Rice University National Security Research Accelerator (RUNSRA) was created in 2019 when the Army Futures Command chose Rice to partner with the Army Research Lab (ARL) to develop advanced materials and next-generation networks. Together, Rice and the Army established a multi-year multi-million-dollar cooperative agreement to advance fundamental science research with applications in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. It is anticipated that both the Army and civilians will benefit from the innovations that result from the partnership. Based on initial funding from the Army, RUNSRA is structured to encourage multidisciplinary partnerships across our campus by matching the right people and capabilities to meet specific challenges. The mission of RUNSRA is to enhance national security by accelerating the discovery, development, and transition of technologies into military and civilian applications through scientific and engineering collaborations with academia, business, industry, and government partners.

RUNSRA is setting the stage for bringing new, disruptive research technologies — transformative research — to the National Security enterprise so that it can increase its current and future capabilities. RUNSRA partnerships between world-class researchers at Rice and other institutions will help define innovative paths for modernization of the United States Defense. RUNSRA researchers will work closely with their counterparts in government and academic laboratories. Transition of research results will be enabled by constant communications between researchers in our laboratories and users in the national security enterprise, including industry and small businesses. Future support for RUNSRA will come from the three Services, DARPA, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Department of Energy, the Department of Homeland Security, and other Agencies.