University Of Kansas Center For Research Inc.

University Of Kansas Center For Research Inc., a non-profit research administration entity affiliated with the University of Kansas, serves as the recipient and prime awardee on federal research grants and contracts across civilian agencies, particularly the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Education, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Center operates as the research administration and contracting arm of the University of Kansas, managing federally-funded research initiatives across engineering, life sciences, physical sciences, education, and social sciences disciplines, with no set-aside designations across its federal work.

The Center's capability portfolio centers on research administration, federal grant and contract management, and research execution across diverse scientific domains. Recent representative work includes a $23.37 million Other Transaction IDIQ with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (awarded July 2024) for advancing tunnel detection capabilities through full-waveform inversion, computational intelligence, and modal separation methodologies; a $3.23 million National Institute on Aging project grant (awarded September 2025) investigating neuronal activity, synaptic dysfunction, and mitochondrial dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease; and a $2.19 million National Science Foundation collaborative research award (August 2025) developing artificial two-dimensional magnetic semiconductors through stacking and twisting of atomically thin material layers in partnership with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The Center also administers major grant programs including $1.6 million in Department of Justice funding (October 2024) to establish the University of Kansas School of Law Veterans Legal Support Clinic and $1.134 million from the U.S. Geological Survey (September 2024) for geologic mapping and database development projects across Kansas counties.

Customer concentration reflects the Center's role as a research administration and grant-recipient entity. The top five funding agencies by award count—the National Science Foundation (586 awards), the National Institutes of Health (154 awards), the Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (112 awards), the Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education (103 awards), and NASA (88 awards)—account for roughly 38% of all awards. By potential value, NASA leads with $22.7 million across 88 awards, followed by NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases ($9.7 million across 38 awards). Recent award activity shows 241 awards in 2024, declining to 146 in 2025 and 38 through October 2026, with 132 awards (combined potential value $8.9 million) reaching completion inside the next twenty-four months.

The Center holds position on multiple indefinite delivery contracts serving as parent vehicles for task order work. The top five include Indefinite Delivery Contract F3060281C0205 (24 task orders), F0160079D0269 (10 task orders), N6600185C0315 (8 task orders), 15B40819D00000033 (4 task orders, $193 thousand combined potential value), and DAAG2981K0142 (3 task orders). The Center operates as a prime awardee on 88% of recent awards and as a subcontractor on 12%, delivering research services to University of Kansas faculty and researchers under federal grant and contract mechanisms. Prime work spans research grants from NSF (586 awards), NIH (154 awards), Department of Education (215 awards combined across OSERS and OPE), and NASA (88 awards), as well as research contracts with the Department of Defense, Army research centers, and civilian agencies. Subcontractor engagement includes roles supporting Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies on Department of Energy National Security Campus operations (awarded November 2024), the University of Kentucky Research Foundation on bridge construction inspection certification framework development, and Seattle Children's Hospital on protein structure determination via X-ray crystallography for infectious disease research.

The Center administers a broad portfolio of federal grant programs spanning research, education, and community service initiatives. Representative recipients include the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (multiple awards totaling over $1 million for programs addressing employment pathways for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, adaptive fitness interventions, and inclusive research practices); the National Science Foundation (CAREER awards, REU site funding, collaborative research grants, and ACCELNET initiatives); the Department of Health and Human Services (fatherhood programs, assistive technology initiatives, and health-related research); and the Department of Justice (Veterans Legal Support Clinic, community policing enhancement, and law enforcement training). The Center also received major awards supporting infrastructure modernization, including a $450,305 National Institutes of Health equipment grant (May 2026) for a JEOL 400 MHz NMR spectrometer, and participates in collaborative research networks including quantum chromodynamics research across the Americas, exoplanet characterization studies, and supply chain authentication and tracking frameworks. Service-contract-inventory-reported activity is minimal (five SCI records across FY2022–FY2024, yielding 1.9 to 2.2 FTEs), reflecting the Center's role as a research administration entity rather than a direct service delivery contractor on SCI-reportable contracts.

The Center operates as the research administration and contracting subsidiary of the University of Kansas, a state-controlled institution of higher learning based in Lawrence, Kansas. Recent awards show continued growth in federal research volume and diversification across funding sources, with particular strength in NSF-funded research (586 awards), NIH biomedical and behavioral research (154 awards), and education-focused grants from the Department of Education. The portfolio reflects the University of Kansas's research mission across physical sciences, life sciences, engineering, education, and social sciences, with the Center managing the contracting and grant administration infrastructure enabling faculty and departmental research delivery.