A young engineering instructor in Florida has earned a Guinness World Records title as the world’s youngest male professor. Nathan Thomas achieved the distinction by beginning to teach at a college before his 19th birthday, NDTV reported, citing People magazine.
According to Guinness World Records, Thomas became an engineering instructor at Miami Dade College at 18 years and 346 days old. The previous record had stood for 306 years and belonged to Colin Maclaurin, who became a professor at 19.
Thomas was also 16 days younger than Alia Sabur, the world’s youngest female professor, when he took the position. Sabur set her record in 2008 at 18 years and 362 days old.
A Guinness news release said Thomas began teaching “COP 2270: C for Engineers” at Miami Dade College in August 2023.
Many of his students were his age. Thomas told Guinness that everyone entered the classroom with the same purpose: to learn, and that age was not especially important there.
He said he simply tried to do his job well and help students as much as possible. What mattered most, he said, was that a student made a sincere effort to learn.
Thomas teaches complex computing and programming subjects. His own education was unusual: he entered Miami Dade College’s dual-enrollment program at age 10 and transferred to Florida International University at 14. Within the next four years, he completed both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering with honors.
Raised in a family of engineers, Thomas said mathematics had seemed easy to him from childhood. His mother could explain difficult subjects simply, he said, and he later realized that ability had formed the foundation of his learning.
Thomas said his favorite moment in teaching came when a student suddenly understood something that had initially seemed impossible. He described that feeling as teaching’s greatest reward.
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