He's just 14 years old but Ahmed Mohamed already attracted the attention of an MIT professor - although he did have to get arrested for that to happen.
The young Muslim boy's story about bringing a homemade clock to McArthur High School for an engineering project only to get arrested for suspicions of terrorism blew up on social media earlier this week and even gained attention from prominent figures around the world.
After being questioned by local police in Irving, TX, Mohamed went on a live interview with Chris Hayes on MSNBC last Wednesday. He wasn't just there to talk about his ordeal, though.
According to The Independent, he was surprised by MIT astrophysics professor Chanda Prescod-Weinstein's praises on the show. He was even more shocked when she invited him to his "dream school" for a tour. He couldn't help but grin at the invitation.
It seems that Ahmed Mohamed's MIT dream is even closer than before.
"You are the kind of student we want at places like MIT and Harvard," Prescod-Weinstein told the teenager. "You are my ideal student. A creative, independent thinker like you is the kind of person who should become a physicist."
Although no scholarship was given to him (yet) he still has a couple more years to prove to the prestigious university that he would be bringing in more than just homemade clocks someday.
So far, he has received invitations from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, NASA, Twitter, and Google. NASA astronauts and Silicon Valley also showed support for the young engineer.
He even attracted the attention of President Barack Obama who called his clock "cool."
"Cool clock, Ahmed. Want to bring it to the White House? We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It's what makes America great," the Chief Commander said through his official Twitter page.
"I hope to see him soon," the excited teen told "Good Morning America" on Thursday, a day after the arrest went viral. He also promised that his infamous clock "won't be [his] last invention."
As for Ahmed Mohamed's MIT visit, he's most likely very excited for that as well.
Check out his Twitter page here.
