Amir Abo-Shaeer
American teacher and mechanical engineer (born 1972)
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Through Physics
Early life and education
Shaeer was born to an Iraqi Muslim father and an Irish-American mother in São Paulo, Brazil, where his father was teaching physics at the university. Before his first birthday, his family returned to Santa Barbara, California, where he has resided ever since.
He graduated from Dos Pueblos High School and attended the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he earned a B.S. in physics, a M.S. in mechanical engineering, and a M.Ed. in secondary education.
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Career
Shaeer began his career as a mechanical engineer in the private sector. He worked on research and development in academia, aerospace, and telecommunications before deciding to pursue a career in education. Early on, he taught physics, wrote the curriculum, and developed courses for the DPEA. He eventually decided that the capstone course for the senior class would revolve around the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC), which requires students to design and construct a 120-pound (54 kg) robot to compete against other robots in a game challenge that is different every year. The DPEA is known as Team 1717 in the FIRST community.
In 2007, he garnered a $3 million California state matching grant to create a 12,000-square-foot (1,100 m2) engineering facility on the high school campus to support the implementation of the Career Technical Education (CTE) curriculum he created. The building opened in October 2011 and is currently in use.
On September 29, 2010, Congresswoman Lois Capps congratulated him on the floor of the United States House of Representatives for winning the MacArthur Fellowship.
Media
The New York Times-bestselling author Neal Bascomb wrote a book chronicling Abo-Shaeer's teaching and his 2009 FIRST robotics team's competition season. The New Cool was released on March 1, 2011.
Personal life
Shaeer and his wife, Emily, have a daughter.