About Us
Mission Statement
The Frist Center for Autism and Innovation at the Vanderbilt University School of Engineering brings together leading engineers, business scholars, academic researchers, and experts in educational and clinical practice, in partnership with self-advocates and other civic stakeholders, to maximize neurodiverse talent within and into the workforce. From a strengths-based understanding of neurodiversity that honors lived experiences by driving real needs-based solutions, the Center sees opportunities for innovation in technology, business models, talent development, future-leader training, and workplace practices.
Scope of Work
With the goal to simultaneously enhance quality of life for neurodiverse people and improve the bottom line for business and society, the Frist Center’s strategic investment of expertise and resources is intended to enable, promote, and support the most cutting-edge...
- inventors and entrepreneurs to develop and commercialize new technologies, algorithms, and systems that enable neurodiverse people to gain employment, succeed at work, and achieve their full potential;
- business scholars and management experts to develop and deploy novel pipelines to careers, workplace practices and tools, corporate trainings, and policies that dramatically increase neurodiverse talent in the workforce and meaningfully advance neurodiversity in leadership;
- academicians and other professionals in higher education to develop and prepare the next generation of engineers, business leaders, special education and clinical practitioners, and students across all other relevant domains to bring a “neurodiversity paradigm” to all whose lives they will touch and everything they will invent, create and do;
- self-advocates and other civic stakeholders to ensure that everything the Center undertakes is done with the engagement—the centering—of neurodiverse people, voices, lived experiences, and perspectives.
Placement and Positioning
The Center organizationally resides within the Vanderbilt School of Engineering with a faculty director from the School, while involving faculty in the Owen School and affiliates across the university. It is physically housed in Vanderbilt’s Innovation Pavilion, thereby connecting the Center visibly to innovation, and providing visibility and foot traffic for students and visitors. The space serves to showcase the Center’s innovations and its people, including a welcoming staff, interactive prototypes, informative exhibits, and real-time displays of the Center’s work in progress. It enjoys access to the Wond’ry maker spaces, business incubator, and meeting facilities. This location also centrally promotes collaboration between the School of Engineering, the Owen Graduate School of Management, and the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center.
Advisory Board
Our center is advised by a group of experts from each of our areas of scope. Click here to learn more about the advisory board.
Research and Development
The Frist Center for Autism and Innovation team of research laboratories is pursuing several research and development efforts. These efforts represent a coming together of extant areas of expertise at Vanderbilt — in engineering, psychology, astrophysics, disabilities research, and business management — toward the shared goal of employing autistic individuals and advancing innovation in the workforce.