SEI Secures 5-year Contract Renewal

Dear Carnegie Mellon University Faculty and Staff:  

I am writing today to highlight an important milestone for Carnegie Mellon University. Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) renewed the university’s contract to operate the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) in service to the nation.

The SEI, which is sponsored by the DOD and operated by CMU, is a unique engine for advancing and applying innovative technologies in service to the nation. It is one of just two university-affiliated DOD federally funded research and development centers in the country, and it is also the only center of its kind exclusively devoted to developing software solutions and innovations.    

The Institute was established in 1985, when CMU leaders recognized that reliable and secure software would play a defining role in supporting national security. The SEI served as a major catalyst in Pittsburgh's successful transition to a technology-based economy, and amassed an impressive roster of successes across the intersecting fields of AI, cybersecurity and software engineering. These milestones include creating the first cyber response team, facilitating the adoption of industry developed software for national defense, and training hundreds of thousands of Americans in cyber skills – among many others.

Today, our longstanding partnership with the DOD has positioned the SEI as a trusted national resource at the forefront of software, cybersecurity and AI. The DOD’s contract renewal is effective as of July 1, 2025, and extends for a period of five years, with an award ceiling of $1.5 billion. This is a resounding vote of confidence in Carnegie Mellon’s capacity to serve as a pivotal partner to the federal government. It arrives at a time when federal research funding is increasingly vital to the country’s prosperity and security and positions the SEI to further advance pivotal research and development that is deeply consequential to our national security and defense.

For these reasons and many more, the DOD’s renewed sponsorship of the institute is cause for celebration. Please join me in congratulating our colleagues at the SEI, which is led by director and CEO Paul Nielsen and spans a workforce that is 675 employees strong with offices in Pittsburgh and Washington D.C. I am also grateful to our Office of the Vice President for Research, led by Theresa Mayer, and our Office of Government Relations, led by Tim McNulty, for their steadfast commitment to strengthening the university’s research and innovation enterprise.

CMU leadership is planning a university-wide event to commemorate the Institute’s 40 years of impact on Sept. 4, 2025, and will share more details once available. In the meantime, we are excited to be looking forward – to a future where the SEI is continuing to drive innovation, guide defense strategy and help secure the systems that power our economy, our security and our way of life.

Sincerely, 
Farnam Jahanian