David Liu is currently a doctoral student in the School of Education at the University of California, Irvine, with a concentration in Learning, Cognition, and Development (LCD).

His work addresses the achievement and interest gap in science and in particular students from marginalized and disempowered communities. The goal of his research is to reform systems of inequality caused by cultural and institutional barriers. He critically explores how to design science learning environments that leverage children’s interests and experiences to position themselves as active and engaged science learners. David currently examines identity formation of non-dominant upper elementary students as they engage in science across time and different spaces.