Amir Muhsin Abo-Shaeer ( ar, امر موهسين ابوسهايير; born March 20, 1972) is an American teacher and mechanical engineer. In 2001, during his first year of teaching, he established the Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy (DPEA) on the

Dos Pueblos High School Dos Pueblos High School is a public high school located in Goleta, California, northwest of Santa Barbara. Located adjacent to the foothills on the edge of the Goleta Valley in an area known as El Encanto Heights, it serves a student body of appr ...

campus. In addition to being the Director of the DPEA, he teaches physics, engineering, robotics, machining and manufacturing. His focused outreach efforts have yielded 50% female student enrollment in the DPEA. He also ran FRC Team 1717 as part of the academy program. He was named a

MacArthur Fellow The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to between 20 and 30 indi ...

in 2010. He is the first high school teacher to win the award, as well as the first FIRST mentor to win the award for work relating to FIRST robotics.

Early life and education

Shaeer was born to an Iraqi Muslim father and an Irish-American mother in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, where his father was teaching physics at the university. Before his first birthday, his family returned to

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Co ...

, where he has resided ever since. He graduated from

and attended the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...

, where he earned a B.S. in

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

, a M.S. in

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, an ...

, and a M.Ed. in

secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final pha ...

Career

Shaeer began his career as a

mechanical engineer Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations of ...

in the private sector. He worked on research and development in

academia An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astr ...

, and

telecommunications Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...

before deciding to pursue a career in education. Early on, he taught physics, wrote 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 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 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 Lois Ragnhild Capps (née Grimsrud; January 10, 1938) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1998 to 2017. She is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, numbered as the 22nd District from 1998 to 2003 ...

congratulated him on the floor of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

for winning the MacArthur Fellowship.

Personal life

Shaeer and his wife, Emily, have a daughter, Aliya Shaeer.

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.

Honors

* 2008 Goleta Educator of the Year * 2008 Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition * 2009 Santa Barbara Rotary Outstanding Service Award * 2010

MacArthur Fellowship The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to between 20 and 30 indi ...

* 2011 FIRST Woodie Flowers Award – Los Angeles Regional * 2013 Distinguished Educator Award from the Paul Allen Family Foundation * 2013 Distinguished Alumni Award, University of California, Santa Barbara * 2013 Marvyn Melvin Distinguished Teacher Award, Santa Barbara County Education Office

References

External links

Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy

DPEA Foundation

Dos Pueblos High School

Neal Bascomb

Amir Abo-Shaeer on CNN's Most Intriguing People
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abo-Shaeer, Amir MacArthur Fellows Living people 1972 births University of California, Santa Barbara alumni American engineers American physicists American people of Iraqi descent American people of Irish descent