President Obama and Soborno Isaac

My youngest son, Soborno Isaac Bari, has a love for mathematics and science that began in June 2013, when he was just one year old. He was solving addition problems with his mother. I was busy grading my students’ papers in another room. All of a sudden, his mom called out to me. “Soborno is saying something that we never taught him before.” When I asked Soborno, he said, “If 1 +1 is 2, then n + n must be 2n!” I was so surprised that I started giving him math lessons a few times a day. A few months later, two-year-old Isaac was lying on a hospital bed, suffering from a fever. I was sitting on the chair next to his bed. I held his hand and said, “Don’t worry, Isaac. You’ll be fine soon because I love you more than anything in the universe.” His response shocked me: “Universe or multiverse?” Immediately, I knew that this little guy would be very successful in his academic life. However, I did not know he was going to be able to solve PhD-level mathematics, physics, and chemistry problems at four years old. And I definitely did not imagine that he would get recognition from the White House at this age.

On November 26, 2016, at 9:00 p.m., millions of parents in Bangladesh asked their children not to do their homework but to gather in front of the television set to watch খুদে আইনস্টাইন (Little Einstein ), an Ahsan Himel documentary based on Isaac’s story. They cried in a joy while watching it on Channel 24.

On November 9, 2016, my elder son—Refath Albert Bari, who is a thirteen-year-old math genius—and I were sad because our candidate had lost the election a day earlier. To forget and move on, I took my sons to Lehman College so Isaac could solve some math problems. Everything changed a few hours later when Albert knocked my classroom door and informed us that Isaac had received a letter of recognition from President Obama. I was so happy that I forgot what had happened the night before. I looked at Isaac and saw him jumping up and down. When he opened the envelope and read it a few times, he appeared to be having the happiest moment of his life. I videotaped the whole event, which went viral after I posted it on YouTube under the title “President Obama & Soborno Isaac.”

President Obama’s Letter to Soborno Isaac Bari

This recognition from the White House changed Isaac’s life. When I announced on Facebook that he received a letter from President Obama, it made headlines in every single newspaper in Bangladesh, my birthplace. He was on the front page of almost all the Bengali newspapers and became the headline of all the TV channels. His story spread a positive message around Bangladesh—namely, that an education can pave the way to get recognition from the president of the United States. People started realizing that education not only pays off but also can make someone famous. On November 26, 2016, at 9:00 p.m., millions of parents in Bangladesh asked their children not to do their homework but to gather in front of the television set to watch খুদে  আইনস্টাইন (Little Einstein ), an Ahsan Himel documentary based on Isaac’s story. They cried in a joy. When the movie ended, many parents expected their children to follow Isaac’s path. But how did President Obama know about Isaac? It did not happen overnight. Isaac got recognition from the White House after a series of interviews with the presidents of different universities throughout the United States.

Vice President Posman interviews Isaac at CUNY Medgar Evers College

His recognition first came from CUNY Medgar Evers College, where College Vice President Jerald Posman wanted to test Isaac’s chemistry skills. The video of the interview went viral on social media and happened to catch the attention of the Bangladeshi media, including Voice of America. Sabrina Chowdhury Dona of VOA invited Isaac—then two and a half years old—for an interview in their studio in Washington, DC.

Sabrina interviews Isaac for Voice of America

A few months later, Isaac was interviewed by Dr. Daniel Kabat, chair of the Physics Department at Lehman College. He tested Isaac’s calculus skills. Soon afterward, Isaac’s name started spreading around the United States. This was essential to paving the way for him to receive the recognition of the president of the City College of New York.

City College of New York President Lisa Coico interviews Isaac

The City College of New York is one of the most prestigious engineering schools in the United States, which is why I was surprised when we received an interview request from President Lisa Coico. In fact, April 21 became a historic day because in that four-hour-long interview, Isaac solved over eighty PhD-level physics problems. When First Lady Michelle Obama made a trip to the City College of New York on June 3, we assumed that President Coico shared Isaac’s story with her. Time TV broadcast Isaac’s interview with President Coico, which was viewed by millions around the world.

CUNY Lehman College President Ricardo Fernandez takes Isaac’s interview on July 12, 2016. It should be noted that, Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus, another Muslim, received a Gold Medal from President Fernandez on March 10, 2008

Isaac later received another interview request from Lehman College President Ricardo Fernandez. President Fernandez conducted his hour-long interview on July 12, which many media outlets broadcast.

Dr. Daniel Kabat interviews Isaac at Lehman College

I was not surprised when we received another interview request from Engineer Golom Mowla of the Federation of Bangladeshi Associations in North America. However, this time, Dr. Mizanul Chowdhury would conduct Isaac’s interview in front of thousands of people in FOBANA. Dr. Chowdhury is the most recognized Bengali scientist of our time.

Dr. Mizanul Chowdhury, the most recognized Bengali scientist of our time, interviews Isaac in front of thousands of people in FOBANA.

He teaches physics and computer science at MIT and writes programs for NASA Space Station robots. I was told that many public officials would be in the audience, including Congresswoman Barbara Comstock. On September 3, 2016, we arrived in Washington two hours before the interview. Isaac was exhausted, but he did well in the interview and solved many PhD-level math problems. Congresswoman Comstock was impressed and called Isaac to chat with her after the interview. That interview went viral on social media, and Isaac became a four-year-old math-and-science superstar.

Congresswoman Barbara Comstock was impressed and called Isaac to chat with her after the interview.

A long time ago, I founded Bari Science Lab, an anti-Islamic State website, to eliminate ISIS. This is why we have carefully chosen the motto “Thinking outside the box” for our website. However, recently, Isaac asked me to change it. “Dad, our motto should be ‘Let’s fall in love with math and science’.” I disagreed with him for a moment. But later, I realized that if everyone in the world were to fall in love with math and science, there would no longer be terrorists, and we wouldn’t need an anti-terrorist website. I hope Isaac can inspire millions of youths to fall in love with something even more important than politics and religion—that is, of course, math and science.

Dr. Brian Murphy interviews Isaac at Lehman College.

Isaac’s dream is to get into Harvard at the age of ten via the SAT. He wants to get into college at such an early age not to make any record but to earn four doctorates by the age of forty so he can solve four problems: string theory, dark matter, quantum computing, and making fusion a reality.

Two-year-old Isaac was lying on a hospital bed, suffering from a fever. I (Rashidul Bari) was sitting on the chair next to his bed. I held his hand and said, “Don’t worry, Isaac. You’ll be fine soon because Daddy love you more than anything in the universe.” His response shocked me, “Universe or multiverse?”

From the age of forty until his final days, he will work toward achieving his second goal of motivating youths to fall in love with education. Recently, he has made a swift transition from the Baby SAT to the real SAT, which he will take in January. I know his dream will come true because the source of his inspiration comes from President Barack Obama, who wrote to him, “I want you to know I expect great things from you.”

Rashidul Bari teaches Mathematics at the College of Staten Island and Physics at Brooklyn Tech. His websites is: Bari Science Lab