18-year-old educator sets Guinness World Record for youngest male college professor

U.S. news18-year-old educator sets Guinness World Record for youngest male college professorNathan Thomas entered a classroom at Miami Dade College in August 2023 not as a freshman, but as a professor, having already earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees.Listen to this article with a free profile00:0000:00Miami-Dade College's Wolfson Campus in Miami.Google MapsShareAdd NBC News to GoogleAug. 3, 2026, 2:23 PM EDT / Updated Aug. 3, 2026, 2:25 PM EDTBy Rebecca CohenAt 18 years old, Nathan Thomas walked into a lecture hall at Miami Dade College in August 2023, like many others his age.Except that Thomas wasn’t a freshman. He was the professor. His role at Miami Dade College earned him an even greater title, revealed Monday. According to Guinness World Records, he is the youngest-ever male professor.In August 2023, Thomas was 18 years and 346 days old. He beat a 306-year-old record, held by 19-year-old Colin Maclaurin. At the time, he was also just barely (16 days) younger than Alia Sabur, who claimed the title of youngest female professor when she stood in front of a classroom in 2008 at 18 years and 362 days old. According to Guinness, she was a full-time faculty member of the department of advanced technology fusion at Konkuk University in Seoul, South Korea.Thomas had already earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering, both with honors, according to Guinness. He enrolled in Miami Dade College when he was 10 years old, before transferring at 14 to Florida International University, which is where he earned both degrees.Thomas then took his talents to COP 2270: C for Engineers in 2023, which the record counter described as “complex computing and programming lessons.” “Once you’re in that setting, everyone’s there for the same reason, which is to learn,” he told Guinness. “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,...