A native North Philadelphia, in June 2015, Dr. Jalaal Hayes successfully   defended his dissertation entitled, “Thermodynamic and Kinetic Studies of   Alkali-Metal Doped Lithium Amide-Magnesium Hydride Hydrogen Storage   System” in Applied Chemistry. He was 22 years old. The degree was conferred  on December 20, 2015, at Delaware State University winter commencement  as he was lauded as “the youngest ever Doctoral Candidate” in the   university’s 130-year history.