Bruce Lewenstein, professor of science communication, has been elected chair of the general interest in science and engineering section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He will begin his three-year term following the 182nd AAAS annual meeting Feb. 16, 2016 in Washington, D.C.
Lewenstein is an authority on public communication of science and technology, with particular emphasis on how science and technology are reported in the media and how the public understands controversial scientific issues. He is an expert on the historical analysis of public communication of science and technology, and has more recently studied contemporary media and the evaluation of “citizen science” outreach projects.
His work, he says, has two areas of impact: education for practitioners of public communication of science and technology and the shaping of policy research on public knowledge and attitudes towards science and technology.
“I try to document to the ways that public communication of science is fundamental to the process of producing reliable knowledge about the natural world,” he says. “When I can, I contribute to that process.” At the 2015 AAAS meeting in February, he moderated a panel exploring how scientists navigate the media landscape to communicate scientific issues that may spark controversy.
Along with his appointment in the Department of Communication, Lewenstein serves as chair of the Department of Science & Technology Studies and speaker of Cornell’s University Faculty Senate.
Other Cornell faculty elected to AAAS positions include Gregory Petsko, professor of neurology and neuroscience at Weill Cornell Medical College, elected to chair the medical sciences section; chemistry professor Melissa Hines elected to a three-year term as council delegate in the chemistry section; and Louis Derry, professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, elected as council delegate in geology and geography.
