Ming (Bryan) Wang, Principal Investigator (PI)
Bryan Wang is an Associate Professor in the College of Journalism and Mass Communications. His research focuses on the impact of new communication technologies, particularly social media and artificial intelligence, on health, science, and crisis communication. He is particularly interested in understanding and developing social media campaigns and AI-powered technologies to enhance public understanding and behavior regarding health (e.g., e-cigarettes, vaccines, obesity) and science (e.g., AI, quantum, autonomous and electric vehicles). His work has been published in leading communication journals such as Journal of Communication, Communication Research, Health Marketing Quarterly, and Social Marketing Quarterly. His teaching specialties include campaign strategy development, public relations, social media, and data mining. He holds a Ph.D. in Mass Communication from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an M.A. in Communication from Washington State University.
Erica DeFrain, Co-PI
Dr. Erica DeFrain is an Associate Professor and Social Sciences Librarian at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the University Libraries Teaching Partnerships department. A scholar-practitioner who has worked in libraries for 25+ years, DeFrain’s research centers around the study of information literacy and how people encounter, consume, and create information. Since 2016, DeFrain has collaborated extensively with non-profit research institute Project Information Literacy, serving as a fellow, research analyst, and consultant throughout numerous large-scale studies. DeFrain holds a Ph.D. in educational psychology, MLIS in library science, and MS in educational technology, all from the University of Arizona.
Heather Akin
Dr. Heather Akin is an Assistant Professor of Strategic Communication in the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication at the University of Nebraska Lincoln. Her research and service focus on understanding the social and psychological dynamics underlying publics' attitudes and behaviors related to science issues and risks. Her teaching focuses on the strategic communication of science, agriculture, and the environment as well as training scientists and other experts on effective communication strategies. Dr. Akin holds an Extension appointment and collaborates with Extension professionals to enhance communication about Extension programming and University-led research. She received her PhD in Journalism and Mass Communications from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was the Howard Deshong Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center from 2015 to 2017.
Robert Twomey
Robert Twomey is an artist and engineer exploring poetic intersections of human and machine perception, particularly how emerging technologies transform sites of intimate life. He has presented his work at SIGGRAPH (Best Paper Award), CVPR, ISEA, NeurIPS, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, and has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the California Arts Council, Microsoft, Amazon, HP, and NVIDIA. He is an Assistant Professor of Emerging Media Arts at the Johnny Carson Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he directs the Machine Cohabitation Lab, and an Artist-in-Residence with the Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination, UCSD.
Leen-Kiat Soh
Dr. Leen-Kiat Soh is Charles Bessey Professor and Senior Associate Director at the School of Computing at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His research interests are in multiagent systems and modeling, computer science education, and intelligent data analysis. His research has contributed to several areas of Artificial Intelligence (AI), particularly in multiagent systems agent-based modeling, and AI applications such as computer-aided education, intelligent interfaces, data mining, and the digital humanities.
Maria B. Marron
Maria B. Marron is a professor of journalism and mass communications and former dean of the CoJMC whose research interests are international media; the effects of social, cultural, political, economic and legal norms on the media; gender and the media; investigative journalism, law and ethics. A former journalist and public relations practitioner, she has had a career in teaching and academic leadership/administration in the United States and overseas. She has served as president of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication and as editor of Journalism and Mass Communication Educator.
David Sommer
David is a Ph.D. student in political science whose research interests encompass the intersection of AI, political psychology, and algorithmic literacy. He is interested in helping to create curricula for AI and algorithmic literacy that empower students to utilize AI in a wholesome and effective manner and help students navigate algorithms' influences on attitudinal formation and polarization. With a background in education and history, including experience as a high school social studies teacher. David holds a master's degree in history from Eastern Washington University and a bachelor's degree in social studies education from the University of Central Arkansas. David seeks to advance informed discourse in our digital age through his contributions to this project and his personal research, aimed at enhancing AI and algorithmic literacy.
Shahd Khourshed
Shahd Khourshed is a freshman Computer Science major and Entrepreneurship minor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Her interests vary from software engineering and data science to algorithmic justice. In the 2023, she worked with Encode Justice as an Advocacy Fellow to promote and advocate for the Algorithmic Accountability Act to require transparency about the impact of AI on consumers. Presently, she is an Associate with the Husker Venture Fund where she embraces a passion for entrepreneurship as she invests in Midwestern and Nebraska-based startups.