Department Mission and Background Information The Office of the Vice Provost for Research and Innovation (OVPRI) enables and advances Cornell’s research priorities, including research activities of Cornell colleges, schools, research centers, institutes, and laboratories. The OVPRI advocates for researchers within the university, supports specialized research facilities and services for researchers, provides campus-wide research administrative support services, and facilitates major interdisciplinary research initiatives.   The Center for Research on Programmable Plant Systems (CROPPS) is an NSF Science and Technology Center that is administered under the OVPRI. CROPPS has a mission to develop new technologies that can be used to create a two-way communi