Nan Li

Nan Li is an associate professor in the Department of Life Sciences Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is affiliated with the Robert F. and Jean E. Holtz Center for Science and Technology Studies, the McPherson Eye Research Institute, the Office of Sustainability, and the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery. Li teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in visual communication and risk communication and advises students in both the master’s and PhD programs in Science Communication.

Li studies how people come to believe what they cannot observe for themselves. Her work examines the images, data, objects, and machines through which science, risk, and emerging technologies become knowable, and what that mediation does to public understanding of problems such as climate change and environmental hazards.

Recent work focuses on how scientific images and data visualizations are translated by the media, how widely circulated visuals (e.g., science photos and AI-generated illustrations) shape perceptions of credibility and the issues they depict, and how science art fosters emotional engagement and self-reflection in the context of environmental risk and justice. Across this body of work, Li challenges traditional visual norms in science communication that prioritize technical accuracy and aesthetics. Instead, she collaborates with scientists, artists, and community partners to develop evidence-based strategies that center emotional resonance, co-creation, and community experience.

Her scholarship has been published in Communications Earth & Environment, Science Communication, Public Understanding of Science, Visual Communication, Climatic Change, Energy Policy, and other leading journals, and her research and public engagement projects have been featured in over 30 domestic and international outlets, including Forbes, The Guardian, The Conversation, and PBS. Li’s interdisciplinary work has received support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Department of Energy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and other agencies. She has recently partnered with tribal communities, museums, and local organizations to curate exhibits and conduct community-based programs that highlight ecological knowledge and the artistic traditions of Wisconsin’s Native nations. This work examines how objects and material practices carry environmental knowledge that images cannot.

Li serves on the Scientific Committee of the Network for the Public Communication of Science and Technology (PCST) and the Development Committee of the International Environmental Communication Association (IECA). At UW, she is a member of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Curriculum Committee and the Research Advisory Committee, and she also sits on the University Academic Planning Council (2025-2026).

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 – Science Communication from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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