To communicate science successfully in policy contexts requires more than effective techniques. It requires attention to appropriate means for maintaining the public’s trust and earning science’s “rightful place” in civic deliberations—that is, it requires a normative approach to science communication. The overall research goal of the Science Communication program at Iowa State University is to deepen our understanding of the normative and practical challenges of communicating science in controversial settings and of appropriate methods for addressing these challenges. The interdisciplinary team includes expertise in science journalism/mass communication, environmental communication, and normative theories of argumentation.