University Of Oklahoma

University of Oklahoma, operating through its Office of Research Administration as a division of the state-controlled flagship research university, is a federal research grant recipient (91% prime awards across 2,469 recent federal grants and contracts) delivering basic and applied research services across atmospheric sciences, meteorology, geophysics, engineering, life sciences, and health sciences to civilian agencies without set-asides. The university executes the vast majority of work through its own faculty and research staff, with subcontractors performing approximately 85 percent of total contractor hours on SCI-reportable federal service contracts—a posture typical of comprehensive research institutions that assemble specialized teams for individual research initiatives rather than maintaining in-house delivery forces.

The Office of Research Administration's customer concentration sits heavily with civilian research agencies. The National Science Foundation leads the award count at 549 recent grants, followed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Shared Services Center (226 awards, $43.8 million combined potential value), the Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (157 awards, $17.7 million), and the U.S. Geological Survey (106 awards). Federal grant work dominates the portfolio—awards span NSF research programs (atmospheric sciences, geosciences, materials research, computer science, chemistry, physics, engineering, mathematics, biological sciences, social sciences), NASA Science Mission Directorate research, NOAA cooperative agreements for weather and atmospheric research, NIH biomedical research, the Department of Defense Basic Scientific Research program, the National Science Foundation Integrative Activities program, and specialized federal research initiatives in critical minerals assessment, aviation infrastructure, and agricultural research. Representative recent prime work includes a $10 million FAA delivery order for counter-UAS integration research through June 2029; a $20.5 million NOAA delivery order split between phased array radar technology maturity and spectrum management for the Radar Next Program through 2028; a $5.972 million NSF Integrative Activities award for the Center for Grassland Ecosystem Forecasting; a $30.6 million SAMHSA award to operate the Suicide Prevention Resource Center; a $19.982 million NSF mid-scale research infrastructure award for Ka-band rapid-scan volumetric imaging radars (KARVIR); a $220 million five-year cooperative agreement with NOAA for the Cooperative Institute for Severe and High-Impact Weather Research and Operations (CIWRO); and a $5.7 million Department of Education GEAR UP grant supporting college and career readiness in Oklahoma City Public Schools.

Activity has declined from 202 awards in 2023 to 153 in 2025, and source data show only three awards issued in 2027, reflecting either a lag in reporting or a recent slowdown. Approximately 192 awards (combined potential value $25 million) reach ultimate completion inside the next twenty-four months and therefore face recompete risk. SCI-reported invoiced revenue totaled $204.4 million across FY2022–FY2024, with peak activity in FY2023 at $166.9 million (44.0 FTEs on contract-level records). Government-paid hourly rates on federal research service contracts tracked from a 10th percentile of $418.66/hr to a median of $648.51/hr and a 90th percentile of $1,587.85/hr, reflecting the mix of student research support, professional research staff, and senior scientific personnel common in university research operations. The university holds a single-award Indefinite Delivery Contract with NOAA (ceiling $10 million through February 2031) for research and development services supporting the Radar Next Program, and named subcontractors on Navy and Department of Energy work include Triad National Security, LLC, Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies, and Technology Service Corp.

The Office of Research Administration's award footprint reflects the university's role as a comprehensive public research institution anchored in atmospheric and environmental sciences, with deep federal engagement across civilian research agencies and a capital-intensive infrastructure of observatories, laboratories, and computing platforms serving both research delivery and workforce development in STEM fields. The institution competes in full-and-open federal research opportunities without reliance on set-asides; federal grants and cooperative agreements—rather than federal contracts—account for the majority of activity.