Matthew C. Nisbet

Matthew C. Nisbet

Associate Professor of Communication, Northeastern University

Matthew C. Nisbet, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Communication Studies, Public Policy, and Urban Affairs  at Northeastern University. Nisbet studies the role of communication and advocacy in policymaking and public affairs, focusing on debates over over climate change, energy, and sustainability. Among awards and recognition, Nisbet has been a Visiting Shorenstein Fellow on Press, Politics, and Public Policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, a Health Policy Investigator at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and a Google Science Communication Fellow. In 2011, the editors at the journal Nature recommended Nisbet's research as “essential reading for anyone with a passing interest in the climate change debate,” and the New Republic highlighted his work as a “fascinating dissection of the shortcomings of climate activism."

On Sunday at 7pm EST PBS Nova is airing a special on the science of mega-storm Sandy.  For readers who work and teach at universities, I encourage you to watch the […]
As New York City struggles to recover from Sandy, Mayor Bloomberg today announced that the city would start rationing gas, as long lines and scarce supplies continue to plague the […]
Perceptions of Promise: Biotechnology, Society and Art is an interdisciplinary project that brings together a group of internationally recognized artists and social commentators to produce a body of original art work […]
Over at the Breakthrough, my latest Public Square column takes a look at the good and the bad of Nate Silver’s cultural celebrity and oracle status.  Here’s how the column […]
In a new co-authored study with John Besley and Sang Wa Oh at the journal Public Understanding of Science,we expand on our recent work examining how scientists as a group perceive and understand public opinion, […]
In my latest column at The Breakthrough, I discuss what Obama can do in tonight’s second Presidential debate to reverse momentum, and it starts with defying critics who are calling […]
Last month, I published with Dietram Scheufele “The Polarization Paradox: Why Hyperpartisanship Promotes Conservatism and Undermines Liberalism.”  We detail in the article how liberals have become more like conservatives in their political […]