Dr. Nicholas Del Rio

Dr. Nicholas Del Rio serves as a key procurement lead within the Air Force Research Laboratory’s FA8750 organization, overseeing the acquisition of foundational research and development services critical to next-generation aerospace and defense systems. His role centers on managing competitive procurements for high-priority scientific initiatives in physical, engineering, and life sciences, with a focus on enabling autonomous systems, resilient free-space optical communications, AI-driven battle-space awareness, and quantum-enabled technologies. He ensures alignment between technical requirements and federal acquisition regulations, guiding contracts from solicitation through award and performance oversight to support the Department of the Air Force’s strategic innovation goals. Dr. Del Rio maintains consistent partnerships with leading defense and aerospace R&D contractors, including Booz Allen Hamilton, Lockheed Martin, Eaton Corporation, Technergetics, LLC, and Caelight, Inc. These relationships are characterized by long-term, mission-critical engagements in advanced technology development, often involving complex, multi-year research contracts requiring rigorous technical evaluation and systems engineering integration. His procurement approach emphasizes technical excellence, innovation scalability, and rigorous performance metrics, fostering collaborative environments between government scientists and industry partners to accelerate capability delivery. His contracting activity shows no preference for socioeconomic set-asides, with 100% of awards issued under full and open competition. This reflects a strategic emphasis on accessing the broadest possible pool of technical expertise rather than prioritizing specific small business categories. While small businesses are not excluded, the nature of the work—requiring deep domain knowledge and advanced infrastructure—drives selection toward organizations with proven capacity in high-risk, high-reward R&D environments. Dr. Del Rio’s procurement portfolio is exclusively focused on NAICS 541715—Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences. He procures advanced capabilities in quantum sensing, autonomous navigation, AI/ML for sensor fusion, directed energy systems, and next-generation materials science, ensuring the Air Force maintains technological superiority through foundational scientific innovation.