Michael Kearney Michael Kevin Kearney (born January 18, 1984, in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA) is a former child prodigy known for setting several world records and teaching college at the age of 17. Early life He was homeschooled by his parents, especially his mother, a Japanese American.[1] He was diagnosed with ADHD and his parents declined to use the offered prescription of Ritalin. His younger sister, Maeghan, is also a child prodigy.[2] He spoke his first words at four months.[3] At the age of six months, he said to his pediatrician I have a left ear infection[3] and learned to read at the age of ten months.[3] When Michael was four, he was given multiple-choice diagnostic tests for the Johns Hopkins precocious math program. Without having studied specifically for the exam, Michael achieved a perfect score. He attended San Marin High School in Novato, California, for one year, graduating at the age of six in 1990.[4] He enrolled at Santa Rosa Junior College in Sonoma County, California, graduating at age 8 with an Associate of Science in Geology.[4] He is listed in the Guinness Book as the worlds youngest university graduate at the age of ten, receiving a bachelors degree in anthropology from the University of South Alabama.[1][4] Research and teaching He graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with a masters degree in biochemistry at the age of 14. His 118-page thesis is entitled Kinetic Isotope Effects of Thymidine Phosphorylase. His research focused on the kinetics of a glycosyltransferase involved in nucleotide synthesis. For a while, he was the worlds youngest postgraduate and the holder of several Guinness world records, but the masters degree record was broken by Tathagat Avatar Tulsi. Contestant In October 2006, he became a finalist on the Mark Burnett/AOL quiz/puzzle game Gold Rush, winning $100,000. In November 2006, in front of a national audience on Entertainment Tonight, he went on to win the grand prize of an additional $1,000,000. Kearney was also a contestant on Who Wants to be a Millionaire? which aired on April 25 & 28, 2008. He left with $25,000. Kearney was also a contestant on Million Dollar Password which aired on June 14, 2009, but did not pass the elimination round after losing in the tiebreaker. References ^ Jump up to: a b Kahlenberg, Richard (January 15, 1995). The Smart Money Is on This Young Genius : Michael Kearney, 10, is the worlds youngest college graduate and a cultural hero in Japan but finds a less enthusiastic response in the U.S.. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 13 March 2011. Jump up ^ Middle Tennessee State University, The Record: Veterinarian-to-be, age 9, set to receive her sheepskin May 11, 2002 -[dead link] ^ Jump up to: a b c Kearney, K.J. and C.Y. (1998). Accidental Genius. Woodshed Press. ISBN 0-9628746-1-2. p. 24 ^ Jump up to: a b c Burkdoll, Amy (August 8, 1998). Latest accomplishment: 14-year-old genius gets his masters degree. Tuscaloosa News (AP). Retrieved 13 March 2011.
Posted on: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 21:14:37 +0000
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