Industry Communications: Fall 2021
By Phil Carter
The National Strategic Research Institute (NSRI) at the University of Nebraska was awarded a $9.6 million contract from the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) to continue laboratory support, capability innovation and end-user training for timely and accurate identification and mitigation of chemical and biological threats.
“Developing and maintaining new chemical and biological threat detection and countermeasures is essential to the strategic deterrence efforts of the nation,” said Maj. Gen., USAF (Ret.) Rick Evans, NSRI executive director. “As a University Affiliated Research Center designated by the Department of Defense, NSRI is tasked with providing ongoing essential scientific and engineering leadership — leadership that results in tangible solutions for use by our warfighters and first responders. As importantly, we will also strive to continue to provide opportunities for students to help build the future workforce.”
Through this contract, NSRI will continue to work with each of the NU campuses, developing laboratory capabilities as needed and investing in a workforce development pipeline that allows students to deliver on the DOD’s needs across biological, chemical, and engineering disciplines.
DOD partnerships through NSRI with Paul Davis, Ph.D., associate professor of biology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and NSRI Fellow, Ben Terry, Ph.D., associate professor of mechanical and materials engineering at the College of Engineering and NSRI Fellow, and Josh Santarpia, Ph.D., associate professor of microbiology and pathology at UNMC, have resulted in unique undergraduate and graduate research assistantships and experiences through similar DTRA contracts.
With a focus on new and emerging threats, Dillon Cunningham, NSRI director of special projects, and Thomas Mueller, Ph.D., NSRI director of chemical programs, will lead a team of NSRI scientists to provide independent verification and validation across a wide range of diagnostic and detection capabilities, platforms, assays and testing methods. The team will conduct field tests and skill development training with DTRA personnel to enhance end-user capacity.
Since 2016, NSRI scientists have leveraged NU researchers, students, facilities, and technology to help bolster DTRA’s expertise by fielding new detection capabilities and diagnostic methods. In total, more than 40 projects have been funded through these efforts, 30 with direct contributions from the NU campuses. The new contract will allow this critical work to continue through 2024.