Nan Li

Nan Li is an assistant professor in the Department of Life Sciences Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an affiliate of the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery and the McPherson Eye Research Institute. She is also a co-principal investigator in the Science, Media, and the Public (SCIMEP) research group.

Li’s most recent research centers on the intersection between science, art, and communication. She has examined how diverse publics engage with scientific information in a landscape infused with visuals and artistic elements. Her research also explores non-verbal communication strategies aimed at bridging gaps in public opinion, particularly on contentious topics related to climate, food, and energy.

Li currently serves on the Scientific Committee of the Network for the Public Communication of Science and Technology (PCST) and is the research co-chair of the Visual Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). She has published widely on outlets including Science Communication, Public Understanding of Science, Energy Policy, Climatic Change, among others. She also (co-)directed research and public outreach efforts funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Texas Department of Agriculture, and Bayer Crop Science. Her research has received news attention from more than 30 domestic and international outlets, including Forbes, The Guardian, and PBS.

Before joining LSC, Li held a tenure-track faculty position in the Department of Agricultural Education and Communications at Texas Tech University and was a Joan Bossert Postdoctoral Fellow in the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. She received her Ph.D. in mass communications from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

A list of her publications can be found on Google Scholar.