Texas Preteen Makes Nuclear Fusion History

Do you remember what you were doing at age 12? Most of us were trying to pass seventh grade math, find different ways to hid our acne or figure out middle school drama! Meanwhile, one North Texas student was casually achieving nuclear fusion.

Yes. Nuclear. Fusion!

Dallas Seventh-Grader Pulls Off Sheldon Cooper-Level Science

Aiden McMillan, a 12-year-old student in the Dallas Independent School District, has officially achieved nuclear fusion after four years of work. That means that he started this project when he was just eight years old!

Instead of building LEGO sets, McMillan spent his first two years studying nuclear physics concepts before even attempting to build his first prototypes. Let that sink in, while most kids were in elementary school, he was diving into advanced physics!

After years of research, testing, and refining, he finally reached the breakthrough moment. McMillan described the emotional end to what he called a long journey and admitted he even teared up a bit.

Mom Made Sure This Didn’t Turn Into a Sci-Fi Movie

While her son was discovering amazing things, mom Shirin Foroudi had questions! McMillan shared that there were “alarm bells” at first, with his mom asking him to slow down and explain exactly what could go wrong and how he planned to prevent it.

In other words, even child geniuses still have to run things by mom first.

Chasing a Guinness World Record

Now, McMillan is applying to Guinness World Records to be recognized as the youngest person to achieve nuclear fusion.

The current record belongs to Jackson Oswalt of Tennessee, who achieved fusion just hours before his 13th birthday in 2018. If McMillan’s application is approved, Texas could officially claim the title of youngest nuclear fusion achiever in history.

READ MORE: Texas Man Sets His Sights on Paper Airplane Record

And to think, my seventh grade science project was how plants move in response to light- compared to this, I deserved that third place ribbon!