As an experimental psychologist, William Hallman’s work focuses on public perceptions of risk, and on improving risk, health, environmental, and science communication, especially with respect to controversial issues concerning food, technology, health, and the environment.

In particular, he has conducted research on food safety, food recalls, genetically modified foods, nanotechnology in food and agriculture, animal cloning, qualified health claims for food products, and the safety of perishable proteins purchased on the internet. In addition, he has conducted research on personal precaution-taking against Lyme disease and Zika virus; perceived exposures and unexplained symptoms experienced by veterans of the Gulf War; post-traumatic stress among firefighters responding to 9/11; perceptions of the threat of agricultural bioterrorism; public reactions to the potential for outbreaks of avian influenza; the uptake of influenza vaccinations; public reactions to coastal storm warnings; public perceptions of the contamination of soil, oil, and air; and other issues.

As the former director of the Food Policy Institute at Rutgers, he has conducted research on food insecurity among homebound elderly recipients of home-delivered meals (in collaboration with Meals on Wheels America); conducted an evaluation of the New Jersey Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (NJ-WIC); and, in 2009, was a founder of the New Brunswick Community Farmers Market. He also co-founded Rutgers Against Hunger in 2008, a program focused on hunger and food-insecurity issues within the New Jersey.

Learn more about the work of the human ecology department, which he chairs.