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148:. Bdeir credits her parents, her late father Saadi Bdeir, an entrepreneur and mother Randa Bdeir, a banker as her inspiration because they raised her and her sisters to love maths, science, and design and pursue their passions in the field of their choosing. Bdeir would take things apart, break them open to see what was inside. She was given chemistry sets, and programming lessons on
260:
As a fellow at
Creative Commons, she led the public competition for the Open Hardware logo—now adopted on millions of circuit boards around the world. Bdeir has published academic papers and coined the term "Electronics As Material," which is the idea of "thinking of electronics as material that can
252:
Bdeir is a proponent of the Open
Hardware Movement, an initiative aimed at ensuring that technological knowledge is accessible to everyone, and co-founded the Open Hardware Summit, an annual conference organized by the Open Source Hardware Association. In 2010, Bdeir was awarded a fellowship with
203:
In
September 2011, Bdeir started littleBits Electronics, a startup with the goal to "put the power of electronics in the hands of everyone, and to break down complex technologies so that anyone can build, prototype, and invent." The company is based in New York with funding from such investors as
248:
Bdeir was named to
Popular Mechanics' 25 Makers Who Are Reinventing the American Dream in 2014 and has spoken at TED, SXSW, Solid, and CreativeMornings about the Maker Movement, the importance of democratizing technology, and the Internet of Things.
272:
Prior to littleBits, Bdeir worked as an interactive artist. She has exhibited work at the
Peacock Visual Arts gallery (Aberdeen), the New Museum (New York), Ars Electronica (Linz) and the Royal College of Art (London). Installations include:
222:
littleBits joined the 2016 Disney
Accelerator program. It has also partnered with Savvas, one of the leading curriculum companies in the world to co-create curriculum to support their Science and Engineering program.
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differences, championing their girls to be scientists and engineers, and push to be career women. (Bdeir's mother attended university to get her degree at the same time as her daughters were going to school.)
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Bdeir is a proponent of Gender
Neutrality in toys. Bdeir has said she is proud that 40% of the littleBits user base is girls, four times the average in STEM/STEAM.
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In 2019, she was featured in BBC's "100 most influential women" for her contributions to close the gender gap in STEM.
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Fellowship and gave a talk at the TED conference in Long Beach called "Building Blocks That Blink, Beep and Teach."
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124:) is a Canadian entrepreneur, inventor, and interactive artist of Syrian descent. She is the founder and CEO of
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https://www.inc.com/zoe-henry/how-littlebits-founder-ayah-bdeir-pushing-back-against-trump-immigration-ban.html
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In 2018, she and her work with littleBits were included in Inc.'s Top 5 Women to Watch in
Robotics list.
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for her work in defining Open
Hardware and for co-chairing the Open Hardware Summits of 2010 and 2011.
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653:"Toys Grow Up: LittleBits Picks Up $ 3.65M, PCH Deal To Build Out Its Open-Source Hardware Vision"
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128:. She is also the co-founder of Daleel Thawra, a directory of protests, initiatives, donations in
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399:"An Electronics Startup Responded to Trump's Muslim Ban With a Times Square Ad in Arabic"
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987:"The Internet as Material: Empowering the Next Phase of Connected Hardware Innovation"
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1044:"Ayah Bdeir, CEO of littleBits, on the real reason for the hardware renaissance"
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1240:"Art Made at the Speed of the Internet: Don't Say 'Geek'; Say 'Collaborator'"
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546:"Eyebeam will hold Open Studios for Artists In Residence and Senior Fellows"
332:, Ars Electronica (Linz, Austria), Works from the MIT Media Lab, curated by
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799:"2016 Disney Accelerator Participants Announced - The Walt Disney Company"
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and undergraduate degrees in
Computer Engineering and Sociology from the
1123:"LittleBits founder Ayah Bdeir on the Need for Gender-Neutral STEM toys"
125:
679:"True Ventures and Foundry Group lead $ 11.1 mln round for LittleBits"
1291:"littleBits, pre-engineered circuit boards connected by tiny magnets"
1203:
773:"Women in tech: Success still hangs on relationships and privilege"
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196:. In 2010, Bdeir served as a design mentor on the reality TV show,
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In 2014, Bdeir and her work with littleBits were included in the
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Lebanese-Canadian entrepreneur, inventor, and interactive artist
1253:"UFA Projection Mapping – Colors of an old Beirut – ayah bdeir"
153:
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832:"LittleBits: On a Mission to Make Electrical Engineering Fun"
754:
626:"The home of the future is inside littleBits' Smart Home Kit"
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380:"littleBits' Ayah Bdeir aims to democratise electronics"
326:, Peacock Visual Arts Gallery (Aberdeen, Scotland), 2009
244:
Maker movement, Internet of Things and gender neutrality
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858:"Meet the Top 5 Innovative Women to Watch in Robotics"
1068:
1009:
962:"Democratizing the Internet of Things is An Urgency"
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in New York City She has taught graduate classes at
883:"BBC 100 Women 2019: Who is on the list this year?"
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910:"25 Makers Who Are Reinventing The American Dream"
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173:Bdeir earned a Masters of Science degree from the
813:"Science Programs - Savvas - Elevate Science K-8"
725:
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1076:. Open Source Hardware Association. 7 April 2012
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352:UFA Projection Mapping – Colors of an old Beirut
152:when she was 12. Her parents didn't believe in
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671:
308:, MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) (New York), 2011
204:True Ventures, Foundry Group, and Two Sigma.
1382:Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni
733:"Building blocks that blink, beep and teach"
219:Bdeir is the founder and CEO of littleBits.
1121:The Boston Consulting Group (16 May 2017).
830:Lagorio-Chafkin, Christine (24 June 2014).
302:, RCA (Royal College of Art) (London), 2011
181:. In 2008, she was awarded a fellowship at
1335:Building blocks that blink, beep and teach
1327:
261:be combined with other traditional ones."
31:
979:
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1316:Profile on CNN The Next List 8 July 2012
1278:Hillary Batchelder and Sarah Lilleyman,
1139:. Art Asia Pacific. July 2009. Issue 64.
1070:"Open Source Hardware Association/About"
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342:, Location One Gallery (New York), 2005
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190:Interactive Telecommunications Program
1442:21st-century Canadian women engineers
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432:"Ayah Bdeir, meilleur espoir féminin"
396:
82:Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1387:American University of Beirut alumni
1168:"Teta Haniya's secrets – ayah bdeir"
1023:. CreativeMornings. 12 November 2013
300:"Subtitled: Narratives From Lebanon"
1407:21st-century Canadian women artists
361:Beiteddine Festival – Guy Manoukian
358:The New Museum – Renegade Sculpture
113:
13:
1150:"Elusive Electricity – ayah bdeir"
960:
624:McHugh, Molly (18 November 2014).
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1422:Canadian people of Syrian descent
1417:Lebanese people of Syrian descent
1267:
1186:"les années lumière – ayah bdeir"
936:"Ayah Bdeir: Engineer and artist"
228:35 Under 35 Coolest Entrepreneurs
194:Parsons The New School for Design
1042:Griffith, Erin (13 March 2014).
908:Raymond, Chris (18 March 2014).
1397:Canadian women company founders
1245:
1242:. 18 April 2010. New York Times
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651:Lunden, Ingrid (18 July 2012).
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277:Elusive Electricity (Ejet Ejet)
144:immigrant family and raised in
856:Burton, Bonnie (5 June 2018).
570:Global Portal for Women in ICT
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438:(in French). 22 September 2020
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397:Henry, Zoe (9 February 2017).
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1437:21st-century Syrian engineers
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320:, New Museum (New York), 2010
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179:American University of Beirut
135:
1402:21st-century women engineers
1222:"random search – ayah bdeir"
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207:In 2012, Bdeir received the
76:MS Media Arts and Sciences,
7:
1372:Canadian conceptual artists
677:
46:1982 (age 41–42)
37:Ayah Bdeir in November 2014
10:
1463:
1280:"No Escaping the Memories"
1137:"Where I Work: Ayah Bdeir"
1094:
993:. O'Reilly. Archived from
985:
599:"Ayah Bdeir of LittleBits"
314:, Eyebeam (New York), 2010
312:"Electronics as Materials"
522:. WalMart. Archived from
520:"Outside the Box Podcast"
336:& Amanda Parkes, 2009
95:
87:
72:
64:
42:
30:
23:
1392:Canadian women engineers
1377:Women conceptual artists
934:
685:. PE Hub. Archived from
355:White – Source Companion
551:3 February 2011 at the
544:Eyebeam Press Release.
495:"CNN.com - Transcripts"
458:"DANIA BDEIR INTERVIEW"
1447:Syrian women engineers
1204:"arabiia – ayah bdeir"
324:"Identities in Motion"
170:
1367:Artists from Montreal
1302:We Make Money Not Art
1296:6 August 2013 at the
436:www.lorientlejour.com
294:Shows and exhibitions
280:Teta Haniya's Secrets
168:
1125:– via YouTube.
1021:Creativemornings.com
914:Popularmechanics.com
735:. TED. 29 March 2012
161:Education and career
140:Born in Canada to a
916:. Popular Mechanics
689:on 16 February 2014
576:on 13 February 2015
1412:Canadian activists
283:Les Annees Lumiere
171:
169:Ayah Bdeir in 2010
719:conference, TED.
103:
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99:www.ayahbdeir.com
68:Lebanese-Canadian
1454:
1432:Syrian engineers
1331:
1309:Stars of Science
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1238:Kennedy, Randy.
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1017:"Ayah Bdeir Q+A"
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198:Stars of Science
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1104:. Retrieved
1099:
1096:"Ayah Bdeir"
1090:
1078:. Retrieved
1073:
1064:
1052:. Retrieved
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999:. Retrieved
995:the original
991:Solidcon.com
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687:the original
682:
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661:. Retrieved
659:. TechCrunch
656:
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634:. Retrieved
630:News article
629:
619:
607:. Retrieved
602:
578:. Retrieved
574:the original
569:
566:"Ayah Bdeir"
560:
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528:. Retrieved
524:the original
514:
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498:
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466:. Retrieved
462:Interlocutor
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414:. Retrieved
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306:"Talk To Me"
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150:Commodore 64
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1357:1982 births
1135:Ko, Hanae.
1106:13 February
1080:13 February
1054:13 February
1027:13 February
1001:13 February
971:12 February
946:12 February
920:12 February
893:22 February
867:21 November
841:21 November
739:13 February
707:blog, TED.
693:13 February
663:13 February
636:13 February
609:12 February
580:12 February
530:28 February
504:27 February
499:www.cnn.com
442:22 February
347:Commissions
65:Nationality
1351:Categories
1321:Ayah Bdeir
1274:littleBits
709:"received"
657:TechCrunch
468:8 December
366:References
215:littleBits
192:(ITP) and
136:Early life
126:littleBits
106:Ayah Bdeir
91:littleBits
25:Ayah Bdeir
1341:(TED2012)
1074:Oshwa.org
1050:. Fortune
683:Pehub.com
411:1091-2339
330:"Impetus"
268:Art works
78:Media Lab
73:Education
1339:TED talk
1294:Archived
1289:Regine,
777:Engadget
549:Archived
416:18 March
384:BBC News
318:"7 on 7"
230:list by
118:Montreal
114:آية بدير
88:Employer
50:Montreal
1311:website
1102:. EyeO+
1048:Fortune
940:TED.com
887:bbc.com
862:Inc.com
836:Inc.com
783:1 April
286:Arabiia
183:Eyebeam
130:Lebanon
96:Website
755:"Home"
721:"talk"
409:
154:gender
146:Beirut
142:Syrian
122:Quebec
110:Arabic
58:Canada
54:Quebec
942:. TED
403:Slate
187:NYU's
1337:, a
1284:Time
1108:2015
1082:2015
1056:2015
1029:2015
1003:2015
973:2015
966:SXSW
948:2015
922:2015
895:2022
869:2019
843:2019
785:2019
741:2015
695:2015
665:2015
638:2015
611:2015
582:2015
532:2018
506:2018
470:2023
444:2022
418:2024
407:ISSN
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1325:TED
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