Dr. Wen-Ling Tu is President of the Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET) and a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Public Administration at National Chengchi University, Taiwan. She also serves as Dean of the International College of Innovation, Director of the Centre for Innovative Democracy and Sustainability (CIDS), member of the Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience Committee, Director of the Radioactive Waste Disposal Office, and Board Member of the Taiwan Space Agency (TASA). She has contributed extensively to policy consultation work across various public agencies in Taiwan.
She received her Ph.D. in Environmental Planning from the University of California, Berkeley. Her research focuses on science, technology, and society (STS), environmental governance, risk communication, public participation and deliberation. Her book Environmental Risk and Public Governance (2015, Wunan Press) overviews the environmental governance problems in Taiwan. Her co-edited book Challenging the Chip: Labor Rights and Environmental Justice in the Global Electronics Industry (2006, Temple University Press) reveals the dark side of high-tech electronics development and advocates an environmentally and socially responsible industry. In recent years, her interests have expanded to include emerging technologies, net-zero technologies, and the societal aspects of the semiconductor industry.
As a long-standing contributor to the STS field, Dr. Tu served as Editor-in-Chief of East Asian Science, Technology and Society: An International Journal (EASTS) (2023-25) and has been serving as an editor of Science, Technology, & Human Values (ST&HV). She has published several articles about the environmental impacts of the high-tech industry, citizen science on air monitoring projects, and nuclear waste disputes in Taiwan.
Beyond academia, Dr. Tu is dedicated to deepening social resilience for democracy. She is the coordinator of the popular science television program “Open the S-File: When Science Meets Social Controversies”. Her contributions have been recognized with several honors, including the 2010 Ta-You Wu Memorial Award from Taiwan’s National Science Council, the 2007 Top Ten Rising Stars in Taiwan/Environmental Protection Award, and the 2004 Bob and Sydney Brown International Humanitarian Award. She has been actively involved in Taiwan’s environmental movement since the 1990s and is an active organizer of citizen deliberative forums on various policy issues in Taiwan.