Tathagat Avatar Tulsi (born September 9, 1987) of New Delhi, India, successfully passed his M.Sc. in Physics from Patna University , at the age of 12 years, two months, and 19 days, on November 28, 1999. Tulsi's parents recognised his talents when he was six. Tulsi was a wizard at numbers, juggling five-digit calculations. Before his M.Sc., he passed his 10th standard at the age of 9 years and B.Sc. at the age of 10 years. Now, at the age of 17, he is the "youngest scientist" working for his Ph.D. in "Quantum Information theory" at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

Developing Intellect

Tulsi is open about developing a superior intellect: "Doing extra has been common for me. My memory is special. For a good student, three things are required - power of analysis, power of imagination and power of memory. These three things can be developed by any individual through intensive practice." He is modest and says that he studies less than four hours a day and loves playing with friends until they start quizzing him on science which bores him. He also aims to prove his theories through experiments.

Ambition

His main aim is to do an innovative scientific research which will be useful for society. As far as records are concerned, he plans to set another world record of "Youngest Professor" after finishing his Ph.D.

Family

Tulsi hails from a lower middle-class family from Bihar in northern India, Tulsi concedes his father as a greater genius who was never recognised. Brushing aside the accusation that his father was pushing him too hard, Tulsi says, "if papa had got the encouragement I am getting, he would have been the greatest genius today".

External Reference

• Tathagat's homepage
• Time Magazine, middle section
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