Rethinking Research Through Extension: Manuja’s Reflections on His First Three Months as a Postdoctoral Associate

Reflections on the summer

Three months ago, I started my first academic position as a Postdoctoral Associate working under Dr. Pipiet Larasatie, Extension Specialist and Assistant Professor of Sustainable Biomaterials Marketing at Virginia Tech. Fresh out of graduate school, I came into the role with considerable research experience, but what was new to me was working in a position where Extension was closely integrated with research.

In many ways, the research itself was a continuation of the kind of work I had already been doing, particularly understanding the perspectives and experiences of people across the forest sector. During my doctoral research, I worked with stakeholders across the forest sector, from migrant forestry workers, landowners, and consulting foresters to businesses ranging from small mom-and-pop operations to large corporations.

What changed while working with Dr. Larasatie and other Extension specialists was not so much who I was engaging with, but how I was thinking about that engagement. In my previous research, stakeholder perspectives mainly served as data for answering research questions. I used theories to interpret what I heard and compared participants’ views with existing data and published research to better understand, verify, or challenge those perspectives. My postdoctoral work introduced me to a more collaborative way of engaging with stakeholders, where their perspectives could help shape what questions we ask and what research we pursue, while also informing how the resulting findings can be translated into something useful for stakeholders. Two experiences in particular helped me understand this shift.

One of the main projects I was given was leading a needs assessment for the Sustainable Forest Supply Chain Collaborative at Virginia Tech, led by Dr. Scott Barrett. The purpose was to identify the biggest needs across different stakeholder groups in Virginia’s forest supply chain, understand why those needs matter to them, and learn how they think those issues could be addressed. The conversations are also helping us think about what should happen next: what research is actually needed, what kinds of collaboration could help, where better communication is needed, and where policy or advocacy efforts may be important.

I also had the opportunity to work on a joint Extension-focused project with Dr. Larasatie and Chad Niman, a colleague from the University of Kentucky on stakeholder-identified strategies for advancing mass timber adoption. Although I was not involved in the original data collection, my role included thinking about how the findings could be generalized and translated to inform broader Extension efforts. This experience showed me that the work does not have to stop at identifying findings or discussing their academic implications, but should also focus on how those findings can be translated into something useful in real-world settings.

Before coming to Virginia Tech, I understood Extension mainly as a way universities shared research-based information with practitioners and communities. Working with Dr. Larasatie and other Extension professionals has helped me see it as a two-way process. Extension is not only about communicating research after it is completed, but also about listening to stakeholders, understanding their needs, and allowing those needs to shape future research and programming. I had read academically about concepts such as co-creation, but this was one of the first times I was directly involved in putting that idea into practice. It has also given me a better understanding of the land-grant mission, which connects teaching, research, and public service by making university knowledge useful to communities and industries while also allowing their needs to inform future research.

I have always wanted to stay in academia because I enjoy engaging with academic literature, developing ideas, working with theories, and thinking deeply about research questions. These first three months have not changed that goal, but they have broadened how I think about the kind of academic I want to become. I now think more about how the research I do can contribute something useful to stakeholders and society, not only through publications but also through practical knowledge, programs, and solutions. Professionally, this perspective is also important because much of academic research depends on external funding, and strong research proposals increasingly need to demonstrate why the work matters and how it can contribute to real-world needs. My experience at Virginia Tech has therefore helped me see Extension not as something separate from research, but as a way to make research more relevant, responsive, and useful.