[5] He then pursued his doctorate studies, including a Fulbright scholarship in 1972 at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden.

He eventually obtained his PhD degree in Wood and Polymer Chemistry from the University of Washington at Seattle in October 1973 under the guidance of Professor K.V.

He has been a visiting professor and scholar at several research institutes and universities in Sweden, China, Japan, New Zealand, Mexico, Indonesia, Taiwan, Brazil, Turkey, and Greece.

[13][14][15] Throughout his career, Young has received several awards for his research work:[16][17] In October 2023, a referenced meta-research conducted by John Ioannidis and his team at Stanford University included R.A. Young in the Elsevier Data 2022, where he was ranked in the top 2% of researchers of all time in wood chemistry (polymers – forestry), having a c-index 3.170.

[19] During his retirement, Young has written some non-scientific books, namely, "Polynesian and the Polynesians: An Overview", "Perfumes and Perfumery: An Overview", "A Sabbatical in Greece: Thessaloniki and Mt Athos", and one book about his family heritage entitled, "Young Family Genealogy: From the Coal Mines & Steel Mills".