Florida’s Nathan Thomas has been officially recognised by Guinness World Records as the world’s youngest male professor after securing an engineering teaching position at Miami Dade College before his 19th birthday.
According to a GWR news release, Thomas accepted the role at the age of 18 years and 346 days, earning the record as the youngest male professor in history.
The achievement ends a record that had stood for 306 years and was previously held by Colin Maclaurin (1698–1746), who became a professor at the age of 19.
Thomas is also 16 days younger than Alia Sabur, who currently holds the record as the world’s youngest female professor after attaining the feat at 18 years and 362 days old in 2008.
He began teaching COP 2270: C for Engineers at Miami Dade College in August 2023, instructing students who were around the same age as himself.
“Once you’re in that setting, everyone’s there for the same reason, which is to learn,” said Thomas, now 21, to GWR. “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,” he continued. “If someone’s willing to put in the effort, that’s really all that matters to me.”
As a qualified lecturer, Thomas teaches complex computing and programming concepts to engineering students.
“I’m proud to have him as part of our staff,” Manny Perez, Dean of the School of Engineering, Technology & Design, told The Reporter at Miami Dade College. “I think anytime you have the opportunity to meet a person like Nathan, you realize that there is someone special…someone who can serve as an inspiration to our students.”
Thomas’ academic journey began at the age of 10 when he enrolled in a dual-enrolment programme at Miami Dade College. Four years later, he transferred to Florida International University, where he completed both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering with honours over the next four years.
Coming from a family of engineers, Thomas said his passion for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) developed early because mathematics came naturally to him.
“[My mom] had a way of making things feel simple even when they weren’t, and I think some of that stuck with me more than I realized at the time,” he told GWR.
Reflecting on his teaching experience, Thomas said helping students grasp difficult concepts has become the most rewarding aspect of his career.
“Now, the part about teaching that I like most is watching something click for a student. You can kind of see it happen in real time, when a concept that felt impossible a few minutes ago suddenly makes sense,” Thomas continued.
“It’s a different kind of satisfaction than solving a problem yourself, almost like getting to relive that feeling through someone else,” he added. “Teaching something forces you to understand it on a whole other level — so I end up learning just as much from it as the students do, if not more.”
Thomas is currently teaching online while pursuing a Juris Doctor degree at the University of Miami School of Law, where he is expected to graduate in 2028. He plans to build a career in intellectual property law with a focus on STEM-related fields.
“Engineering taught me how to break down complex problems in a structured way, and that’s carried over into how I approach law school now,” Thomas told GWR.
