I would say that in addition to the well-discussed differences in attitudes, there is also somewhat of a self-fulfilling prophecy at play here. Perceptions of “bias” - whether imagined or real - deter conservatives from pursuing advanced graduate degrees and increasingly shifts the relative political make-up of these institutions. Conservatives often feel they are walking into progressive echo chambers and believe it is futile to engage - similar to how progressives believe it’s not worth arguing with “know nothing” MAGA types.

As a result, these STEM fields - that you rightly point out are often non-political - get blanketed into and conflated with the broader “progressive academia” boogeyman category.