You’re probably not aware of it, but Woodward alumnus Robert Frederick ’91 shaped daily life for you and pretty much everyone else in the 21st century. One of the architects of the human interaction technology behind Amazon, Frederick was honored for his achievements with the Academy’s 2022 Distinguished Alumni Award.

From his base in Seattle, Frederick now runs Sirqul (pronounced “circle”), a technology platform that allows Fortune 500 companies, startups, and individual entrepreneurs to leverage patent-pending social, mobile, location, and analytics solutions developed for cross-platform applications and devices, including iOS, Android, Kindle, Windows Phone, Mac, PC, Facebook, and the web.

He’s been pursuing his passion for science and technology for his entire life and got a jump start when, as a senior at Woodward, he was accepted to a joint enrollment program at Georgia Tech that allowed him to take a full year of calculus, chemistry, and physics. As a sophomore at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he was invited to join the MIT Media Lab’s Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program to work on an Internet-based interactive cinema project. “It was a mashup of a private social network, Netflix mystery, and video game puzzler where you needed to use clues to unlock additional video. Creating the engine for this experience and having it run on the Internet was monumental to my career trajectory,” Frederick said.

In 1999, Jeff Bezos acquired Frederick’s startup, Convergence Corporation. “Our mission was to make it possible for anyone, anywhere, at any time, to be able to access any Amazon feature or service from any device,” he said. “It’s been 23 years and I still remember that first set of meetings in Seattle like they were yesterday.” Frederick’s interest in technology began with his father, an engineer and leader in rapid transit systems. The family moved to Georgia from Maryland in the late 1970s so his father could work for the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA). His mother worked for Emory University Hospital and later founded one of the city’s first home and occupational healthcare agencies. “Besides teaching me a love for soccer that I have passed on to my kids, I remember bonding with my father by putting together kits from Heathkit and Radio Shack at a very young age,” he said. After his parents bought an Apple II computer, he learned the Basic computer language. ”I began to explore my passion for switches, signals, sensors, and how they could be used to augment human behavior. I am still on the same path, still figuring out ways to improve human experiences.” Frederick’s parents sacrificed to send him and his brother to Woodward. “Being a student at Woodward was not always easy, but it was the best place for me to achieve my goals,” he said. “Given the fact that I was the first one in my family born in the USA, there was always tension between being too American and trying to fit in.” Frederick’s mother is from Jamaica, while his father is from Trinidad and Tobago. He cites both as role models. He admired and was inspired by George Dietz, former science teacher and assistant Middle School principal, who drove him to and from school every day for his first two years. Former art department chair Chris Greenway was one of his favorite Upper School teachers. “He allowed a kid who couldn’t draw stick figures to pick up a camera and want to follow in the footsteps of Gordon Parks.” Frederick grew close to soccer coach and math teacher Steve Reed, whose son Tyler Reed ’91 was a teammate and friend. Other influential teachers and mentors included Helen Shean, Joy Fulton, Lucy Klein, and Dean Russell Slider ’75. Frederick credits Woodward with much of his success. “I was taught discipline and ethical responsibility via the Honor Council. I appreciated the uniforms, as I would not have been able to fit in without them. I learned what it meant to be ranked and how that could open/close doors years later. This understanding meant that I had to take every assignment, every test, and every interaction that I had with teachers seriously as the culmination of all of these moments and results continue to impact opportunities later in life. It is a never ending set of decisions, sacrifices, and celebrations.”