John Kamal
A lifelong Philadelphian, John earned degrees in mechanical engineering and went on to design interplanetary spacecraft before co-founding and building a software development and consulting firm for 25 years. John then entered the Philadelphia Teacher Residency Program as an NSF Noyce Scholar. In 2014, he joined SLA and now leads the school’s engineering program, helping young people learn the process of solving technical problems, designing, and building cool things. John also leads SLA and Masterman’s joint Engineering and Robotics club – SLAM Robotics. He was named Philadelphia’s Most Outstanding Science Teacher by the Pennsylvania Society of Professional Engineers. When not teaching, John can be found playing the accordion, creating oddities in his workshop, and lurking in darkened jazz clubs. John retired from teaching in June of 2025.