The Center for National Security Initiatives (NSI) at the University of Colorado Boulder is dedicated to providing high-impact national security research and workforce development enabled by world-class research scientists and essential infrastructure. NSI has established core capability research areas across the CU Boulder campus, engaging with 60+ research faculty that align to Research and Development priorities of the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Intelligence Community (IC). As the sole Tier-1 research institution in Colorado, CU Boulder creates a prime opportunity for on-demand research collaboration among technical experts in the aerospace and defense enterprise. Over the past five years, CU Boulder has placed a strategic focus on national security research and received on average $45M in funding from Department of Defense projects. Through student participation in national security research, NSI addresses the ever-increasing demand for qualified and experienced aerospace and defense professionals in Colorado and across the nation.