March 18, 2025
Oakland University, one of over 160 members of the Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) consortium, was recently honored by ORAU’s Research and University Partnerships Office with three awards at the 2025 Annual Council Meeting of ORAU member universities.
The event recognized OU as the Most Improved university in terms of its level of engagement activities, as a runner-up for Associate Member of the Year for its activity, and David Stone, Ph.D., OU’s Vice President for Research, as Associate Member Ambassador of the Year for his work on behalf of ORAU.
“For the most improved and associate member runner-up awards, OU can thank Professor Alycen Wiacek for cutting edge research and her active outreach efforts,” said Stone.
Professor Wiacek previously received the 2024 ORAU Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award for her research on the use of augmented reality to detect breast cancer. That award was sponsored by the Augmented Reality Enterprise Alliance (AREA), which is a world leading organization that supports the use and development of augmented reality technology. AREA has since engaged Dr. Wiacek in a number of presentations and podcasts focused on her work with augmented reality.
“This is precisely the kind of ripple effect that ORAU wants to see from its Powe Awards, hence our recognition,” Stone added, “and we are pleased to share the associate member runner-up award with Appalachian State University and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.”
Dr. Stone is an active member of ORAU, as well as a member of its Board of Directors. His Ambassador of the Year Award was the result of his engagement and work on various committees, as well as his successful efforts at recruiting universities to become ORAU members.
“ORAU gives us an instant connection with 160 other research active institutions, and I am doing everything I can to help Oakland University benefit from that opportunity,” said Stone.
Established in 1946, ORAU is a nonprofit organization that works with government agencies, universities and corporate entities to advance national priorities in science, education, security and health.