East Providence, Rhode Island (AP) — An 89-year-old Rhode Island man spent 20 years earning his PhD and achieved his almost lifelong goals. Become a physicist.
Manfred Steiner recently successfully defended his dissertation at Brown University in Providence. Steiner cherishes this degree because it was what he always wanted and he overcame health problems that might have upset his research.
“But I did it, and finishing it was the most satisfying point of my life,” he said Wednesday at his home in East Providence.
As a teenager in Vienna, Steiner was encouraged to become a physicist after reading about Albert Einstein and Max Planck. He praised the accuracy of physics.
However, after World War II, his mother and uncle advised him that studying medicine was a better choice during times of turbulence. He earned a medical degree from the University of Vienna in 1955 and moved to the United States just a few weeks later, where he succeeded in studying blood and blood disorders.
Before becoming a hematologist at Brown University, Steiner studied hematology at Tufts University and biochemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He became a full professor and headed the hematology department of Brown’s School of Medicine from 1985 to 1994.
People are also reading …
Steiner helped establish a hematology research program at the University of North Carolina until he retired from medicine in 2000 and returned to Rhode Island.
Steiner and his wife, 93-year-old Sheila, have been married since 1960. They have two children and six grandchildren. He celebrates his 90th birthday this month.
Steiner found something satisfying in medical research, but it was not exactly the same as his interest in physics.
“It was like a wish that was never fulfilled and was always stuck behind my head,” he said. “Once I finished taking the medicine, I always thought I didn’t want to spend my life just sitting and playing golf or doing something like that. I wanted to continue working,” he said.
At the age of 70, he began taking undergraduate courses at Brown University, one of the Ivy League Universities. He planned to take some courses of interest, but by 2007 he had enough credits to earn a PhD. program.
Professor Brad Marston of Physics was skeptical when Steiner entered the class of quantum mechanics. Marston taught graduate students in his 40s, but never in his 70s. Then he realized how serious Steiner was on the subject and how hard he worked.
Marston became Steiner’s advisor to his dissertation.
“He has written many dissertations in medicine, but more than I have in physics. He already has the scientific idea that young students must grow. Was, “Marston said this week. “And if you have a research problem that deserves its salt, you’ll run into an obstacle. If you’re discouraged by an obstacle, you can’t go anywhere. One of the real truths about Manfred is that he Is doing his best. “
Steiner defended his dissertation in September after recovering from a serious medical condition.
In his dissertation, he explores how electrons in conductive metals behave quantum-mechanically, and how fermions transform into bosons in that behavior. He is working with Marston to write a dissertation on bosonization that they are about to publish.
Steiner now wants to help the professor he became friends with during his research in their research.
“I’m not looking for a paid job. I’m past that,” he said with a laugh.
According to the Guinness World Records, a 97-year-old man was the oldest person to get a PhD in Germany in 2008, but news reports indicate that some older people are trying to get such a degree.
He is not the oldest, but he is in the spotlight. Brown University introduced Steiner on its website after earning a PhD. People all over the country contacted him for advice on pursuing his dreams for later years. Steiner told a 57-year-old aspiring mathematician, “You are still young. Do your math.”
He said his advice was: Do what you want.
“In later years, you may regret not doing it, so pursue it,” he said. “I wish you could pursue this dream.”
Copyright 2021 AP communication. all rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.
A man gets a PhD and realizes his dream of becoming a physicist — 89 years old | Nation
Source link A man gets a PhD and realizes his dream of becoming a physicist — 89 years old | Nation
The post A man gets a PhD and realizes his dream of becoming a physicist — 89 years old | Nation appeared first on Illinois News Today.
No comments:
Post a Comment