Jon Miller

Jon Miller is the John A. Hannah Professor of Integrative Studies at Michigan State University. This endowed chair was named in honor of John Hannah, a long-serving President of Michigan State University who had a strong commitment to interdisciplinary teaching and research. The chair is appointed jointly by the deans of the colleges of natural science, social science, and arts and letters. Professor Miller was selected for the Hannah chair because of his studies of scientific literacy in more than 40 countries and his studies of the development of student and young adult knowledge and values in American society.

Jon has measured the public understanding of science and technology in the United States for the last three decades, and has examined the factors associated with the development of attitudes toward science and science policy. He directed biennial national surveys for the National Science Board for 20 years, the results of which were reported in Science and Engineering Indicators. He has pioneered the definition and measurement of scientific literacy and his approach to the public understanding of science has been replicated in more than 40 countries. He continues to conduct studies of the public perception of science in the United States and other nations.

Jon is the Director of the Longitudinal Study of American Youth (LSAY), now located at Michigan State University. The LSAY began in 1987 with national samples of 7 th and 10 th grade public school students and has followed these students since 1987. The LSAY data base is the longest longitudinal study of students and young adults ever conducted in the United States. Currently, all LSAY students are being surveyed to obtain updated information on their educational and occupational attainment. The 2007 survey will look at social, political, and community participation.

Jon has published four books -- Citizenship in an Age of Science (Pergamon Press, 1980), The American People and Science Policy (Pergamon Press, 1983); Public Perceptions of Science and Technology: A comparative study of the European Union, the United States, Japan, and Canada (Foundation BBV, Madrid, 1997); and Biomedical Communications: Purposes, audiences, and strategies (Academic Press, 2001) -- and more than 50 journal articles and book chapters. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the journal Public Understanding of Science.

Jon is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and recently completed his second six-year term on the AAAS Committee on the Public Understanding of Science and Technology. He was a Sigma Xi National Lecturer for two years between 1989 and 1991.

Jon’s expertise in the measurement and analysis of the public understanding of science and technology is recognized internationally. He served as President of the International Council for the Comparative Study of the Public Understanding of Science and Technology for six years. He has served as a consultant to the European Commission, the National Institute of Science and Technology Policy in Japan, and the China Association for Science and Technology.

Jon is working on a new book that examines the development of ideological politics in the United States.