Outreach
Abraham and his REAP mentor Dr. Hazeli had the idea to study different resin composites to substitute what is currently used in tooth cavity fillings, as the current composite attracts bacteria and therefore requires patients to replace fillings. While this was a new field to Abraham, he welcomed the challenge with enthusiasm. Along the way, he discovered a new interest in mechanical engineering. He explained that the ability to study hands-on how different materials behave was particularly meaningful because it is applicable to a real-world challenge. “This experience has exposed me to so many different fields and types of projects in engineering,” said Abraham.
Shawn Abraham’s visual impairment doesn’t stop him from learning as much as he can. A junior at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, MD, Abraham used his summer vacation to delve deeper into the world of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
Abraham, who is blind, completed over 200 hours of work at the Hopkins Extreme Materials Institute (HEMI) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) as part of AEOP’s Research & Engineering Apprenticeship Program (REAP), a summer program that places talented high school students from groups historically under represented and underserved in STEM into research apprenticeships.
Apprenticeship Spotlight
