ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a brief introduction to the key theoretical concepts underlying the idea of public understanding of science and the shift over time toward the adoption of an engagement-oriented approach. It then focuses on toward a reflection on the critiques of Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN's) communications approach and considers the view as to whether all the attention it received may have encouraged the organization to skew how it presented information to the media and the public. While the majority of PEN's resources devoted to interacting with the public did focus on communications-style activities, PEN's experiments in direct public engagement and deliberation offer insights into the opportunities and challenges that similar organizations will face in adopting such practices in the future. The chapter discusses PEN viewed its interactions with the public along a continuum, including public understanding of science (PUS) elements of disseminating information and public engagement with science (PES) elements of direct deliberation and public participation.
