PIPages
Labs

Krishnendu Roy

Vanderbilt University, TN·Education Research

At least 20% of people in the US are neurodiverse, including people with autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and dyslexia. Yet only about 11% of STEM undergraduates and 4.4% of STEM PhD recipients are neurodiverse.

Fields

Education Research

Engineering

Social Science

Topics

neurodiversity

autism

dyslexia

Grants
1 known grant, through Jul 2029

What they work on

  1. Pilot connected programs at Vanderbilt, Fisk, UConn and Northeastern that support neurodiverse engineering students from undergraduate study through graduate training and into the workforce.
  2. Curate an Engineering Neurodiversity Playbook of curricula, guides and rubrics as a living online resource that other engineering schools can adopt.
  3. Expand A-SCENE through a fee-supported affiliate universities program and a national student organization, the Society of Neurodiverse Engineers, with local chapters.
  4. Develop training for student-support professionals and employers, and explore licensing an internship- and job-matching tool for neurodiverse engineers.

More about the research

Research suggests these students often bring strengths valuable in engineering. Examples include divergent thinking in ADHD and visual-spatial ability and resilience in dyslexia. This project asks how engineering schools can build connected supports that help neurodiverse students enter and succeed in engineering careers.

Why it matters

Neurodiverse students, including those with autism, ADHD or dyslexia, are underrepresented in engineering despite strengths relevant to the field. Engineering schools could adopt a tested model, playbook and job-matching tools to help these students complete degrees and find jobs. This could eventually reach tens of thousands of neurodiverse engineering students nationwide.

Known grants

From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.

Track 4 (Phase II): The Autism Self-advocacy Center for Equity and Neurodiversity in Engineering (The A-SCENE)

NSF · Aug 2025 – Jul 2029

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The school

Vanderbilt University: 22 labs on PI Pages, $1.3B a year on research, 494 research doctorates a year.

More about Vanderbilt University

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