Rate My Professor Nancy Longnecker

Nancy Longnecker is Emeritus Professor in the Centre for Science Communication at the University of Otago, within the Division of Sciences. She completed an undergraduate degree in biology in Tennessee, USA, an MSc in 1980, and a PhD in 1986 from Cornell University, with theses on factors affecting iron uptake by soybeans and resistance to iron-deficiency induced chlorosis in soybeans and sunflowers. Her early career focused on agricultural research, including a postdoctoral position at the University of Adelaide studying manganese efficiency in barley, and work at the University of Western Australia on phosphorus uptake and trace element nutrition in plants such as wheat, lupins, and barley. From 1994 to 2002, she served as Education Programme Manager and Communication Manager at the Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture at UWA, developing resources including the web-based 'The Bean Files' for primary school students and the cookbook 'Passion for Pulses'. She established the science communication programme at UWA in 2002, developing undergraduate and postgraduate curricula, teaching in Perth and Singapore, and leading research on science outreach, informal science education, citizen science, and public attitudes towards science.

In 2014, Professor Longnecker joined the University of Otago's Centre for Science Communication, where she taught courses on science exhibitions and interpretation, supervised 11 PhD, 16 MSc, and 25 Honours student projects from students in 17 countries, and curated exhibitions viewed by tens of thousands, such as 'Dare to be Wise' for Otago's 150th anniversary, 'Well Balanced' with the Ageing Well National Science Challenge, 'Einstein', 'Wai ora, Mauri ora', and the immersive 'Hou Rongo: Moriori, Music, Manawa' co-created with Hokotehi Moriori Trust. Her research investigates the impact and effectiveness of science communication across diverse audiences, using mixed methods to explore factors influencing attitudes and understanding of science, while respecting different values and knowledge sources. Key publications include 'Doctor-patient communication: a review' (2010), 'An integrated model of science communication – More than providing evidence' (2016), 'Social media as a platform for a citizen science community of practice' (2018), and plant nutrition works such as 'Distribution and transport of zinc in plants' (1993) and 'Leaf emergence, tiller growth, and apical development of nitrogen-deficient spring wheat' (1993). She contributed to national initiatives, including the Prime Minister’s Science Communication Awards judging panel and the New Zealand International Science Festival Advisory Committee.