award for multimodal orthotropic shear field theory for mass timber structures. NIH funding includes grants for neuropsychological assessment tools for Alzheimer's disease research, personalized digital interventions for HIV care, and novel drug development for cryptosporidiosis and sepsis treatment.

Customer concentration skews heavily toward research-intensive civilian agencies. The National Science Foundation dominates by award count at 548 awards, while NASA's Shared Services Center carries 157 awards valued at $30.8 million in combined potential value. The Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health accounts for 81 awards. This concentration reflects the university's research mission and principal operating posture as a basic-science institution rather than a defense contractor or service provider.

The university holds task-order authority under the $63.5 million Army IDC (W911QX23D0009) with four task orders valued at $9.2 million combined potential value, and maintains standing on several Navy vehicles including IDC N0018909GZ066 and BOA N0018919GZ077 with modest task-order activity. These vehicles carry tuition-support and facility-rental orders rather than research scope.

Activity has averaged approximately 147 awards per year over the past five years (2023–2026), with 2024 peaking at 206 awards. The university faces a recompete cliff of 156 awards (combined potential value $7.1 million) completing within the next twenty-four months, representing typical annual churn in grant portfolios across distributed research programs.

As a prime contractor, the university delivers research and development services with no characteristic set-aside posture; it competes full-and-open across federal agencies. Sub-award engagement is limited (13% of total awards), concentrated in collaborative research arrangements with peer institutions such as Baylor College of Medicine, Ohio State University, and peer research universities. The university operates in 87% prime capacity and subcontracts on the remaining 13%, functioning as a research performer rather than a feeder to larger systems integrators.

Federal contract work is sparse relative to grant activity. The SCI dataset shows minimal invoiced revenue ($0 reported across FY2022–FY2025) and near-zero contractor FTEs at federal service contracts above the $150 thousand threshold, indicating that the university's federal footprint is research-grant-driven rather than services-contract-driven. The institution does not maintain substantial presence on federal service schedules or GWAC vehicles.

The university operates under the parent entity University Of Houston System, a state-controlled institution of higher learning based in Houston, Texas. The institution serves as a comprehensive research partner to the federal government across basic science, engineering, biomedical research, and STEM education, with no profit-motive acquisition posture and no teaming dependencies on private defense contractors.