Belgian child prodigy Laurent Simons earns PhD in quantum physics at 15

JAKARTA - Achieving children are often an inspiration because they are able to surpass the achievements of their age through hard work and extraordinary intelligence.

One real example comes from Belgium, where a teenager named Laurent Simons managed to record an academic achievement that is rare in the global education world.

Laurent Simons officially earned a doctorate (PhD) in quantum physics at the age of 15 after defending his dissertation at the University of Antwerp. This achievement places him as one of the youngest doctors in the world and attracts widespread attention from international academics.

Not stopping at this success, Laurent has set a big goal for his future. In an interview with Belgian media VTM Nieuws quoted by The Brussels Times on Friday, January 9, he expressed his desire to contribute to the development of "superhuman".

He interpreted this vision as an effort to extend human life and improve human life quality through cross-disciplinary scientific research.

Laurent's academic track record is extraordinary since an early age. In 2022, he completed his undergraduate physics education with a cum laude degree when he was only 12 years old.

The program, which is generally completed over three years, was completed in just 18 months. In fact, he had completed his high school education when he was eight years old.

Various job offers from major technology companies in the United States and China have come, but his family chose to reject them. Both of his parents, Alexander and Lydia Simons, encouraged Laurent to pursue a research path that could provide real benefits to the medical and humanitarian world.

In his academic journey, Laurent combined various disciplines such as physics, chemistry, medicine, and artificial intelligence. He briefly studied electrical engineering at the Eindhoven University of Technology before focusing on physics at the University of Antwerp. He also gained international research experience through an internship in quantum optics at the Max Planck Institute, Germany. His master's research discusses the relationship between boson states and black holes using Bose-Einstein condensates.

After earning his doctorate, Laurent returned to Munich to continue his second doctoral studies, this time in medical science with a focus on the application of artificial intelligence. According to his father, this program is separate from the physics research he had completed previously.

He has an intelligence level (IQ) of at least 145 and is often dubbed by the media as "the young Einstein". However, he considers that he still has a lot of room to grow. His big ambition is now aimed at one main mission: pushing the limits of human biological ability through science and technology.