Expanding KU’s national security and mission agency research

From: Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research
Sent: Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, 3:15 p.m.
To: One KU research community

Dear Colleagues,

Growing KU research means finding new partners who need what our researchers do best. Some of the biggest opportunities are with mission-driven federal agencies such as the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy and NASA. I’m pleased to share that Lance Hansen has joined the Office of Research as executive director for national security research initiatives to help KU researchers compete for that funding.

These agencies support far more than weapons and rockets. They fund research in health and medicine, human behavior and decision-making, languages and cultures, the environment, materials, computing and much more. Lance’s own research career began with environmental engineering: He developed ways to clean explosives contamination from soil and groundwater.

Lance brings more than 40 years of leadership across the U.S. Army, Army research and development organizations, Sandia National Laboratories and the Nuclear Security Enterprise. As a member of the Army Senior Executive Service, he directed the Army’s Construction Engineering Research Laboratory. He has also helped lead research portfolios worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

At KU, Lance will report to me and work with the One KU research community to:

  • Match KU research strengths with emerging federal priorities.
  • Build teams for large center and multi-investigator opportunities.
  • Connect researchers with national laboratories, federal agencies and industry partners.
  • Navigate the requirements of security-sensitive research.
  • He will also help plan a potential National Security Institute at KU.

You don’t need to be sure your work is a fit before reaching out. Helping you find out is part of Lance’s job. He’d like to hear from you, whether you already hold mission agency funding or have never considered it. Please contact Lance at lancehansen@ku.edu to start the conversation.

Respectfully,
Shelley

Shelley Hooks
Vice Chancellor for Research