EAST PROVIDENCE (RI) -- A 89-year old Rhode Island man has accomplished a goal he worked for nearly a lifetime to achieve -- earning his Ph.D. in Physics.
Recently, Manfred Steiner successfully defended his dissertation at Brown University in Providence. Steiner treasures his degree because it is what he has always desired -- and because he overcome health problems that could have hindered his studies.
He said Wednesday that he made it and it was the most satisfying point of my life.
Steiner, a Vienna teenager, was inspired by Max Planck and Albert Einstein to be a physicist. He was fascinated by the precision of physics.
His mother and uncle suggested that he study medicine in these turbulent times after World War II. In 1955, he graduated from the University of Vienna and moved to the United States a few weeks later. He had a long and successful career studying blood disorders and blood flow.
Steiner studied hematology and biochemistry at Tufts University before becoming a Brown University hematologist. From 1985 to 1994, he was a full professor at Brown University and directed the hematology department of the medical school.
Steiner was instrumental in the establishment of a research program on hematology at University of North Carolina. He directed it until his retirement from medicine in 2000.
Steiner and Sheila, who are 93 years old, have been married ever since 1960. Two children and six grandchildren are theirs. This month, he will celebrate his 90th Birthday.
Steiner enjoyed medical research, but not as much as his fascination for physics.
He said that it was like a wish that never came true, but that remained in my mind. "I thought that once I was done with medicine, I didn't want my life to be spent just sitting around doing nothing but golfing and doing other things. I wanted to be active."
He began taking undergraduate classes at Brown University, one of the Ivy League schools, when he was 70. Although he had originally planned to take only a handful of courses, he was able to accumulate enough credits to be able to enroll in the Ph.D. Program.
Brad Marston, a Physics Professor was skeptical when Steiner entered the quantum mechanics class. Marston had previously taught graduate students in their 40s but not in their 70s. He realized how serious Steiner was about his subject matter and how hard he worked.
Marston was Steiner's advisor for his dissertation.
"He has published many papers in medical sciences, more than I have written in physics." Marston stated this week that he already had a scientific way to think that younger students must develop. You'll run into roadblocks with any research problem worth its salt. You won't succeed if you allow obstacles to discourage you. Manfred's perseverance is the only thing that really matters.
After overcoming a serious medical condition, Steiner was able to defend his dissertation in September.
His dissertation examines the quantum mechanical behavior of electrons in conducting metals and how fermions can change into bosons. Marston is currently working with him on a paper about bosonization, which they hope to publish.
Steiner hopes to now help professors he met during his studies with their research.
"I don't want a job that pays a salary. He laughed and said, "I'm over that."
Guinness World Records claims that a German man aged 97 in 2008 earned a doctorate. However, news reports have reported that other older people are pursuing these degrees.
Although he is not the oldest, his attention has been intense. After Steiner earned his Ph.D. at Brown University, people from all over the country reached out to him for guidance on how they could pursue their dreams later in life. Steiner said to a 57 year-old mathematician that he was still a youngster and encouraged him to continue his studies.
He advised that you do what you love.
He said, "Do it because you might regret it later in your life that you didn’t do that." You wish you could have followed this dream.
