Office for Research Advancement Staff

About Us

Anthony Koppers

Associate Vice President for Research Advancement and Strategy
[email protected]

Anthony Koppers serves as the Associate Vice President for Research Advancement and Strategy at Oregon State University (OSU) and is leading the Office of Research Advancement. In these roles he focuses on research development to make OSU more competitive in securing large and complex proposals, on positioning OSU according to its research strengths by starting new strategic initiatives, and on brokering partnerships that inspire transdisciplinary science solutions to regional and global challenges. His overall ambition is to develop a framework for sustained growth of the OSU Research Enterprise.

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A person smiles at the camera.

Julie Risien

Director of Transdisciplinary Research Impact and Advancement
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Julie Risien serves as the Director of Transdisciplinary Research Impact and Advancement leading the Research Impact and Advancement Academy. In this role she focuses on supporting faculty to develop their capacity to lead transdisciplinary research with a focus on solutions-oriented design, excellent partnership practices, and innovated broader impacts.

 

Leah Gorman

Strategic Research Development Specialist
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Leah Gorman serves as a Strategic Research Development Specialist, contributing to the management of research development initiatives and programs that facilitate and train faculty to become more competitive in securing extramural funding.  She also assists faculty in identifying funding opportunities and developing large-scale transdisciplinary proposals and projects of strategic importance to OSU.

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Leah Gorman headshot
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Erin Christensen

Strategic Proposal Development Specialist
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Erin Christensen serves as Strategic Proposal Development Specialist, facilitating the development of large-scale and transdisciplinary proposals for federal, state, and private funding. Erin provides input on grant readiness and competitiveness, organizes proposal review panels, edits drafts, and writes non-technical and institutional proposal sections.  Erin also contributes to research development initiatives and training that support faculty competitiveness in securing external funding.

 

David Barber

Director of Strategy for Research Computing
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David Barber leads development of technology-led strategies to grow OSU's research enterprise through competitive intelligence, coalition building, and proposal development. David is the Division of Research and Innovation’s lead in working with IT planning for the HCIC supercomputer to ensure alignment with research success.

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David Barber Headshot
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Puja Agarwal Headshot

Puja Agarwal

Transdisciplinary Research Coordinator
[email protected]

Puja Agarwal manages ORA’s efforts to support faculty as they advance transdisciplinary, collaborative, and solutions-oriented research. She engages and collaborates with faculty, staff, and leadership across administrative units, colleges, centers, and external partners as they manage program development, program implementation activities, and communications to advance transdisciplinary research at OSU. She serves the Research Advancement Academy and Transdisciplinary Seed Funding programs. Puja is a proud OSU Alumni and graduated with a M.S. in Computer Science in 2023.