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CORVALLIS, Ore. - Rich Holdren, interim vice president for research at Oregon State University, has been invited to attend the annual National Security Forum May 17-21 at the Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base, in Alabama.

Holdren will be one of approximately 120 civilian leaders in business, education and government from throughout the United States who will meet with senior military leaders to explore national security issues.

The forum is designed to encourage interaction between civilian leaders and senior military officers, and to engage participants in exchanging ideas and perspectives on the Air Force, as well as on national and international security issues.

Holdren has been at OSU since 2000, and served as the university's first director of research initiatives. In that role, he helped Oregon State strengthen its connections with the private sector and played an important role in OSU's regional and national stewardship of natural resources.

OSU's research efforts attracted more than $252 million in external funding during the last fiscal year - a total that has grown by nearly $100 million in just six years. Much of that funding is from federal agencies, including the National Science Foundation and the departments of Agriculture, Defense, Commerce, Energy, and Health and Human Services.

Before coming to OSU, he worked at Battelle-Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash., and at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency laboratory in Corvallis.