Alex Kirkpatrick, PhD

I'm a Social Scientist and Senior Lecturer in Engineering Communications at Cornell University.

Everyone has the potential to succeed in higher education. I pursued my degrees as a non-traditional, first-generation student. I'm now teaching undergraduate courses with Cornell's Engineering Communications Program, and developing an asynchronous Professional Communication course for Cornell's School of Continuing Education. I am also lead-instructor for a Western SARE funded online professional development course aimed at enhancing AI and science communication literacy among agriculture professionals.

I enjoy applying the scientific method to investigate how novel ideas and behaviors spread. My research explores public engagement with science and technology, risk communication and the spread of technoscientific (mis)information online.

Check out my publications and projects to learn more!

alex.kirkpatrick@cornell.edu

Alex Kirkpatrick, Cornell University

Projects in progress

Sharing a toolbox for understanding and communicating agricultural AI

I have helped to developed an online professional development course aimed at enhancing AI and science communication literacy among agriculture professionals. The toolbox of 10 video-lectures explores AI in society and its increasing impacts on agricultural sustainability. Along the way, lectures consider public understanding and methods of engaging agricultural audiences in meaningful dialogue about the risks and rewards of AI adoption. This project was made possible through a grant from Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Development, and collaboration with researchers from Washington State University and the USDA-NIFA National AI Institute for Transforming Workforce and Decision Support.

Explore the toolbox and watch the videos via the Extension Foundation site.

Investigating the spread of information and misinformation about science and technology

Why is misinformation about science, technology and risk so attractive? What makes people believe in and share information about science and technology in the first place? What role does our media environment play in shaping the meaning of truth and the relationship between science and society?

I am probing such questions using social-scientific methods. I am looking at the origins of attitudes and behaviors toward science by conducting surveys, interviews and media-effects experiments. In particular, my recent work has focussed on the role of media-exposure, psychological distance and risk-perception on non-scientists' decision to share information about technoscientific issues online. Currently, I am examining data related to beliefs about the risks and benefits of AI, and the psychology effects of media use.

Examining STEM professionals' attitudes toward public science communication

I aim to develop effective, appropriate and research-backed methods of bridging the gap between the lab and layperson. Developing the field of science communication means understanding how, why and where scientists, engineers and other STEM professionals choose to engage public audiences with their work. I am exploring the influence of intergroup factors, self-efficacy and institutional norms on how science is presented to non-scientists. Currently, I am looking at professional identity and how it potentially shapes and reinforces attitudes about non-experts, and how they are best engaged with complex topics.