 Kaczynski was born and raised in Evergreen Park , Illinois . While growing up in Evergreen Park he was a child prodigy , excelling academically from an early age . Kaczynski was accepted into Harvard University at the age of 16 , where he earned an undergraduate degree . He subsequently earned a PhD in mathematics from the University of Michigan . He became an assistant professor at the University of California , Berkeley in 1967 at age 25 . He resigned two years later . 
