Dr. Dominic H. P. Balog-Way is Assistant Professor of Risk Communication in the Department of Communication, a Faculty Fellow at the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability, and Chair of the Strategic Endowment Fund Board at the Society for Risk Analysis.
His research examines how societies communicate, interpret, and govern risk amid rapid technological innovation, social and political controversy, and environmental change. Working at the intersection of communication science, geography, and risk analysis, he studies how people negotiate complex and contested societal issues, particularly when different values and priorities come into conflict. His work has advanced policy-engaged scholarship on topics including risk perception, trust, transparency, misinformation, uncertainty communication, and strategic public engagement.
Across environmental, technological, and public health contexts, Dominic addresses three interconnected questions:
- Why do we disagree about risk? This line of research investigates how people’s interpretations of risk are shaped by the cultural meanings, histories, values, and places through which those risks are experienced. His work examines how people interpret and respond to contested issues and emerging technologies in context. This includes how risk perceptions, uncertainty, trustworthiness, place, and social change shape public responses across a wide range of environmental, technological, health, and societal risk issues.
- How can we tackle complex communication problems? This second line of research examines how communication processes operate across interconnected institutions, technologies, media environments, and risk governance systems. It explores challenges such as public engagement, stakeholder collaboration, emergency communication, risk regulation, and communication during crises. This work has investigated issues ranging from climate-driven marine disease, wildfires, and lead ammunition poisoning to emergency warning systems, public health preparedness, and COVID-19. Rather than focusing on isolated message effects, this research investigates how communication processes unfold across multiple actors, contexts, and stages of decision-making.
- What do our core communication concepts really mean? This research interrogates foundational concepts that shape environment, science, health, and risk communication, including transparency, misinformation, hazard, risk, and uncertainty. Most recently, Dominic’s work on transparency has clarified why open data and disclosure initiatives often fail when communication processes are neglected, while his research on misinformation has challenged overly simplistic accounts of how false and misleading information spreads and influences public understanding.
His evidence-based research has informed policy discussions and public engagement efforts across a range of environmental, technological, and public health challenges. He has advised and collaborated with organizations including the UK Cabinet Office during COVID-19, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and numerous national and international regulators, public health agencies, and scientific organizations. He has been an active member of the Society for Risk Analysis since 2011, serving as Chair of both the Risk Communication (RCSG) and Risk Policy & Law (RP&L) specialty groups and currently as Chair of the Society's Strategic Endowment Fund Board.
Dominic holds a BA in Geography (2011), an MSc in Risk Analysis (2012), and a PhD in Geography (2017), all from King's College London. He completed postdoctoral appointments at King's College London and Cornell University and served as a visiting lecturer at Maastricht University.
