POWAY, Calif. — A perfect Math score on the SAT led to a perfect grade point average at MIT for a star student in Poway.
In this Zevely Zone, I met the young man known as 'Asian Stephen Hawking'.
Ben Lou was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy at 6 months old. It's a rare disease that attacks Ben's nervous system and muscles leaving him wheelchair bound and completely physically dependent on his mother, Jenny. She has a master's degree but left her career as a software programmer to help her son 16 hours a day.
Ben maintains a positive attitude about his bright future as a mathematician and physicist. "I have been overcoming my physical limitations mentally through the beauty of math and physics. The most important and beautiful things can be accessed through the mind," said Ben.
While therapy exercises Ben's body, he's always strengthening his mind as well. "We are looking at quantum mechanics," said Ben as he read his laptop while undergoing therapy.
Rather than being called a patient, Ben prefers titles such as physicist and philosopher.
Ben's challenges have not stopped him from achieving a perfect 5.0 GPA at M.I.T. He has an incredible mind. Ben was studying Calculus in the fourth grade, and by age eleven he beat out 50,000 participants to take home the Gold Medal at the Alibaba World Math Team Competition in Beijing, China.
In high school, he went on to achieve a perfect 800 score on his Math SAT helping him gain entry into M.I.T. "Since my body doesn't work so well, I allocate all of my resources to my brain," said Ben.
Ben's story has fascinated people in China, where he suspects a short film about his life has been viewed 50 million times and led to a catchy nickname. "Meet San Diego's 20-Year-Old Asian Stephen Hawking," said Ben.
His mother can't believe the worldwide interest. "He goes out and people recognize him, and people say we saw him," said Jenny.
Ben was born with some serious challenges yet can't stop smiling. "Yes. The challenges I faced out other challenges in perspective. So, I have been through worse than this I can handle this," said Ben.
The award-winning mathematician says if you add it all up, deep down he's a philosopher. "Some people say you should live every day like it is your last, I do not think that is correct because if you did that you would be able to make any long-term plans," said Ben.
His plans include inventing a system that would feed himself so his mother could take more time off and as for that nickname Asian Stephen Hawking. "My hope is that we would have more than one example of someone with a disability who achieved great heights, so I want to be another example," said Ben. "I think it's time we had a second example."
Ben's course load at M.I.T. currently includes Experimental Physics, Abstract Algebra and Ethics. When asked about his long-term goals for the future, Ben says, "The goal I have fixed upon is to understand the secrets of the universe, and I believe science and math are good tools for figuring out the secrets of the universe."
Ben's mother Jenny lives with her son at MIT. He will graduate in 2025. For more information about his story click here.