University Of Maine System

The University of Maine System, Division of University of Maine, operating as Research & Sponsored Program, is a public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant university based in Orono, Maine, that delivers multidisciplinary research services, scientific testing and validation, and educational programming to federal agencies as a prime recipient on federal grants and as a prime contractor on research and development agreements. The institution competes exclusively in full-and-open federal procurement, holding no SBA set-asides, and has established itself as a major federal research institution across science, engineering, agriculture, marine sciences, and education domains.

The University of Maine's federal footprint reflects a land-grant research portfolio with deep technical capabilities in materials science, advanced composites, marine and ocean research, climate and environmental science, agricultural innovation, and STEM education. Recent federal grant work includes a $2.25 million Office of Naval Research award for composite manufacturing technology supporting uncrewed maritime systems; a $7.21 million ONR grant for flexible automation research; a $3.76 million Army Engineer Research and Development Center contract for validation of acoustic and electromagnetic instrumentation in Arctic environments; a $2.4 million Department of Energy Office of Science award for secure AI in smart grid applications; a $7.425 million NIST award to establish the Forest Biomaterials Innovation Center; and an $8 million X-Bridge Cooperative Agreement (with $8 million Option 1 and potential $4 million Option 2, totaling up to $20 million) from the Department of Transportation to develop composite bridge systems at half cost and half the time with double the lifespan. The institution also operates the Advanced Structures and Composites Center and executes substantial research programs through the Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station, University of Maine Cooperative Extension, and Maine Sea Grant.

Customer concentration shows the National Science Foundation and Department of Agriculture (NIFA) as the primary federal partners by award count (357 and 293 awards respectively across the institution's portfolio), with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce, and NASA also major federal customers. Combined potential value across all 1,931 prime and sub awards over the source period totals $221.6 million, though obligated dollars ($1.59 billion) substantially exceed potential value, reflecting the institution's role as a recipient of multi-year formula grants and cooperative agreements that carry re-obligation across multiple fiscal years. The top five customers by count account for 52% of awards.

The university holds a Basic Ordering Agreement with the Department of the Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery and an Other Transaction IDV with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center titled "Materials for Rapid Power Projection in Arctic and Contested Environments" (ceiling $6.5 million, awarded June 2025). Task order activity under these IDVs remains modest in the visible source data, with six task orders under a federal highway IDIV and five under the Navy BOA.

Federal grant awards dominate the portfolio. Recent recipients include the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases ($777 thousand for research on vulvovaginal candidiasis mechanisms), the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases ($471 thousand for tissue-specific muscle-matrix adhesion research), the National Institute of General Medical Sciences ($434 thousand for customizable 3D matrices to investigate glycan function, and $430 thousand for phosphoinositide roles in influenza virus assembly), and the National Eye Institute ($504 thousand for MultiNav, an integrated multisensory navigation system for blind and visually impaired users). NASA awards cluster around ocean science, including $711 thousand for lunar and Mars exploration science, $282 thousand for plankton sampling and DNA analysis, and $245 thousand for ocean optics training. USDA/NIFA grants span agriculture research ($799 thousand for controlled environment agriculture market uncertainties, $649 thousand for seafood production technology valuation, $650 thousand for environmental RNA diagnostics in salmon aquaculture) and formula grants supporting the Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station (over $3.5 million for Hatch Act basic research, $1.893 million for McIntire-Stennis forestry research, $5.2 million Smith-Lever extension funding).

The National Science Foundation funds fundamental research and workforce development across computing, biological sciences, polar programs, earth sciences, and STEM education, with recent NSF awards including $584 thousand for interpretable machine learning in computer vision (CAREER), $1.17 million for sub-Arctic biogeochemical cycles and agroecosystem forecasting, $325 thousand for Transantarctic Mountains erosion research, and $2.065 million for Maine-Forest, a 4-year statewide research and innovation incubator in forest economy, sustainability, and technology.

The university executes federal grant work across cooperative agreements and project grants. Cooperative agreement work with NOAA includes $2.175 million for the Northeast American Lobster Regional Program, $167 thousand for crustacean size-at-maturity methodologies, $267 thousand for technology exchange in sea urchin aquaculture with Japan, and $282 thousand for Atlantic bluefin tuna tissue analysis. NSF cooperative agreements include $5 million for the National STEM Teacher Corps Pilot Program and $1.196 million for digital twin experiential learning in blue economy sectors. DoI cooperative agreements include $675 thousand for Wabanaki-led archaeology and climate adaptation research at Acadia National Park and $108 thousand for Atlantic salmon recovery impediments research.

Recent activity has accelerated: 174 awards in FY2024, 118 in FY2025 (through June). Within the next 24 months, 144 awards totaling $46.2 million combined potential value reach ultimate completion, creating substantial recompete exposure across NSF, USDA, NASA, and NOAA programs.

The university operates primarily as a prime recipient (91% of awards) and subcontracts to other primes in specialized roles. Named sub-awards show the institution performing ocean science tasks under Oregon State University leadership (HyperNAV-II autonomous profiling floats for ocean color satellite calibration) and serving as sub-awardee under UMBC on PACE satellite ocean color research. Conversely, the university has engaged major research institutions as sub-recipients, including Northeastern University on multisensory navigation systems, University of Vermont on agricultural research, and the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory on genomic data analysis.

The portfolio shows no federal contract prime positions or active SCI-reportable service contract revenue; the institution's federal presence is rooted in grant research and sponsored programs rather than federal services contracting. The one SCI record reflects sub-contractor engagement, with minimal FTE capture in federal service contract reporting.