Yanik Kleibrink’s photograph on the website of the Institute of Mathematics at Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main is eye-catching. With a wide smile, a researcher from the Faculty of Mathematics immediately stands out – he is very young, and his age is clearly significantly lower than the average age of the department’s employees!

Bachelor, Master and Now – Dissertation

And yet, Yanik’s name on the list of employees of one of the leading profiling institutes is far from accidental. Yanik is really only 18 years old and is not only a researcher but also a graduate student! Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt am Main proudly announced on his page at the end of July: German Abitur (Abitur)”.

Janik’s story was immediately reported by the main German media, calling him “an exceptional talent in mathematics”, “super brain” and “the youngest graduate student”. The young mathematician finished school and at the same time received two diplomas at once – a bachelor’s and a master’s degree. At the age of 12, Janick began his studies at the University of Frankfurt, and all this – in parallel with school. This opportunity is provided by the German law on higher education – for the development and support of especially gifted children. It is curious that Yanik studied in the US for several years, where his father moved with his family for work. It was the American education system that made it possible for Yanik to attend every available course in mathematics – regardless of his age. As a result, when Janick returned to Germany, it turned out that at age 12 he had already completed the entire high school program. This is what led parents to seek new opportunities for their son. And the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main turned out to be the perfect place.

One of Germany’s youngest students

Mathematics for Yanik is not just a science, but a fascinating hobby. Yanik felt a craving for numbers and calculations since elementary school. When a young man talks about his favorite subject, it immediately becomes clear that the love of mathematics for him is for life. As the youngest student in the audience, Yanik was not at all surprised. “Age in mathematics is a secondary issue, the main thing here is teamwork”, says the young man. According to the German online portal Statista, there are approximately 200 17-year-old students in Germany. Yanik is one of the youngest.

Until now, the most outstanding young talent in the field of mathematics was Peter Scholze, who in 2012 became a professor at the University of Bonn at age 24. Yanik talks quite modestly about his plans for the future, most importantly that “it must be connected to mathematics”. In his spare time from computing, Yanik enjoys swimming and playing tennis.