Alia Sabur

Guide Note

Alia Sabur is an American child prodigy who on February 19, 2008, became the world's youngest college professor. Sabur was hired as a professor three days before turning 19. The title had been held for 291 years by Scottish mathematician Colin Maclaurin, a student of Sir Isaac Newton.

Sabur left public school at age 10 to attend the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and graduated summa cum laude. At 14, she was accepted to graduate school at Drexel University in Philadelphia, where she earned an M.S. in materials science engineering in 2006. She is currently a doctoral candidate.

Sabur is a clarinetist, and made a solo debut with the Rockland Symphony Orchestra at age 11. She has performed with artists including Lang Lang and Smash Mouth.

Sabur has published a number of papers, and has worked to develop nanotube-based cellular probes for use in medical research. She would like to develop a non-invasive optical blood glucose meter for people with diabetes.

Sabur was hired to an assistant professorship at Southern University in New Orleans for the Spring, 2008 term. She was subsequently hired by Konkuk University in Korea, as an international professor and liaison with SUNY Stony Brook, on New York's Long Island.

Fast Facts

1. Born: February 22, 1989
2. Birthplace: Northport, Long Island, New York
3. Began talking and reading at 8 months
4. Iranian-American
5. Studied at Juillard
6. Youngest person to receive fellowships from the Department of Defense, NASA, GAANN, and NSF