Making research environments more inclusive to deaf and hard of hearing students

Todd Pagano didn’t know any sign language when he began teaching chemistry at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID). ‘It was sink or swim,’ he explains. An interpreter initially supported him in class and he received tutoring, but within a term or so he was ready to go it alone. ‘Like any language, you learn through immersion. The more you interact with both your colleagues and students, who are deaf and hard of hearing, the quicker you pick up the language,’ Pagano says.

He has always wanted to be a chemist. ‘Early on in elementary school, we had to draw a picture of what we wanted to do when we grew up and, apparently, I drew a scientist with beakers and whatnot,’ he explains. Upon arriving at university, he narrowed his career goal further to becoming a chemistry professor. With a laser-like focus, Pagano completed three degrees in chemistry along the path to obtaining a faculty position.