I'm not sure that approach will work for him either, since in my experience most young scientists want to talk about their incomprehensible work aaaaalll the time, and their best friends tend also to be scientists working in the same field so they can understand each other.
He's an attractive lad, but his problems are not unique or surprising. The more educated and intelligent one is, the fewer potential mates will be available. This young man is probably in the top one-tenth of one percent of the population in terms of intelligence, so there aren't going to be many people, male or female, who can keep up with him intellectually. If he's like almost every other hard-science PhD candidate, he probably obsesses about his research 24-7-365 and might not be able to talk about anything else at this point in his life, which will make him a dead bore as well as generally inexperienced compared to other young men of his age.
But eventually most of these guys end up getting married to somebody who supports and tolerates their work.
“The more educated and intelligent one is, the fewer potential mates will be available.”
Try being a big-busted red-head with a genius IQ.