Florida’s Nathan Thomas, 18,  Sets Record As World’s Youngest Professor

Photo: Guinness World Records

India-West News Desk

MIAMI, FL – Nathan Thomas, a Florida educator and engineering graduate, has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the world’s youngest professor after beginning his teaching career at Miami Dade College before turning 19.

Guinness announced on July 23 that Thomas earned the distinction after joining the college as an engineering professor in August 2023 at the age of 18 years and 346 days.

The achievement ended a record that had stood for more than 300 years. The previous youngest male professor was Scottish mathematician Colin Maclaurin, who was appointed professor at the University of Aberdeen in 1717 at the age of 19. Thomas also became the youngest professor overall, surpassing the mark set by Alia Sabur, who joined South Korea’s Konkuk University in February 2008 at 18 years and 362 days.

Now 21, Thomas continues to teach online engineering courses while studying at the University of Miami Law School, where he is expected to graduate in 2028.

He told Guinness that teaching students who may be older than him has never been a concern.

“Once you’re in that setting, everyone’s there for the same reason, which is to learn,” Thomas said. “Age doesn’t really factor into that. I just focus on trying to do my job well and helping students in whatever way I can. If someone’s willing to put in the effort, that’s really all that matters to me.”

Thomas completed both, his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering at Florida International University. Thomas recalled to the college’s student paper The Reporter, that on the first day of his college algebra class, his professor assumed his mother was the student and believed he had accompanied her to class. His mother, who is an engineer herself, then explained that he, not she, was enrolled in the course.

Within months of graduating, he returned to higher education as a faculty member at Miami Dade College. He told the student paper the most rewarding part of teaching is seeing students grasp concepts they had previously struggled with.