STEM-APWD: Access and Equity in STEM: Disability and Innovation in Fundamental Research

The overall goals of this conference is to spotlight the kinds of research that disabled investigators are conducting, to highlight ways that disabilities can lead to innovation in research materials, methods, and findings, to discuss the kinds of accessibility challenges and systemic ableism faced by researchers with disabilities at every stage of the research process. The conference will also suggest ways to engage the scientific community in working to overcome challenges and to promote access, equity, and inclusion in fundamental research for disabled investigators. It will highlight both the excellent science that is done by investigators with disabilities, and the means by which excluded individuals may be better supported in STEM. The conference will improve collaboration within and across career stages, fields, and institutions, and between investigators with and without disabilities. This conference centers the work, perspectives, and lived experiences of researchers with disabilities, in order to initiate a focus in various scientific communities on increasing equitable participation of persons with disabilities in fundamental research. The conference will take place on July 10, 2024 at NSF headquarters in Alexandria, VA, in hybrid format to ensure maximal access to persons with disabilities. It will consist of two panels of 5 invited panelists each. All invited panelists are STEM researchers with various types of disabilities who work in a range of academic disciplines. The first panel seeks to spotlight examples of the kinds of research that disabled investigators are conducting. The second panel focuses on researchers with disabilities who are working on projects to specifically promote access, equity, and inclusion in STEM fields. These conversations will facilitate more inclusive and representative scholarship across disabilities, and will facilitate direct discussion with scientific communities, leadership, and staff. Community awareness and understanding should result in improved policies and opportunities for scientists with disabilities and the communities that engages with them. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.