Nancy Longnecker

Professor emerita at University of Otago

I love plants, books, museums, nature, people and good food.

My primary and secondary schooling was in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana; my BSc (cum laude) in biology was earned at University of the South, Sewanee, Tennesee; and my MSc and PhD in soil science and plant nutrition at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. I moved to Adelaide, South Australia in 1986 for my overseas adventure, doing post-doctoral research on manganese-deficiency in barley, a key ingredient for making beer. I stayed.

Perth, Western Australia was my home for much of my working life. I put down roots (pun intended) there as an agricultural research scientist, professional science communicator and science communication academic. In 2014, my husband, daughter and I uprooted, moving to Dunedin, New Zealand where I took a position as professor of science communication, as both a practicing and academic science communicator.

I have: taught at universities and contributed to science communication workshops in Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, and Denmark; conducted research about effectiveness of science communication; curated dozens of exhibitions and displays; compiled Passion for Pulses, a popular science communication book that masqueraded as a cookbook; produced podcast series; created and studied social media communities of practice; co-created resources with indigenous partners; and developed science communication resources for children, adolescents and adults.

OrcID: 0000-0002-2798-6389