Encyclopedia of Science and Technology Communication

Susanna Hornig Priest, Ph.D., has taught mass communication theory and research methods at the undergraduate and graduate level beginning in 1989. She holds a doctoral degree in communications from the University of Washington, a master’s degree in sociology from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the University of California at Berkeley. Her own research is centered on the role of science in American society and culture, its expression in the mass media, public engagement in science and science policy, and public opinion formation. She is also interested in the social roles of new media technologies.Priest has served as a member of the Research and Publications committees of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications and as chair and research chair of the Association’s Science Communication Interest Group. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, past associate editor of the journal Public Understanding of Science, and current editor of the journal Science Communication. She regularly serves as an advisor to a wide range of academic projects, government agencies, and private organizations on communication, public engagement, and public opinion issues, and reviews research submissions for a variety of academic organizations and scholarly journals. Her current research is supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and other sources.Her publications include over 30 refereed research articles and nearly 20 book chapters, plus 2 books and the Encyclopedia of Science and Technology Communication, for which she served as General Editor. Currently, she is based in Camano Island, WA, and edits Science Communication.

".... This highly interdisciplinary set is aimed at an equally broad audience of graduate and undergraduate students in communications, mass media, and journalism as well as postgraduate practitioners.... A nice addition is an appendix that describes academic programs in relevant disciplines including science journalism, science writing, and science communication.... BOTTOM LINE: The staggering diversity of topics covered here will appeal greatly to libraries serving researchers, scientists, journalists, and/or policymakers whose interests span the many disciplines covering science communications. An excellent addition to academic, large public, and special libraries."