A young engineering teacher from Florida has entered the record books after becoming the world's youngest male professor. He earned the title after taking up a teaching position at a college before turning 19, reported People.
According to Guinness World Records, Nathan Thomas became the world's youngest male professor after accepting an engineering teaching position at Miami Dade College at the age of 18 years and 346 days.
The record had been held by Colin Maclaurin for 306 years after he became a professor at the age of 19.
Thomas is also 16 days younger than the current holder of the world's youngest female professor record, Alia Sabur, who became a professor at the age of 18 years and 362 days in 2008.
According to the GWR news release, Thomas began teaching COP 2270: C for Engineers at Miami Dade College in August 2023.
He taught students who were the same age as him. Speaking to GWR, Thomas said that once people are in the classroom, everyone is there for the same reason, which is to learn, and age does not really factor into that.
He added that he simply focuses on doing his job well and helping students in whatever way he can, and said that if someone is willing to put in the effort, that is all that matters to him.
As a qualified teacher, Thomas is responsible for teaching complex computing and programming concepts to his class. Thomas was just 10 years old when he dual-enrolled at Miami Dade College before transferring to Florida International University at the age of 14. Over the next four years, he completed both his bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering with honours.
Thomas, who comes from a family of engineers, said that mathematics always came naturally to him as he grew up. He told GWR that his mother had a way of making difficult things feel simple, and he believes that stayed with him more than he realised at the time.
Speaking about teaching, Thomas said the part he enjoys the most is watching a concept suddenly make sense for a student after seeming impossible just moments earlier.
