Montana State University’s MilTech, which accelerates the transition of new technologies to the federal government in order to help with military equipment needs, has received a prestigious award from the U.S. Department of Defense.

MilTech has been selected as a winner of the 2020 Nunn-Perry Award, which recognizes “superb performance” in the Defense Department’s Mentor-Protégé Program, according to the award letter. MilTech was one of six winners selected from among 14 participants in the award competition.

The award recognizes MilTech’s work since 2018 with Conductive Group, a material manufacturer in Heber City, Utah. Through improvements in lean manufacturing, design and assembly processes, quality control and cybersecurity, MilTech helped the company provide the Defense Department with high-performance materials for electromagnetic shielding and other specialized uses, according to August Uhl, who leads MilTech’s industrial base team.

“We’re pleased that, together with Conductive Group, we can bring this award to MSU,” Uhl said. “The Mentor-Protégé Program is a great way to strengthen the defense industrial base and provide the military with innovative equipment.”

The Mentor-Protégé Program pairs larger military contractors and other Defense Department partners with small businesses to help them develop their technical capabilities and grow their business with the military. Established during the Gulf War in 1991, the program is the oldest continuously operating federal program of its kind and has helped more than 190 small businesses, according to the Defense Department.

Since 2004, MilTech has performed over 150 technology acceleration and transition projects involving every branch of the military.