At 89, a man earned a Ph.D. in physics to fulfill his childhood dream

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Manfred Steiner, 89, recently earned his Ph.D. in physics from Brown University.





Nick Dentamaro/Brown University



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Nick Dentamaro/Brown University



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When asked what it was about physics that he enjoyed, Steiner replied quickly: precision.

«I was always amazed that the laws that go for the quantum area, where you talk about distances of femtometers» — or quadrillionths of a meter — also apply to astronomy, with measures of light years, he said.

«Yet the physical laws exactly were the same, holding for the two extremes,» he added, «and that precision really always fascinated me. And of course, I always liked mathematics, which is sort of the language of physics.»

Steiner says he’s happy to have spent so much of his life in academic medicine. «But in medicine, there are too many variables and, you know, too much imprecision,» he adds.


Steiner’s medical career blossomed in the U.S.


When Steiner moved permanently to the U.S. from Vienna, he focused on medicine and hematology, training at Tufts University and MIT. He then became a professor at Brown and led the hematology section in the university’s medical school.



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It was only after Steiner retired from his career in medicine in 2000 that he was finally able to scratch the physics itch. He started taking classes at MIT.

«I had to do a lot of physics classes at MIT» before being allowed to start graduate studies, he said. He transferred to Brown, to minimize his commute.

Steiner worked slowly — he’s a grandfather who likes to spend with his family, and health issues have been a concern — but the credits kept piling up. And before long, Steiner was eyeing yet another Ph.D.

«You know, it took a long time,» he said. «There were medical problems in between that were very serious. But fortunately, I’m here now and I’ve overcome these problems.»

You can read more on the Brown website about Steiner’s dissertation on a prickly problem in theoretical physics: expanding the understanding of bosonization.


The newly minted physicist looks back


Despite fulfilling a long-held dream of becoming a physicist, Steiner says he doesn’t regret spending most of his life in academic medicine.

«I was reconciled to the fact that I couldn’t do physics, and I tried to make the best of what I could do with medicine, and that was to go into research. I liked research.»



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He also has some advice to offer: «All the young people, if they have a dream, follow that dream. Don’t give up on it.» If it doesn’t work out, he said, they can go into something else.

«But first, follow your dream.»

The physicists who worked with Steiner say his latest achievement is both affirming and inspiring. For his part, Steiner is working on publishing a version of his dissertation (it runs to more than 150 pages), and he wants to continue his research.

«I would like to continue with it as long as my mind says OK, I’m going to do some studies with theoretical physics,» he said. «I don’t need a lab. I just need a computer, and I need paper and pencil.»