American engineer and educator, Nathan Thomas broke a centuries-old record when he returned to his former college as a faculty member before his 19th birthday.
When Nathan Thomas walked into a computer science classroom at Miami Dade College in August 2023, most of his students were roughly his own age. That wasn’t a coincidence — Thomas, born September 9, 2004, in the United States, was just 18 years and 346 days old, making him the youngest male professor in history.
The milestone ended a run that had stood for more than three centuries. The previous record-holder, Scottish mathematician Colin Maclaurin, was appointed to a professorship in 1717 at age 19 and held the distinction for 306 years. Thomas also came in just 16 days younger than Alia Sabur, the American engineer who became the youngest female professor in 2008 at age 18 years and 362 days.
A head start in the classroom
Thomas’s path to the lectern began unusually early. He dual-enrolled at Miami Dade College at age 10, then transferred to Florida International University at 14. By 18, he had already earned both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in electrical engineering, graduating with honors in each.
Rather than starting his own studies at the traditional college age, Thomas was already teaching by the time most of his peers were finishing high school — returning to Miami Dade as a professor at 18.
Asked about standing in front of students who were sometimes his own age or older, Thomas said the classroom dynamic didn’t feel unusual to him, since everyone there shared the same purpose: learning. He said his focus is on doing his job well and supporting students who put in the effort.
Following his parents into STEM
Thomas credits his parents, both engineers, with shaping his early interest in mathematics and structured problem-solving, even before he recognized their influence. He has said teaching forces him to understand material on a deeper level, comparing the experience of watching a concept click for a student to reliving that breakthrough himself.
Next chapter: law school
Thomas isn’t stepping away from education himself. He is currently pursuing a Juris Doctor degree at the University of Miami School of Law, with graduation expected in 2028, while continuing to teach online courses. He has said he intends to practice intellectual property law with a focus on STEM fields, noting that the structured problem-solving skills he developed in engineering have translated directly into his legal studies.
Life outside academia
Despite his accomplishments, Thomas describes himself as a typical 21-year-old outside the classroom.
He plays basketball, tennis and golf, follows the Boston Celtics and New England Patriots, and plays classical piano — though he’s more likely to be found listening to Drake or EDM and house music in his downtime.
Reflecting on his own accelerated path, Thomas said comparing personal timelines to others’ can be counterproductive, and encouraged people to find what works for them and stick with it, trusting that results come with persistence over time.
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