The Defense Research and Engineering (Research & Technology) Directorate includes:

• Strategic Technology Protection & Exploitation
  • Maintaining Tech Advantage
  • Resilient Systems
  • Tech Manufacturing Industrial Base
• Research, Technology & Laboratories
  • Basic Research
  • Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence (C4I)/Cyber
  • DMEA
  • Human Systems
  • Laboratories and Personnel
  • Microelectronics
  • Platforms/Weapons
  • Science & Technology
  • Small Business & Tech Partnerships

The Defense Research and Engineering (Modernization) Directorate includes:

• 5G
• Artificial Intelligence
• Autonomy
• Biotechnology
• Cyber
• Directed Energy
• Fully Networked Command, Control, and Communications (FNC3)
• Hypersonics
• Microelectronics
• Quantum Science
• Space
• Research, Technology & Laboratories

The Research and Engineering (Advanced Capabilities) and Test Resource Management Center (TRMC) Directorate includes:

• Engineering
  • Developmental Test, Evaluation & Assessments
  • Engineering Systems & Policy
  • Joint Hypersonics Transition Office
  • Mission Integration
  • Strategic Intelligence Analysis Cell
• Prototyping & Software
  • Global Capability Programs
  • Prototypes & Experiments
  • Software Prototyping & Strategy

University Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs)

• Number: 14 as of June 2020 (there were six original UARCs)
• Governed by DoD policies/directives not federal law; receive sole source funding under 10 U.S.C. §2304(c)(3)(B)
• Non-Profit Organizations
• Established in 1996
• UARCs must be university-affiliated, operate on university or college campuses, and emphasize education as part of their mission
• Can perform work for private industry
• Each has specific and defined research/technical areas 
• Naval Sea Systems Command is the contracting agency for the five Navy-sponsored UARCs

UARCs by Primary Sponsor

Army

• University of California at Santa Barbara Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies
• University of California at Santa Cruz Ames Research Center
• University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies
• Georgia Institute of Technology Georgia Tech Research Institute
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies

Navy

• Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
• Penn State University Applied Research Laboratory
• University of Texas Applied Research Laboratories
• University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory
• University of Hawaii at Manoa Applied Research Laboratory

Missile Defense Agency (MDA)
Utah State University Space Dynamics Laboratory

OSD

• University of Maryland College Park Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security
• Stevens Institute of Technology Systems Engineering Research Center

USSTRATCOM
University of Nebraska National Strategic Research Institute

Federally Funded R&D Centers (FFRDCs)

• Number: 11, not including include the National Labs, as of June 2020
• Governed by 48 CFR 35.017 - Federally Funded Research and Development Centers
• Non-Profit Organizations
• Started in early 1940s to develop and maintain technical workforce and operations not available in the U.S. Government
• Operated on a not-for-profit basis by contractors, including universities and other not-for-profit organizations (e.g., RAND Corp. and the MITRE Corp.)
• Five-year renewable contracts used
• Work driven by sponsoring organization guidelines with prohibitions against other commercial work
• Each has specific and defined research/technical areas
• National Research Laboratories/National Laboratories are a subset of FFRDCs

FFRDCs by Primary Sponsor (Parent Organization - FFRDC)

Air Force

• The Aerospace Corporation - The Aerospace Corporation
• OSD (AT&L) - Lincoln Laboratory
• RAND Corp. - RAND Project Air Force

Army

• DoD - National Defense University
• OSD (AT&L) - Software Engineering Institute
• RAND Corp. - RAND Arroyo Center

National Security Agency
Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) - IDA Communications & Computing Center

Navy
C.N.A. Corp. - Center for Naval Analyses

OSD

• IDA - IDA Analyses Studies and Analyses Center
• MITRE Corp. - National Security Engineering Center
• RAND Corp. - RAND National Defense Research Institute

Department of Energy (DoE) National Research Laboratories (National Labs)

• Number: 17 as of June 2020
• Governed by 48 CFR 35.017 - Federally Funded Research and Development Centers
• Technically are FFRDCs with the exception of the National Energy Technology Laboratory
• Aligned to the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) by contract
• Started in early 1930s
• Operated on a not-for-profit basis by contractors, including universities and other not-for-profit organizations (e.g., RAND Corp. and the MITRE Corp.)
• Five-year renewable contracts used
• Work driven by sponsoring organization guidelines with prohibitions against other commercial work
• Each has specific and defined research/technical areas
• Grouped in three categories: Office of Science Laboratories; National Nuclear Security Administration Laboratories; and Other Energy Department Office Laboratories

National Laboratories by Category

DoE Office of Science Laboratories

• Ames Laboratory
• Argonne National Laboratory
• Brookhaven National Laboratory
• Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
• Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
• Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
• Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
• SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
• Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility

DoE National Nuclear Security Administration Laboratories

• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
• Los Alamos National Laboratory
• Sandia National Laboratory

DoE Other Energy Department Office Laboratories

• Idaho National Laboratory
• National Energy Technology Laboratory 
• National Renewable Energy Laboratory
• Savannah River National Laboratory

DoE Technology Centers (not National Research Laboratories)

• Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory at West Mifflin (Pittsburgh), PA
• Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory at Niskayuna, NY (Knolls asp operates the Kenneth A. Kesselring site, West Milton, NY)
• New Brunswick Laboratory at Argonne National Laboratory, IL
• Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education at Oak Ridge, TN
• Radiological and Environmental Sciences Laboratory
• Savannah River Ecology Laboratory

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) National Research Laboratories (National Labs)

• Number: 5 as of September 2020
• "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) Office of National Laboratories (ONL) oversees a coordinated network of five DHS laboratories and as many as 13 Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories that are vital to the national homeland security mission." (DHS; Emphasis added)
• Governed by 48 CFR 35.017 - Federally Funded Research and Development Centers
• Technically are FFRDCs
• Aligned to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) by contract
• Started in early 1930s
• Operated on a not-for-profit basis by contractors, including universities and other not-for-profit organizations (e.g., RAND Corp. and the MITRE Corp.)
• Five-year renewable contracts used
• Work driven by sponsoring organization guidelines with prohibitions against other commercial work
• Each has specific and defined research/technical areas

DHS National Laboratories

• Chemical Security Analysis Center (CSAC) - CSAC identifies and assesses chemical threats and vulnerabilities in the United States and develops the best responses to potential chemical hazards. CSAC supports the homeland security community by providing a crucial knowledge repository of chemical threat information, design and execution of laboratory and field tests, and a science-based threat and risk analysis capability, among other services. CSAC is located on the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.
• National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC) - NBACC is dedicated to defending the nation against biological threats. Its work supports intelligence assessments, preparedness planning, response activities, emerging threat characterization and bioforensic analyses. NBACC is located on biodefense campus at Fort Detrick in Maryland.
• National Urban Security Technology Laboratory (NUSTL) - NUSTL brings together the interests and initiatives of the Homeland Security Enterprise with the first responder community. The laboratory’s wide range of mission support activities in test and evaluation (T&E) and research and development help first responders prepare, protect and respond to homeland security threats. NUSTL is located in New York City, New York.
• Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC) - PIADC defends against accidental or intentional introduction of transboundary animal diseases (a.k.a. foreign animal diseases) including foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). PIADC is the only laboratory in the nation that can work on live FMD virus. The center’s laboratory facilities provide many preparedness and response capabilities, including vaccine R&D, diagnostics, training, and bioforensics among others. PIADC is located on Plum Island off the coast of Orient Point, New York.
• Transportation Security Laboratory (TSL) - TSL helps protect America’s civilian air transportation systems. TSL offers the homeland security community and transportation security partners the ability to advance detection technology from conception to deployment through applied research, test and evaluation, assessment, certification and qualification testing. TSL is located in Atlantic City, New Jersey. TSL also oversees DHS S&T’s complimentary homemade explosives (HME) RDT&E capabilities housed at Tyndall Reactive Materials Group (TRMG) in Panama City, Florida; and the Detection Technology Center (DTC) located at the FBI’s TEDAC Improvised Explosives Detection and Synthesis (TIEDS) Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Source: Department of Homeland Security. (n.d.) About the Office of National Laboratories. https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/office-national-laboratories