---
title: "11-Year-Old Gets Physics Degree, Says He’ll Use It to Attain Technological Immortality"
description: "A 11-year-old boy from Belgium just graduated from the University of Antwerp with a bachelor's degree in physics — and with the highest distinction."
date: "2021-07-06"
modified: "2021-07-06"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/11-year-old-physics-degree-immortality"
categories:
  - "Physics"
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "cyborg"
  - "physics"
  - "quantum physics"
  - "the digest"
---

# 11-Year-Old Gets Physics Degree, Says He’ll Use It to Attain Technological Immortality

![A 11-year-old boy from Belgium just graduated from the University of Antwerp with a bachelor's degree in physics — and with the highest distinction.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/11-year-old-physics-degree-immortality.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CHSmeizJOSC/" target="\_blank"\>Laurent Simons via Instagram\</a\>\</em\>*

## Getting Knowledge

A 11-year-old boy from Belgium just graduated from the University of Antwerp with a bachelor's degree in physics, local newspaper [*De Telegraaf* reports](<https://www.telegraaf.nl/nieuws/1873077800/wonderkind-laurent-11-behaalt-bachelor-summa-cum-laude-gemiddeld-een-9>) — and with the highest distinction.

"I don't really care if I'm the youngest," Laurent Simons told the newspaper, as [translated by *Newsweek*](<https://www.newsweek.com/laurent-simons-11-second-youngest-graduate-ever-plans-make-humans-immortal-1607168>). "It's all about getting knowledge for me."

It's an astonishing achievement — and in an eyebrow-raising twist, Simons says he plans to live forever, by turning himself into a cyborg.

## Cyborg Boy

It sounds like Simons has thought out his plan.

"This is the first puzzle piece in my goal of replacing body parts with mechanical parts," Simons told *De Telegraaf*, adding that his goal is "immortality."

"I want to be able to replace as many body parts as possible with mechanical parts," he added. "I've mapped out a path to get there. You can see it as a big puzzle."

To get started on his big puzzle — a far cry from the jigsaw ones being put together by other children in his age group — Simons is next looking to study quantum physics.

"Two things are important in such a study: acquiring knowledge and applying that knowledge," Simons told the newspaper. "To achieve the second, I want to work with the best professors in the world, look inside their brains and find out how they think."

Simons is only getting started in his studies.

"This year, he also took some courses from the master's program. After the summer, he will officially start his master's degree," a spokesperson from the University of Antwerp told *De Telegraaf*.

**READ MORE:** [Boy, 11, Becomes Second Youngest Graduate Ever, Plans to Make Humans Immortal](<https://www.newsweek.com/laurent-simons-11-second-youngest-graduate-ever-plans-make-humans-immortal-1607168>) \[*Newsweek*\]

**More on physics:** *[YouTuber Wins $10,000 Bet Against Physicist, Drives Wind-Powered Car](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/youtuber-wins-10000-bet-physicist>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)