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NSRI director tells Regents UARC designation renewed and new contract could bring up to $500 million to the University
Summary
Major General Rick Evans told the Board of Regents the National Strategic Research Institute’s UARC designation was renewed and that NSRI’s latest IDIQ contract could enable up to $500 million in research spending over the next decade, expanding national‑security work and campus research opportunities.
Major General Rick Evans, executive director of the National Strategic Research Institute (NSRI), told the University of Nebraska Board of Regents that NSRI’s University‑Affiliated Research Center (UARC) designation was renewed and that a fourth indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract could enable as much as $500,000,000 in research over the next 10 years.
The presentation, delivered to the board at its April 24, 2026 meeting, described UARCs as long‑term strategic partnerships between the Department of War and universities that provide mission‑focused, cost‑reimbursable research. Evans said NSRI is collocated with the sponsor at Offutt Air Force Base, supports US Strategic Command priorities and connects faculty and students across the University of Nebraska system with national‑security research needs.
Evans said NSRI has executed about 200 contracts and awards since 2012, representing roughly $193,000,000 in research credited to the University of Nebraska. He cited active projects spanning defense health, cyber‑physical networking, and joint electromagnetic spectrum operations, and he highlighted a Defense Health Agency investment — roughly $35,000,000 since 2017 — to develop a pretreatment therapeutic for acute radiation syndrome led by UNL and UNMC faculty and NSRI staff.
During questions from regents, Evans explained that NSRI typically works under cost‑reimbursable contracts rather than standard federal grants. That structure, he said, means work is often multiyear and payments follow deliverables rather than the grant‑award schedule used by agencies such as the National Science Foundation. He also said new Department of War guidance aims to expand pathways for UARCs to translate research into civilian applications and partner with industry, changing historical limits on outside engagement.
Why it matters: The IDIQ award and renewed UARC designation could expand federal research that flows through NSRI into University of Nebraska campuses, increase opportunities for faculty and students to work on national‑security problems, and generate substantial sponsored‑research revenue for the system.
What’s next: The board received the presentation and asked questions; no formal board action was required on the IDIQ contract during this meeting. The NSRI director encouraged continued regent and university support to sustain the UARC designation and leverage the new contract opportunities.
(Attribution: Rick Evans, Executive Director, National Strategic Research Institute.)
