89-Year-Old Man Earns Ph.D., Fulfills Dream of Being Physicist
2021-11-13
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1An 89-year-old man from the American state of Rhode Island has reached a goal he spent 20 years working toward and nearly a lifetime thinking about.
2He earned his doctorate, or Ph.D., and became a physicist.
3Manfred Steiner successfully defended his dissertation recently at Brown University in Providence.
4A dissertation is a long piece of writing about a particular subject that is done to earn a high-level degree at a university.
5Steiner values this degree because it is what he always wanted - and because he overcame health problems that could have interfered with his studies.
6"But I made it, and this was the most gratifying point in my life, to finish it," he told The Associated Press.
7As a young person in Vienna, Austria, Steiner wanted to become a physicist after reading about Albert Einstein and Max Planck.
8But after World War II, his mother and uncle advised him that studying medicine would be a better choice.
9He earned his medical degree from the University of Vienna in 1955 and moved to the United States soon after.
10In the U.S., he had a successful career studying blood and blood conditions, or hematology.
11Steiner studied hematology at Tufts University and biochemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before becoming a hematologist at Brown University.
12He became a full professor and led the hematology department at Brown's medical school from 1985 to 1994.
13Steiner helped establish a research program in hematology at the University of North Carolina.
14He directed that program until he retired from medicine in 2000 and returned to Rhode Island.
15Steiner found medical research pleasing, but it was not quite the same as his interest in physics.
16"It was something like a wish that was never fulfilled, that always stuck in the back of my head," he said.
17"I always thought, you know, once I'm finished with medicine, I really don't want to spend my life just sitting around and maybe doing a little golfing or doing something like that. I wanted to keep active."
18At age 70, he started taking undergraduate classes at Brown.
19He was planning to just take a few classes that interested him.
20But by 2007, he had earned enough credits to join the doctoral program.
21Physics professor Brad Marston was surprised when Steiner entered his quantum mechanics class.
22Marston had taught graduate students in their 40s, but never in their 70s.
23But the professor soon realized how serious Steiner was about the subject and how hard he worked.
24Marston became Steiner's adviser for his dissertation.
25"He has written many papers in medical science, more papers than I've written in physics.
26He already had a scientific way of thinking that younger students have to develop," Marston said.
27"One thing that's really true about Manfred is he perseveres."
28Steiner defended his dissertation in September after recovering from a serious medical condition.
29Steiner now hopes to help the professors he befriended during his studies with their research.
30After the university published a story about Steiner on its website, people across the U.S. contacted him to ask for advice on how to go after their dreams later in life.
31He said his advice is: Do what you love to do.
32I'm Jonathan Evans.
1An 89-year-old man from the American state of Rhode Island has reached a goal he spent 20 years working toward and nearly a lifetime thinking about. He earned his doctorate, or Ph.D., and became a physicist. 2Manfred Steiner successfully defended his dissertation recently at Brown University in Providence. A dissertation is a long piece of writing about a particular subject that is done to earn a high-level degree at a university. 3Steiner values this degree because it is what he always wanted - and because he overcame health problems that could have interfered with his studies. 4"But I made it, and this was the most gratifying point in my life, to finish it," he told The Associated Press. 5As a young person in Vienna, Austria, Steiner wanted to become a physicist after reading about Albert Einstein and Max Planck. 6But after World War II, his mother and uncle advised him that studying medicine would be a better choice. He earned his medical degree from the University of Vienna in 1955 and moved to the United States soon after. In the U.S., he had a successful career studying blood and blood conditions, or hematology. 7Steiner studied hematology at Tufts University and biochemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before becoming a hematologist at Brown University. He became a full professor and led the hematology department at Brown's medical school from 1985 to 1994. 8Steiner helped establish a research program in hematology at the University of North Carolina. He directed that program until he retired from medicine in 2000 and returned to Rhode Island. 9Steiner found medical research pleasing, but it was not quite the same as his interest in physics. 10"It was something like a wish that was never fulfilled, that always stuck in the back of my head," he said. "I always thought, you know, once I'm finished with medicine, I really don't want to spend my life just sitting around and maybe doing a little golfing or doing something like that. I wanted to keep active." 11At age 70, he started taking undergraduate classes at Brown. He was planning to just take a few classes that interested him. But by 2007, he had earned enough credits to join the doctoral program. 12Physics professor Brad Marston was surprised when Steiner entered his quantum mechanics class. Marston had taught graduate students in their 40s, but never in their 70s. But the professor soon realized how serious Steiner was about the subject and how hard he worked. 13Marston became Steiner's adviser for his dissertation. 14"He has written many papers in medical science, more papers than I've written in physics. He already had a scientific way of thinking that younger students have to develop," Marston said. "One thing that's really true about Manfred is he perseveres." 15Steiner defended his dissertation in September after recovering from a serious medical condition. 16Steiner now hopes to help the professors he befriended during his studies with their research. 17After the university published a story about Steiner on its website, people across the U.S. contacted him to ask for advice on how to go after their dreams later in life. 18He said his advice is: Do what you love to do. 19I'm Jonathan Evans. 20Jennifer McDermott reported on this story for the Associated Press. Jonathan Evans adapted this story for Learning English. Bryan Lynn was the editor. 21_______________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23doctorate - n. the highest degree that is given by a university 24gratifying - adj. giving pleasure or satisfaction 25fulfill - v. to succeed in achieving something; to make something, such as a dream, true or real 26credit - n. a unit of schoolwork 27persevere - v. to continue doing something or trying to do something even though it is difficult