Rate My Professor David Berube

David Berube is a Professor in the Department of Communications at North Carolina State University, where he joined in January 2008. He earned a B.A. in Experimental and Cognitive Psychology/Biology from Seton Hall University in 1975, an M.A. in Speech and Theatre from Montclair State College in 1978, and a Ph.D. in Communication, Media and Culture from New York University in 1990. As Director of the Public Communication of Science and Technology (PCOST) Project, Fellow in the Genetic Engineering and Society Center, and Associate Core Faculty in the College of Natural Resources, Berube focuses on science and technology communication, risk communication, environmental communication, disaster communication, climate change communication, and pandemic communication. His research addresses public perception of nanoscience, emerging technologies, risk events, and toxicology, including projects on nanoscience and agriculture, Wikipedia's impact on STEM, expert communication, and vaccine hesitancy.

Berube has authored books such as Nano-Hype: The Truth about the Nanotechnology Buzz (Prometheus Press, 2006), Pandemic Communication and Resilience (edited, Springer Nature, 2021), and Pandemic Risk Management: Lessons Learned from the Zika Virus (Springer Nature, 2022). Notable publications include “New Approaches Needed for Risk Governance for Emerging Technologies” (Environment Systems and Decisions, 2018), “How social science should complement scientific discovery: Lessons from nanoscience” (Journal of Nanoparticle Research, 2018), “Recommendations for the Implementation of Telehealth in Cardiovascular and Stroke Care” (Circulation, 2017), and “A Story about Toilet Paper: Pandemic Panic-Buying and Public Resilience” (2021). He secured a $1.4 million National Science Foundation grant in 2008 for public understanding of nanotechnology and led an NSF Nanotechnology Interdisciplinary Research Team grant from 2008 to 2012. Berube served as national chair of the Risk Communication Division of the Society for Risk Analysis, member of the U.S. FDA Risk Communication Advisory Committee, and member of the Board of Scientific Counselors for the National Toxicology Program. He founded the Center for Emerging Technologies, LLC, for consultancy in social media and risk communication. Earlier, he coached intercollegiate debate to three national championships and was named national coach of the year in 1994, and worked as a journalist for Gannett and Knight-Ridder.