About Us

I am Samih Qureshi, a high school student from the San Francisco bay area. I am the creator of the oPen technology platform.

I have always been passionate about technology since my childhood. I have been part of an award winning robotics team since elementary school and co-founded a non profit (welovepi.org) to teach robotics to underprivileged school children locally and globally. I have also been teaching and assisting local seniors overcome their challenges with technology since the pandemic when it became a lifeline for many. I strongly believe technology can be one of the most powerful tools available to humankind, when used ethically, to solve some of our biggest modern challenges.

I have also had rich experiences with nature throughout my childhood and was always awed by the beauty of our natural world. Conservation became front and center over the past few years for me as I saw the devastating impacts of the California wildfires in my own community, both humans and wildlife. With loss of wildlife habitat there continues to be increased incidences of human wildlife conflicts especially in the wildland-urban interface, from increased sightings of mountain lions and bob cats in urban areas to attacks on livestock in ranching communities. Many such encounters result in unnecessary killing of wildlife. I knew I had to do something.

I decided to embark on a mission to alleviate this situation in my community and beyond leveraging my technology skills. In partnership with local conservation groups in the North bay and working with conservationists, scientists and research students I have created the oPen platform that already has two patent pending solutions built on it – the livestock pen management system and the trap networking system, to address some of the most pressing immediate issues in my community. More solutions are in design.

My mission is to find ways to reduce conflict and bring balance between humans, wildlife and nature with technology, so we can all co-exist and thrive on our beautiful planet.

Thanks to: