Dr. Dennis Wayne Liu

Dennis W. Liu is an internationally recognized expert in science education and educational media. Trained in molecular genetics, he turned from scientific research to education and directed the production of educational media for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Tangled Bank Studios. Largely influenced by American biologist and naturalist E.O. Wilson, he shifted focus from molecular medicine to what Wilson called “the little things that run the world”—from ants to hummingbirds to pitcher plants, the millions of other species our very lives depend on. As Vice President of Education for the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation, Dennis works to carry forward Wilson’s mission to protect our planet’s precious biodiversity—now and for future generations. Dennis studied zoology at the University of Wisconsin, earned a PhD from University of Oregon, and was faculty at the University of Washington’s Department of Genetics. He has a passion for engaging diverse audiences in problem-solving, combining scientific and humanistic approaches. Liu serves on the boards of the American Chestnut Foundation and Homegrown National Park, and is President of the American Conservation Film Festival.

RCC Research Project: Natural Companions: Deep Knowledge and Biophilia

Selected Publications:

• with Tamara Rudic. The Beauty and Diversity of Dragonflies. 8 February 2023. ArcGIS Storymap. https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/4c1b5d8db11245fd934e720123b8de56. 
• “Hemophilia and Learning to Love Science.” The American Biology Teacher 79, no. 3 (2017): 165. https://doi.org/10.1525/abt.2017.79.3.165.
• “Animated Life: The Living Fossil Fish.“ Produced by Flora Lichtman and Sharon Shattuck. HHMI BioInteractive, 2016. https://www.biointeractive.org/classroom-resources/animated-life-living-fossil-fish. 
• “Reading and Writing in the Disciplines.” Written by Dale Allender, Jared Aumen, Linda Ruiz Davenport, Dennis Liu, Mary Mathews, Chauncey B. Monte-Sano, and Jana Sunkle. Produced by WGBH Educational Foundation. Annenberg Learner, 2015. https://www.learner.org/series/reading-writing-in-the-disciplines/. 
• “Science Denial and The Science Classroom.” CBE—Life Sciences Education 11, no. 2 (2012): 129–34. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.12-03-0029. 
• “BioDiversifying the Curriculum.“ CBE—Life Sciences Education 8, no. 2 (2009): 100–7. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.09-03-0016.