UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Increasing the public value of research is a challenge for most scientists. Arthur Lupia, the Gerald R Ford Distinguished University Professor at the University of Michigan, will discuss how to develop more effective communication strategies to reach and engage the public at 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 4. The talk, which is free and open to the public, will be held in 112 Walker Building on the University Park campus and broadcast via Zoom.

Lupia’s research examines how people make decisions when they lack information. His areas of expertise include information processing, coalition building and strategic communication. He has led or worked with a wide range of scientific and public organizations to improve quality of life through better management strategies and more effective communication.

“In this presentation, we will examine how each of us can increase the public value of science in what are very challenging times for many of us,” Lupia said. “I first emphasize the importance of fidelity, causality and transparency as a basis for credibility in contested or politicized environments. I then describe the different ways that people hear and interpret information about science and convey strategies for communicating more effectively. I close by describing broader strategies for engaging with the public.”

Lupia is a member of the National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine’s Strategic Council for Research Excellence, Integrity, and Trust. From 2019 to 2021, he co-chaired the Subcommittee on Science’s Interagency Working Group on Open Science for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. From 2018 to 2022, served as assistant director of the National Science Foundation where he led a substantial reorganization of NSF’s Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate and developed new ways for NSF to better serve the nation.

Lupia is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2004). He earned his doctorate from the California Institute of Technology in 1991.

Lupia’s talk is part of the Department of Geography’s spring 2022 Coffee Hour Lecture Series. For more information about the spring 2022 series, visit the Coffee Hour webpage online.