TEEN YOUNGEST GIRL IN GRAD SCHOOL.

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Author: Unknown

TECHNOLOY

Dateline: PHILADELPHIA, Pa. â€"

To meet Alia Sabur, you'd think she was no different from any other teenage girl. She enjoys going to the movies and hanging out at the mall. She listens to U2 and Matchbox 20 and carries a yellow Hello Kitty book bag.

In that bag, though. Alia carries advanced math and physics texts. Alia began reading at 8 months of age. By age 10, she had enrolled at Stony Brook University, near her home in Northport, N.Y. And three months ago, at 14, she became the youngest female student in a Ph.D. program in the United States.

"I'm specializing in nanophotonics," she told Current Science. Nanophotonics is a new frontier in the field of nanotechnology, the development of machines the size of atoms and molecules. Nanophotonics researchers employ optical devices, such as lasers, to study and create the minuscule machines. Alia's research will involve using fiber-optic cable â€" very fine glass fibers â€" to create hollow beams of light that can trap atoms inside them.

Alia graduated with highest honors from Stony Brook last year and was offered a spot in its doctorate program. Instead, she chose Drexel University in Philadelphia. Her clarinet teacher, Ricardo Morales, recently moved there from New York City to play with the Philadelphia Orchestra. "He's wonderful," said Alia. "Some people say he's the best clarinetist in the world."

Alia says her passion for music exceeds her academic interests. "The clarinet is such a beautiful instrument," she said, "the closest there is, I believe, to the human voice."

Alia will likely have no problem juggling clarinet and graduate studies. Her parents have relocated to Philadelphia to support her. She also has a lightning ability to process information and can absorb 100 pages in an hour. During her final year at college, she arrived two hours late for a two-and-a-half-hour math exam; she aced it in 15 minutes.

"The hardest part about moving to Philadelphia will be missing my friends back home in Northport," she said. "But we will still keep in touch online."

PHOTO (COLOR): Whiz kid Alia Sabur, the youngest female grad student in the United States, invites students to check out her personal Web site: aliasabur.com