Research & Outreach

Examine a culture’s language, symbols, meanings, activities and practices in everyday life from a variety of perspectives: global, national, community, group and individual.

Study ways that communication processes and systems influence social structures and behaviors in a variety of settings.

Study the practices, industries, meanings, mental processing and influences of media.

Examine the communication challenge of designing and implementing policy, and the study of communication policy itself.

Gain new theoretical insights and more robust communication practice across the areas of science, health, risk and environmental sustainability.

Examine how communication research, theory, practice, engagement and design explain and address social, economic, health and political disparities and outcomes that affect people, communities and society.

Study the design, usage and implications of a range of communication technologies and examine how these technologies shape and are shaped by communication processes, social relationships, individual and collective behavior, online communities, and society.

Most faculty members are involved with outreach in a variety of ways: through formal programs; by evaluating and improving outreach systems and programming; and by engaging with the media, the public and policymakers.

Our applied research aims to solve real-world communication problems in the fields of health, agriculture, environment, risk and other areas of science. Working with at-risk youth, the elderly, scientists, policymakers, farmers, cancer patients, journalists and the public, we focus on specific issues to improve scientific and technological communication.

We share our expertise with communities locally and globally in matters of media literacy, public speaking and debate, food security, recycling, and environmental risk. We are bringing our research to the streets via a mobile lab to ensure greater access to participants.