Super Humans - Alia Sabur

Alia Sabur (born February 22, 1989) is an American materials scientist and attorney. She holds the record for being the world's youngest professor. Sabur was born in New York City, New York. Her mother, Julie Sabur (born Kessler), worked as a reporter for News12 Long Island until 1995. She married Mohammed Sabur, a Pakistan native, in 1980. Alia, born on February 22, 1989, showed early signs of giftedness. She tested "off the IQ scale," according to an educator who tested her as a first-grader. As a fourth-grader, she left public school and was admitted to State University of New York at Stony Brook at the age of 10, later graduating summa cum laude at 14. She also received a black belt in Tae Kwon Do at the age of 9. After Stony Brook, Sabur attended Drexel University where she received her M.S. in 2006. Alia is recipient of the 2007 Dean fellowship from Drexel University.  In 2007 she took a temporary position at Southern University in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. On 19 February 2008, at 18 years of age (3 days before her 19th birthday), she was appointed to the position of International Professor as Research Liaison with Stony Brook University by the Dept. of Advanced Technology Fusion at Konkuk University in Seoul, South Korea. The position was a temporary, one-year contract which she chose not to renew. The Guinness Book of World Records named Sabur the World's Youngest Professor. She began her position at the Department of Advanced Technology Fusion at Konkuk University in June 2008 and returned to her hometown of New York early 2009, without renewing her contract.

In 2008, Sabur filed a civil suit against Drexel University, claiming that the university engaged in fraud and defamation regarding Sabur's pursuit of a doctoral degree. In the suit, Sabur charges that Yury Gogotsi, her former Ph.D. advisor, improperly used her research to apply for grants, and deliberately obstructed her degree. Trial proceedings began on August 9, 2010. "But that was when I grew disillusioned with the science world. I saw bad conduct and realised that some professors weren’t motivated by a love of science. I fell out with the adviser who was supervising my PhD. I sued Drexel University in a civil lawsuit and the case has now gone into private, binding arbitration. I believe my adviser applied for grants and patents using my ideas, and took credit for them. He denies this and has accused me of stealing his work. Even though the university has cleared me of plagiarism it has still refused to award me my PhD.", says Financial Times article. This is the second lawsuit involving the Sabur family. In the previous one Alia Sabur's "parents brought suit on behalf of their daughter and alleged that defendants board of education, its members, and the school district failed to provide their daughter with appropriate educational services in violation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act". Six of the seven counts were dismissed.

Super Humans - Jet Li

 Li Lian-jie (April 26, 1963), born in Beijing, China, was an Actor, Musician. It is known by his actor name - Jet Li

"For me, [Hong Kong films] have become too violent. I want to give a smart and positive image to martial arts, not this bloody, fight-for-no-reason image," he said for  Village Voice, July 22, 1997

Biography

One of the most popular stars of Hong Kong films of the early 1990s, the compact, charismatic Jet Li was at one time considered the heir to the late Bruce Lee. A child prodigy in martial arts, he excelled in the high-kicking "wu shu" style, winning several national championships and traveling around the world (including a 1974 US visit to the Nixon White House). Before turning 20, Jet Li made his film debut as a fighting priest in "Shaolin Temple" (1982), which was banned in Taiwan but proved popular throughout Asia. After two sequels, "Shaolin Temple II: Kids From Shaolin" (1984) and "Shaolin Temple III: Martial Arts of Shaolin" (1986), both of which showcased his talents, Jet made his directorial debut with the unsuccessful "Born to Defend" (also 1986). Since he had only been earning a limited salary, Jet Li obtained a two-year exit permit and settled in San Francisco with a Chinese actress who would briefly become his wife. "The Master" (filmed in San Francisco in 1989 but not released until 1992) was a minor modern-day kung fu thriller, more notable as the first time Jet Li worked with director Tsui Hark. Instead of returning to China in 1990, the actor settled in Hong Kong, where he attempted to rejuvenate his sagging career by signing with Golden Harvest. His breakthrough screen role came in 1990 when Tsui Hark cast him as real-life folk hero Wong Fei Hung in "Once Upon a Time in China". Despite critical carping over Jet Li's relative youth and his training in another martial arts discipline, the period piece offered the performer a strong role and he more than met the challenges exhibiting the requisite stoic aura. He went on to reprise the role in two sequels (in 1992), but an ankle injury forced the use of a double in several fight sequences. Nevertheless, Jet Li dominated the films in a role many felt he was born to play. The actor, however, felt financially underappreciated and after a series of disputes parted company with Golden Harvest. (He was replaced by another actor for two sequels before resuming the franchise in 1997's "Once Upon a Time in China and America", which can be qualified as a kung fu Western.) Over a five year period (1992-97), Jet Li appeared in over two dozen films of varying quality. He scored as another martial artist folk hero "Fong Sai Yuk" (1993) and played his signature role of Wong Fei Hung in the uneven "The Last Hero in China" (also 1993), which he also produced. Additionally, he starred in the biopics "Tai Chi Master" (also 1993) and "New Legend of Shaolin" (1994), By the time of "Black Mask" (1996), an attempt to create a new franchise based on a popular Hong Kong comic book, his career was on the wane once again. Despite numerous offers from bigwigs like Oliver Stone and Quentin Tarantino, Jet Li took his time following fellow HK actors Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Cheung and Chow Yun-Fat to L.A. At one time he was attached to a Jean-Claude Van Damme vehicle and withdrew just before filming. Finally, in 1998, Jet Li appeared in his first American studio film, playing the martial artist villain opposite Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in "Lethal Weapon 4". It would remain to be seen if the handsome actor's galvanizing screen presence could be transplanted in a real Hollywood blockbuster.

Filmography

Lord of the Wu Tang 

Kiss of the Dragon (2001) 

The One (2001) 

Romeo Must Die (2000) 

Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) 

The Hitman (1998) 

Black Mask (1997) 

Once Upon A Time In China And America (1997) 

My Father Is a Hero (1995) 

High Risk (1995) 

The New Legend of Shaolin (1994) 

Fist of Legend (1994) 

The Bodyguard from Beijing (1994) 

Fong Sai-Yuk (1993) 

Fong Sai-Yuk 2 (1993) 

Once Upon a Time in China III (1993) 

The T'ai Chi Master (1993) 

Once Upon a Time in China II (1992) 

Swordsman II (1992) 

Once Upon a Time in China (1991) 

The Master (1989) 

Born to Defence (1988) 

Martial Arts of Shaolin Temple (1985) 

Kids From Shaolin (1984) 

The Shaolin Temple (1982) 

Awards:

1974: Youth National Athletic Competition: Gold Medal, Wu Shu champion

1975: Youth National Athletic Competition: Gold Medal, Wu Shu champion

1977: Youth National Athletic Competition: Gold Medal, Wu Shu champion

1978: Youth National Athletic Competition: Gold Medal, Wu Shu champion

1979: Youth National Athletic Competition: Gold Medal, Wu Shu champion

Facts:

Made first trip to the USA to perform in a wushu team at the White House for President Richard Nixon (1974)

Education:

Beijing Athletic School, Beijing, China; majored in martial arts