Maxwell Palance

About Maxwell Palance

I am a NASA N3 Research Intern and Scholar, a USA Computing Olympiad Platinum-level programmer, a mobile app developer, and Co-Chair of the Stanford Neurodiversity Project’s Network for K-12 Neurodiversity Education and Advocacy (NNEA). I have also served as a TA for the Vanderbilt Frist Center for Autism and Innovation\'s Aspie Python Bootcamp, where I assisted autistic adults in learning Python.My neurodivergence shapes how I approach challenges and learning. I strongly believe in autistic-driven research and am committed to ensuring that research and innovation reflect lived experience. I am guided by a belief that human-centered design can unlock the strengths of neurodiversity.

Experience

1. Research Intern, Scholar, Co-design Unit Developer

   NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

   Jan 2024 — Present

   Conducted global precipitation trend analysis using R under NASA Subject Matter Expert Dr. José Javier Hernández Ayala, running Mann-Kendall tests on 27 years of NASA Giovanni data to map polar increases and equatorial declines while investigating GPM rain-snow misclassification near the poles, culminating in a published paper in Int’l Journal Earth and an American Association of Geographers 2026 conference presentation. Selected as a NASA N3 Scholar as a high school sophomore, a competitive honor that offered monthly speaker sessions to deepen engagement with NASA science. Chosen to digitize a NASA-funded educational card game for the PLANETS program serving underserved and Neurodiverse students.

Education

• Stanford Online High School

  High School Diploma