Frist Center For Autism And Innovation

Keivan Stassun, Stevenson Professor of Physics and Astronomy and director of the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation at Vanderbilt University, has been appointed to the National Science Board by President Joe Biden. Read More

The Frist Center for Autism and Innovation at Vanderbilt will be featured on NPR's This Is Nashville on Monday, Dec. 12, in conjunction with the national airing on PBS of the documentary In A Different Key. Read More

Nilanjan Sarkar and Meiyi Ma have received Civic Innovation Challenge planning grants from the National Science Foundation. The purpose of the NSF CIVIC program is to accelerate the transition to practice of foundational research and emerging technologies into communities through civic-engaged research. Read More

Vanderbilt School of Engineering’s Frist Center for Autism and Innovation, working in partnership with Fisk University, has won a $1.9 million grant from the National Science Foundation to create a system of programs to support neurodiverse students in engineering majors and careers. Read More

Keivan Stassun, Stevenson Professor of Physics and Astronomy and director of the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation, is a co-author of the study “Increasing Diversity and Inclusion in the Leadership of Competed Space Missions.” The report will be published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine on May 18. Read More

Applications are open through June 15 for the Neurodiversity Inspired Science and Engineering graduate trainee program. The NISE program engages students across STEM disciplines in the development, deployment and commercialization of future of work at the human technology frontier (FW-HTF) approaches and devices that support neurodiverse individuals, and/or that are inspired by their abilities. Read More

In 2022, neurodiversity in the workplace is an issue capturing attention, as conversations on how to create more inclusive spaces for all continue among business leaders. Tim Vogus, deputy director of Vanderbilt's Frist Center for Autism and Innovation, focuses on research related to improving the workplace for people on the autism spectrum. Read More

Join HR Employee Learning and Engagement for the next installment in its Thought Leader Series. “Neurodiversity in the Workplace” with David Caudel, associate director of the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation, will be on Thursday, April 14, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. via Zoom. Read More

Vanderbilt will host an exclusive pre-release screening of the documentary "In A Different Key" on Thursday, March 31. The film is the story of a mother who tracks down the first person ever diagnosed with autism, now an elderly man in rural Mississippi, to learn if his life story holds promise for her own autistic son. Read More

The Frist Center for Autism and Innovation has announced its 2022 call for membership, which allows Vanderbilt faculty and staff to apply to become affiliates or fellows of the center. Applications are due by March 15.  Read More

Under the leadership of Keivan Stassun, founding director of the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation, the center has been recognized for its innovations in engineering research related to autism and the value of neurodiversity in the workplace. Read More

Vanderbilt’s Data Science Institute has kicked off the third year of its undergraduate summer research program. The program engages students who are interested in carrying out data science-related research with a Vanderbilt faculty member and integrates them into the institute’s community of data science scholars. Read More

Applications are open through June 15 for the Neurodiversity Inspired Science and Engineering graduate trainee program. The NISE program takes a novel approach to the training of engineers and scientists engaged in advancing the future of work at the human technology frontier. Read More

The Frist Center for Autism and Innovation at Vanderbilt will host a virtual discussion, “Autism and Disability Representation on Screen,” on Tuesday, March 30, at 10 a.m. CT. The event will be hosted on Zoom, and registration is not required. Read More

Vanderbilt University students, faculty and staff gathered Feb. 24 for a virtual panel discussion that highlighted the need for empathy and action to improve the experiences of marginalized groups in the United States. Read More

A virtual event to discuss the formation of a Neurodiversity Employee Affinity Group is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 25, at 5 p.m. CT. The goal of the listening session is to gather input, ask questions and offer suggestions about how a Neurodiversity Employee Affinity Group at Vanderbilt can best serve this community. Read More

Several Vanderbilt diversity and inclusion programs are spotlighted by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs on a list of disability and inclusion resources meeting the agency’s criteria. Read More

The Frist Center for Autism and Innovation has announced its 2020 call for membership, which allows Vanderbilt faculty and staff to apply to become affiliates or fellows of the center. Read More

During a summer of exoplanet discoveries, astronomer Keivan Stassun helps identify new worlds and expand understanding of our own. Read More

Donna and Jeffrey Eskind, whose generous gifts have advanced Vanderbilt research that is improving lives, have made a new commitment of $2 million to endow a new chair in autism spectrum disorder research in the School of Medicine. Read More