Wichita State University

Wichita State University's Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, a publicly funded state institution of higher education based in Wichita, Kansas, operates as a prime recipient and contractor across federal research, grant, and contract programs, with 81% of its recent awards in prime positions and a diversified customer base spanning 124 federal agencies. The university competes without set-asides and holds research and development expertise anchored in its National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR), delivering materials science, aerospace engineering, advanced manufacturing, and specialized testing services to civilian research agencies and defense customers on full-and-open competition.

Wichita State's capability portfolio centers on high-temperature composite characterization, advanced materials testing, aerospace engineering, thermoplastic manufacturing, battery and energy storage systems research, and STEM workforce development. Recent representative contract work includes a $38.6 million definitive contract with the Air Force Research Laboratory (September 2023, ultimate completion January 2029) for manufacturing and modeling research on affordable, sustainable composites under cost-no-fee pricing with subcontractors including the University of Texas at Arlington, the University of Utah, Southwest Research Institute, and the University of Dayton Research Institute. The university holds a $15 million single-award IDIQ with NASA's Glenn Research Center (September 2024 through September 2029) for refractory composite material databases supporting hypersonic flight validation, with a $1.75 million delivery order issued in September 2024. A $1.89 million delivery order from NASA Glenn (September 2026) funds development of databases for SIC/SIC, carbon-carbon, and carbon-silicon carbide materials through September 2028. The Naval Air Warfare Center awarded a $580.9 thousand firm fixed-price contract (January 2026 through January 2028) for prepreg testing and qualification services spanning nondestructive inspection, specimen machining, and testing at multiple temperature and moisture conditions.

Customer concentration is dominated by aerospace and defense buyers. The top five agencies by potential value account for 92% of combined award dollars: the Department of the Air Force leads with $1.38 billion across ten awards (predominantly the $151 billion SHIELD IDIQ awarded December 2025, a multi-domain defense system research and development vehicle with twelve-digit ceiling structure); the Air Force Materiel Command Research Laboratory holds $106.9 million across fifteen awards; NASA Shared Services Center carries $61.6 million across 126 awards; the Office of the Secretary of Defense holds $38.5 million across twenty-four awards (including APEX Accelerator cooperative agreements for procurement technical assistance); and NASA Glenn Research Center accounts for $21.6 million across thirteen awards. By award count, NASA Shared Services Center dominates with 126 awards, followed by the FAA (116 awards), the National Science Foundation (67 awards), the Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education (60 awards), and the Office of Naval Research (45 awards). The concentration split reflects a dual portfolio: the Air Force provides bulk dollar value through large research IDIQs, while NASA and civilian research agencies anchor consistent, higher-volume smaller awards in materials testing and STEM engagement.

Parent vehicles center on research IDIQs and multiple-award contracts. The university holds a $151 billion Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense (SHIELD) IDIQ with the Missile Defense Agency (awarded December 2025, performance through December 2035) for multi-domain defense research, prototyping, systems engineering, and production across classified and unclassified programs. The $15 million NASA Glenn IDIQ (September 2024 through September 2029) supports refractory composite development. Named task order vehicles include a Naval Air Warfare Center Basic Ordering Agreement (12 task orders, $65 thousand combined value), an Air Force Indefinite Delivery Contract (6 task orders, $425 thousand), and an Information Analysis Center Multiple-Award Contract (5 task orders). These vehicles position the university to rapidly issue orders for specialized technical services and research across aerospace, defense, and materials science domains.

Activity has grown moderately over five years, from 66 awards in 2022 to 81 in 2024, with 76 awards in 2025 and 43 through mid-2026 (partial-year count). Forty-one awards with ultimate completion dates in the next twenty-four months carry combined potential value of $60.3 million, representing recompete exposure. The portfolio is dominated by research and development (35 awards under NAICS for R&D in physical, engineering, and life sciences), colleges and universities (27 awards), engineering services (16), testing laboratories (16), and education administration (13). PSC codes reflect concentration in space R&D (25 awards), general science and technology basic research (16 awards), space flight R&D (14 awards), and education/training (14 awards).

Recent grant work demonstrates broad federal research portfolio engagement. NSF awards span $198.2 thousand for controlled fast-charging dynamics in lithium metal batteries (September 2026–August 2028, CFDA 47.041), $590.7 thousand for ultra-sensitive micro-resonator development for X-band EPR spectroscopy (July 2026–June 2029, CFDA 93.859), and $531.3 thousand for directional ion mobility spectrometry of aligned macromolecules (September 2025–August 2028, CFDA 47.049). NASA awarded a $10 million project grant (July 2026–June 2028, CFDA 43.014) for ceramic matrix composite maturation frameworks for hot structures. The Office of the Secretary of Defense awarded two Procurement Technical Assistance cooperative agreements totaling $1.36 million (June 2026–May 2027 and July 2025–May 2026) to establish and maintain APEX Accelerator centers. The National Institute of General Medical Sciences funded a $534.1 thousand project grant (July 2026–June 2029, CFDA 93.859) on ultra-sensitive micro-resonators for protein analysis. Department of Education GEAR UP and TRIO Student Support Services grants total over $4 million across multiple cohorts (FY2025–FY2026 awards) serving low-income and disadvantaged students at Wichita schools. The EPA and Department of Education have also funded environmental finance workforce development, water utility technical assistance, STEM career pathway programs, and energy efficiency research, with the university operating as both direct recipient and sub-recipient to larger state and regional institutional partners.

Teaming reflects the university's character as a research institution serving as prime on most research and educational awards. Across SCI-reportable service contracts, the university reported 6 total records (4 prime, 2 named subcontractor roles) over FY2022–FY2025, with invoiced amounts of $1.2 million in FY2025 and FTEs delivered rising to 6.2 in FY2025. SCI data show the university as a predominantly prime contractor on the contracts in that dataset. When subcontracting on large defense programs, the university performs specialized testing, materials characterization, wind tunnel support, and engineering analysis; named primes include Sierra Nevada Company, Bell Textron, HII Mission Technologies, KBR Wyle, Northrop Grumman, and Battelle Memorial Institute. Named academic and research subcontractors receiving grants from Wichita State include the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences, the University of Kansas Center for Research, the University of New Mexico, Oklahoma State University, and the University of Texas at Austin, indicating collaborative applied-research and manufacturing-focused consortia. The National Center for Manufacturing Sciences subrecipient roles span 14 sub-awards from FY2025–FY2026 for digital engineering and legacy airframe solutions projects, underscoring the university's position as both prime grant recipient and conduit for large multi-institutional manufacturing and aerospace research initiatives.