Richard Holliman is Senior Lecturer in Science Communication at the Open University (OU), UK and production course team chair of Communicating Science in the Information Age. After completing a PhD investigating the representation of contemporary scientific research in television and newspapers in the Department of Sociology at the OU, in 2000 he moved across the campus to the Faculty of Science. Since that time he has worked on a number of undergraduate and postgraduate course teams, producing mixed media materials that address the interface between science and society. He is a member of the Centre for Research in Education and Educational Technology and is currently leading (with colleagues) the ISOTOPE (Informing Science Outreach and Public Engagement) and (In)visible Witnesses research project teams.

Elizabeth Whitelegg is Senior Lecturer in Science Education working in the Science Faculty at the Open University (OU), and Award Director for Science Short Courses. She recently produced (with Professor Patricia Murphy) a review of the research literature on the participation of girls in physics, for the Institute of Physics. Her main research interest is in girls' and women's participation in science and in learning science (particularly physics) at all levels; she is currently leading (with colleagues) the (In)visible Witnesses project. In 2003 she was invited to become a Fellow of the Institute of Physics.

Eileen Scanlon is Professor of Educational Technology and co-Director of the Centre for Research in Education and Educational Technology at the Open University. She is also Visiting Professor in the Moray House School of Education at the University of Edinburgh.

Sam Smidt is a senior lecturer based in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the Open University, and Programme Director of the MSc in Science. She has interests in physics education and outreach work in promoting science to the public.

Jeff Thomas is a senior lecturer within the Department of Biological Sciences at the Open University. He has worked at the OU all his professional life, contributing to a wide range of teaching initiatives in biology and in health sciences, and more recently to a range of projects concerned with contemporary science issues and on the relationships between science and different publics, at both undergraduate and Masters level. His research interests are concerned with the influence of contemporary science controversies on public attitude, on conceptual problems of learning biological science, and in public involvement in science-based policy-making. He also teaches part-time for Birkbeck College, University of London on its Diploma in Science Communication.

Stuart Allan, Professor of Journalism in the Media School, Bournemouth University.
James Bennett, Senior Lecturer in Media Studies at London Metropolitan University.
Jenni Carr, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Faculty of Science at The Open University.
Sarah Davies, Institute of Hazard and Risk Research, Durham University.
Anders Hansen, Deputy Director of the Centre for Mass Communication Research and Lecturer in Mass Communications in the Department of Media and Communication, University of Leicester, UK.
Barbara Hodgson, Senior Lecturer in Educational Technology at The Open University.
Susanna Hornig Priest, Professor of Journalism and Media Studies at the Hank Greenspun School, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Alan Irwin, Dean of Research at Copenhagen Business School.
Eric Jensen, ISOTOPE Project Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Chemistry, Open University.
Joan Leach, University of Queensland.
Robin Meisner, Center for Informal Learning and Schools (CILS) at King's College London.
Felicity Mellor, Lecturer in Science Communication at Imperial College London.
Jonathan Osborne, Head of the Department of Education and Professional Studies and the Chair of science education, King's College London.
Jack Stilgoe, senior researcher at Demos.
Brian Trench, senior lecturer and former head of school at the School of Communications, Dublin City University.
James Wilsdon, Head of science and innovation at Demos and a senior research fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies at Lancaster University.
Simeon Yates, Director of the Culture, Communication and Computing Research Institute (C3RI) at Sheffield Hallam University.

"This book provides an overview of how public engagement and popular media influence the way science is communicated. It is well suited as a college text and presents options for further readings and additional web resources for each article. It is accessible to readers, regardless of expertise, due to the use of clear examples and detailed discussions of research findings."--Integrative and Comparative Biology