One of the first signs that Taylors Lakes whiz-kid James Kwiecinski was destined for big things was when he started teaching other students his own age.
He was aged 16. Now 22, he was last week awarded a Sir John Monash scholarship, which will bankroll his PhD studies in theoretical physics at Oxford University from mid-next year.
The former Overnewton Primary School pupil – who this year completed a double degree with first-class honours in mathematics and physics at Monash University while also being a teaching associate – has big plans when he returns from studying the emerging field known as ‘self-organisation theory’.
“It looks at how multiple parts can work together to form coherent structures,” Kwiecinski says.
“Such theoretical research could provide the basis for pharmaceuticals … it is important that Australia becomes a world leader in this theoretical formalism and I hope to do this by starting a centre of excellence in Australia that studies such problems.”
Kwiecinski was just 16 when he began teaching subjects including maths and chemistry with the Edmund Rice Christian Brothers in St Albans.
The German and Latin-speaking son of parents of American and Polish backgrounds expects only a slight change in culture at Oxford.
“I’ve travelled quite a bit. I did volunteer work in Ghana for a few months several years ago, so I’m not too worried about starting a new life at Oxford.”
The General Sir John Monash Foundation offers up to eight scholarships a year for postgraduate education at non-Australian universities, funding up to three years of study.
