The wonder boy graciously tutors fellow college classmates after class hours he is a popular guest at study & review sessions. Jacob is a top Master’s student, working towards a Ph.D. Jacob, with an IQ of 170, taught himself calculus, algebra, geometry, and trigonometry in a week and amazed university professors as he has tackled some of the most advanced concepts in mathematics. Since Jacob Barnett presented “Forget What You Know” (at the 2013 TEDxTeen Talk, it has become the third most popular TEDx Talk of all time.
We cannott wait to see what his team produces. The goal of the competition is to create a device (available directly to consumers anytime, anywhere) the size of a smart phone which can make reliable health diagnoses.ĭevoting two of his teen years to this challenge, Jack is obviously someone who cares deeply about helping other people. Now, look out for Jack’s next act: He has put a team of cross-country teens together to enter the $10 million Qualcomm Tricorder X PRIZE competition. Jack earned a handful of awards at the 2012 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, including the top prize: a modest $75,000. With guidance from his mentor, Jack developed a test for early-stage pancreatic cancer that is cheaper, faster, and 100 times more sensitive than previous tests. Initially, the teen couldn’t find anyone to help him: Close to 200 scientists rejected his request for lab space until he convinced a researcher at Johns Hopkins University to be his mentor. Jack, who attends North County High School in Crownsville, MD, wanted to do something to channel his grief. When his uncle died of pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest forms of cancer, Jack designed a sensor that searches for a chemical in blood to help doctors easily and quickly detect the disease. The science fair Jack attended took place in April on the South Lawn of the White House, with the president mentioning his work. We’re not talking about using baking soda and vinegar to create a volcano in your high school auditorium. There are science fairs and then there are science fairs. Readers Also Like: The 50 Most Influential Scientists in the World Today and The 15 Smartest Preteens Infographic. To meet some of the smartest teenagers alive today, read on! In a few instances, we have interpreted “teenager” (a bit generously: To be able to include some young people who have only recently turned 20 and also to include a 10-year-old who is a member of a truly remarkable family. We list our teen geniuses in alphabetical order. Albert Einstein (at right) didn’t speak until he was four and didn’t read until he was seven, and Beethoven’s teacher called him hopeless as a composer.įor the most part, “ wunderkinder” are just like you and me - just much smarter.
For example, Isaac Newton did poorly in grade school, Winston Churchill failed 6th grade, and rocket scientist Werner von Braun failed 9th-grade algebra. Sometimes, genius only emerges after a slow start. You’ll recognize the diversity among these 50 smart teenagers and find very little in common among them in terms of physical characteristics, locations, background, etc.
Just like fruit and other gifts of nature, we can’t (and shouldn’t) judge that proverbial book by its cover. Yet, some people have intelligence and gifts that defy or go beyond a test score.Īt first glance, it’s pretty hard to recognize the smartest teenagers. An average IQ score is 85–114 144 or above is considered genius-level. So, how do we measure intelligence? The most popular measure for intelligence is the Stanford-Binet IQ test offered through Mensa International, an organization for high-IQ people. Some of them are inventors some, like Galois, solve difficult mathematical problems some are brilliant artists, performers, or entrepreneurs and some have encyclopedic knowledge, speak multiple languages, or can correctly spell any word. However, it does seem like there are more of them around today than ever before. Galois may have been brilliant, but he was no nerd: He died in a duel over a love affair at the tender age of 21! This branch of mathematics lies at the heart of modern quantum mechanics, among other things. Take, for example, the French mathematician Evariste Galois (1811–1832 below right), who invented the field of abstract algebra known as group theory while still in his teens. There have always been some pretty smart - make that incredibly smart - teenagers around.