Kelly Bronson is a Canada Research Chair in Science and Society at University of Ottawa. She is a social scientist studying science-society tensions that erupt around controversial technologies (GMOs, fracking, big data & AI) and their governance. Her research aims to bring community values into conversation with technical knowledge in the production of evidence-based decision-making. She has published her work in regional (Journal of New Brunswick Studies), national (Canadian Journal of Communication) and international journals (Science Communication, Journal of Responsible Innovation, Big Data and Society). She has several competitive grant-funded projects looking at emergent technologies used in agriculture and in environmental impact assessment. 

Before joining the University of Ottawa, Dr. Bronson was the Director of a Science and Technology Studies program at St. Thomas University in New Brunswick, Canada. She holds a PhD in Communication and Cultural Studies from York University, Toronto, as well as a Master’s degree in Sociology of Technology from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada. Before her training in the social sciences, Dr. Bronson earned two degrees in biology and worked as a lab bench scientist practicing genetics/plant biology (Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada). 

Dr. Bronson holds several advisory positions on large research grants operating out of the U.S. and Europe, regularly sits on expert committees (e.g. Council of Canadian Academies) and is frequently asked to communicate her knowledge to academic and public audiences. She welcomes enquiries from students interested in undertaking research and pursuing graduate studies in her areas of expertise. She is authorised to supervise students at all levels, including PhD.