Wright State University

Wright State University, a tax-exempt public research institution headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, acts as a prime recipient and contractor for biomedical and clinical research grants, aerospace medicine training, medical education tuition support, and specialized laboratory facilities for the federal government. The university competes predominantly in full-and-open (non-set-aside) procurement across civilian defense, health, and research agencies, with no SBA ownership designations.

Wright State's customer base concentrates heavily on Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and the Department of the Navy's Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. The Air Force Materiel Command and AFRL anchor the portfolio by potential value—32 awards worth $63.3 million combined—while the Navy's Bureau of Medicine and Surgery has placed 68 awards worth $4.5 million combined, primarily for medical tuition and fees and course support. Veterans Integrated Service Network 10 (VA) and the broader Department of the Air Force round out the top five agencies. Together these five customers represent 72 percent of Wright State's combined potential value across recent awards. National Science Foundation grant activity is substantial by award count (121 awards) but carries lower individual valuations; NIH grants similarly show volume-driven customer concentration.

Wright State's prime capability portfolio spans biomedical research (particularly immunology, cardiovascular disease, burn injury pathophysiology, neuromuscular disease), aerospace medicine training at Calamityville (a dedicated mass casualty and trauma training facility), medical and health professions education, K-12 STEM curriculum development, and specialized laboratory space rental and support for AFRL programs. Recent representative work includes a $540.878 thousand National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases grant on TRPM7 ion channel regulation (awarded September 2026; performance through August 2029), a $300 thousand Air Force Research Laboratory grant on novel thermal management for propulsion and aerostructures (September 2026 through August 2027), and a $2.7 million Department of Education grant on civics education for K-12 schools (October 2025 through September 2026). On the contract side, Wright State holds three Blanket Purchase Agreements: a $700 thousand AFRL BPA for laboratory supplies and consumables (through August 2029), a $200 thousand AFRL BPA for conference and training facility support (through April 2030), and a Basic Ordering Agreement with the Navy's Bureau of Medicine and Surgery running through May 2035 for tuition, medical education, and operational medicine training.

Activity has remained flat across recent years (31 awards in 2022, 27 in 2023, 26 in 2024, 27 in 2025, 16 through mid-2026). Within the next twenty-four months, 23 awards totaling $97 thousand combined potential value reach ultimate completion and face recompete.

Wright State subcontracts as a sub-recipient and research collaborator on prime grants from major research universities—including The Ohio State University, University of Missouri, Purdue University, University of Colorado, and others—and as a sub-contractor on AFRL-related work under primes Azimuth Corporation (materials research and satellite laboratory space; approximately 7,080 square feet in the Neuroscience Engineering Collaboration Building), BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems Inc. (responsive operator-interface development), and KBR Wyle Services, LLC (devices, components, and subsystem trade studies for AFRL/RYDD). The university also acts as pass-through recipient on federal grant awards from Ohio state agencies and the Ohio Department of Mental Health, managing STEM education, workforce training, and behavioral health initiatives in the greater Dayton region.

Wright State's federal footprint has delivered $511.9 million in obligated funding across its 1,036 awards (prime and sub combined, spanning 1974 to present), with a combined potential value of $98.9 million. The university's positioning as a dedicated medical training and biomedical research center, combined with facility lease and laboratory support relationships with AFRL and Navy programs, makes it a recurring partner for defense health-related education and aerospace medicine training but not a direct competitor for large contract prime work outside those specialist domains.