Scholar’s Advanced Technological System

by Stayrr

After suffering from a heat stroke while working under the scorching heat of summer, Lu Zhou, a hardworking but poor university student, somehow becomes the owner of an advanced technological system. With the cheat given by the system, his university life changes overnight. A Master’s degree? Easy. PhD? Not a problem. From a nobody, he quickly becomes a huge celebrity in the wor

11. 324

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Chapter 324: Coming To San Francisco

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

The conference venue was at the Hyatt Hotel. It was a short walk from Chinatown. The hotel provided on-site dining and a 24-hour gym. It had dedicated conference rooms for academic activities.

Sarrot drove Lu Zhou to the destination and parked in the parking lot. He then walked to the elevator with Lu Zhou.

Not only was this conference a good opportunity to exchange academic ideas with peers, but it was also a good opportunity to expand one's network. Any ambitious researchers would take this opportunity seriously.

Lu Zhou's flight and expenses were all paid for by the organizer of the conference. However, Sarrot had to pay for this conference out of his own pocket.

In the elevator, Lu Zhou looked at Sarrot and said, "I plan on sleeping first, how about you?"

Sarrot looked at Lu Zhou and said, "You're planning on sleeping? There's a dance party later."

"I don't know how to dance," said Lu Zhou. He then yawned before he continued, "Plus one dance party is enough."

Lu Zhou was talking about the bigger, more formal dance party on the night of the conference.

It didn't matter if Lu Zhou attended these networking parties.

He had just gotten off from a long flight; he only wanted to sleep and prepare himself for the award and speech ceremony.

Sarrot said, "Then go sleep, I'm going to go to the lobby and chill for a bit. Do you want me to call room service for you?"

Lu Zhou waved his hand and said, "No need, you have fun. If I'm hungry, I can call the front desk myself."

Sarrot's room was on the third floor. He planned to dress himself up, like waxing his hair or something, before attending the dance party.

Lu Zhou's room was on the fifth floor.

Lu Zhou went through the hallway and passed a couple of couches. Two men in suits noticed him and immediately stopped talking. They got up from the couch and walked toward him.

Lu Zhou looked at them and thought that one of them looked familiar.

The old man that looked familiar reached out his hand and said, "Professor Lu, it's nice to see you."

"Hello… you are?"

The old man introduced himself in a polite manner, "I'm Stanley Whittingham from Binghamton University, New York."

When Lu Zhou heard his name, he suddenly remembered something.

Stanley Whittingham was a big name in the field of lithium batteries, no wonder Lu Zhou felt that he looked familiar.

In the early 70s, Stanley designed the first lithium battery using titanium sulfide as the anode material and lithium metal as the positive electrode material.

However, the lithium batteries were never industrialized due to the well-known lithium dendrites problem. It was only after Lu Zhou's modified PDMS had solved the problem that the lithium batteries managed to successfully escape from the laboratory.

"Nice to meet you." Lu Zhou shook Stanley's hand and looked at the other person before he asked, "This is?"

Professor Stanley said, "This is Darren Woods, CEO of ExxonMobil."

"Nice to meet you, Professor Lu," Darren Woods said with a smile as he reached out his right hand. He then added, "Your theses in Science and Nature are quite impressive. However, some things are too difficult to understand, so I'm afraid I have a lot of questions to ask of you."

Although Lu Zhou hadn't heard of Darren Woods before, he had certainly heard of ExxonMobil.

Two months ago, the CEO of ExxonMobil was still Rex Tillerson. However, in 2016, Rex was named "the world's most influential CEO" and became the Secretary of State.

Woods was the successor of Tillerson.

"Hello," Lu Zhou shook hands with this CEO and said, "Mr. Woods, you are also interested in lithium batteries?"

Woods smiled and said, "Of course, oil is a precious raw material, but it is too wasteful to burn. Actually, due to reasons such as global warming and climate change, we are committed to investing in new energy fields. Batteries are naturally a crucial part."

Although ExxonMobil was primarily an oil company, they were also involved in chemicals, automotive, and various other industries.

The earliest lithium battery was made in Stanley's laboratory, which was funded by Mobil Chemical.

Lu Zhou smiled and didn't say anything.

It was normal for ExxonMobil to be interested in new energy industries. However, to claim that it was because of global warming was a joke.

Woods looked at Lu Zhou and said, "Speaking of which, is there any progress on the synthesis of HCS-1?"

Lu Zhou shook his head and said, "Nope."

"That's unfortunate." Woods sighed and said, "It is a good material, but its price is a bit unacceptable."

It was obvious that Mobil Chemical was also using the method described by Lu Zhou in the thesis, which was to use the heated reaction with carbon nanotubes and fullerene materials to obtain a small amount of HCS-1 before mixing in 20% of sulfur.

Although this method was inefficient, it had an excellent energy density.

After all, the application of lithium-sulfur batteries in things like drones or underwater operating equipment was in demand.

Lu Zhou smiled and said, "Yeah, but I think there are many flaws with the material."

Woods shook his head and said, "No, no, no, you don't get it! Not all batteries require a high number of cycle efficiency. Sometimes we use disposable batteries for its high energy density."

Woods paused for a second before continuing, "Solving this problem would benefit the entire world. Do you need funding?"

Lu Zhou shook his head and said, "Unfortunately, I don't, so maybe you can invest in some other laboratories that have potential."

"That's a shame; it looks to me that no one else has as much potential as you."

Although Woods said it was "a shame", he didn't look unsatisfied at all.

Obviously, ExxonMobil was also doing similar research in their laboratories.

They might have even produced results already.

Lu Zhou looked at Professor Stanley and realized what was going on.

These two are here to check on my research progress.

Lu Zhou couldn't help but shake his head.

You want to know my research progress?

Just buy a Science journal and read it.

Lu Zhou had never hidden his research.

They chatted for a while, and Lu Zhou got bored. He then said his goodbye and dragged his suitcase into his room.

As Woods looked at Lu Zhou walking away, he smiled and turned to Professor Stanley before he asked, "Where do you think his research is at?"

Professor Stanley frowned and said, "Hard to say, he's a talented kid. If the Science theses are his complete results, then our chance of winning is still very high, but I'm not sure."

Professor Stanley paused for a second before speaking again in a serious tone, "Haven't you noticed? Although we were asking about his research progress, he didn't care about our research at all…"

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Chapter 325: Adams Chemistry Prize!

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Lu Zhou would definitely laugh if he knew what Professor Stanley was thinking.

Honest to god, Lu Zhou didn't care about their conversation at all.

Because he didn't need to care, he had better things to do…

Lu Zhou stayed in his hotel room for the night.

The next day, the Organic Chemistry Conference held by the American Chemical Society began.

Scholars from all over the world participated in this conference. Some were from America, some were from China.

By 9 o'clock in the morning, the huge venue was already filled with people.

Although it was still an hour until the official ceremony began, many people had already arrived, and they were all waiting patiently.

The opening ceremony of the biennial Adams Chemistry Prize was the highlight of the Organic Chemistry Conference. No one wanted to miss it.

Lu Zhou was the first Chinese scholar to receive the medal, and naturally, he was the center of attention.

When Lu Zhou was getting ready backstage, he bumped into a CTV reporter.

The young lady was holding a microphone, and Lu Zhou felt she looked familiar. He suddenly remembered that this was the reporter he met in Stockholm for the Crafoord Prize.

Fate really is a magical thing.

The reporter smiled and spoke in a pleasing voice, "Professor Lu, hello, can I borrow five minutes of your time?"

There was an hour until the opening ceremony began, and Lu Zhou had five minutes to spare.

He said, "Of course."

The lady handed out the microphone and asked, "How are you feeling right now?"

Lu Zhou replied, "It's a bit early to answer this question as the medal is still in the hands of Professor Berstein."

The reporter smiled and said, "Then I'll change my question. Since you are the first Chinese scholar to receive this medal, you must be full of excitement?"

Lu Zhou smiled as he replied, "I was excited, but that was two months ago when I first heard I was awarded this award."

The lady asked, "Most people heard about you when you proved the Goldbach's conjecture and when you won the Crafoord Prize. So, they must be surprised that a mathematician was able to win the Adams Chemistry Prize. May I ask then, what sparked your interest in chemistry?"

Lu Zhou didn't answer this question directly. Instead, he smiled and said, "Remember what I said to you in Stockholm?"

The reporter lady smiled and said, "I remember you said that the purpose of mathematics is to change science."

"Exactly, the purpose of mathematics is to change science," Lu Zhou nodded and said, "and right now, I'm changing science."

…

The interview only lasted for five minutes.

The opening ceremony began and it was soon the prize-giving time.

Lu Zhou walked on stage and received a gold medal and a silver watch from Professor Burstein, the president of the American Chemical Society.

Giving silver prizes was a tradition of the Adams Chemistry Prize, and every iteration of the prize was different.

This silver watch was very small; it had the emblem of the Adams Chemistry Prize engraved on the back. Due to the finely crafted patterns, this watch was worth a lot of money. However, the money was insignificant compared to the glory of the Adams Chemistry Prize.

Professor Burstein shook hands with Lu Zhou as he said, "The development of new energy concerns our future. I thank you for your contribution to the world and giving us more time for research."

It seemed that this watch had a meaning behind it.

Lu Zhou took the watch from the professor's hands and said, "Thank you."

The crowd erupted in applause.

The prize-giving time finally ended.

However, the ceremony wasn't finished.

For the Adams Chemistry Prive, there was a tradition that the prize winner had to give an hour-long speech during the ceremony.

This was the highlight of the award ceremony.

Lu Zhou adjusted the microphone and began to speak.

"Materials, energy, and information technology are the three pillars of modern technology. However, other than information technology, our research in the fields of materials and energy over the past century has been slow.

"However, the academic community has been misunderstood. Every day, there are new technologies being born in laboratories in the corners of the world. I believe that everyone here knows that we don't lack new materials, we lack useful materials.

"I think one of the reasons is that we don't have a theoretical system that can find useful materials for us. We've been relying solely on the scientific intuition of researchers.

"This is my motivation behind studying computational materials science." Lu Zhou paused for a second and looked at the crowd before he said, "I believe that with rigorous calculations, we can calculate new potential materials and save a lot of money and time."

The professors and scholars in the crowd were nervous.

Jesus, did this guy come up with another mathematics proof again?

"… My report will be semi-academic."

The scholars sighed in relief, especially those chemistry professors that weren't so good with mathematics.

There was no doubt that computational materials science was a promising research direction, and the academic community recognized its value. However, Professor Lu's theory was too difficult to understand.

Although many professors in fields such as crystal chemistry and nanomaterials had an understanding of geometry and topology, their knowledge was rudimentary.

But now it seemed that they didn't have to worry

Lu Zhou already said that this was going to be a semi-academic speech, therefore, he wouldn't talk about anything too difficult.

"… I am studying the effect of the pore size and surface area of carbon nanospheres on the diffusion rate of polysulfide compounds. The copolymer of polyaniline fluorene polypyrrole is used as the precursor, and polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride is used as the postcursor."

While speaking, Lu Zhou picked up a piece of chalk from the podium and drew a simple molecular model on the blackboard behind him. He wrote down the surface area, aperture, and other data next to the model.

Up until now, everything was easy to understand.

Everyone had their guard down. However, Lu Zhou suddenly stopped writing and continued to speak, "When I studied these products, I found something interesting…"

Lu Zhou quickly wrote down the first line of the equation.

Then, he went out of control…

Woods sat in the back row of the lecture hall, and he looked around with a worried face.

Before becoming CEO of ExxonMobil, he was an engineer. Therefore, he had a certain understanding of the chemical industry. Although he had never done any research work, he could still read theses.

But now, he had no idea what was on the blackboard.

Woods took a deep breath and looked at Professor Stanley before he whispered, "Are all semi-academic reports this difficult?"

Professor Stanley hesitated for a moment before answering him.

"Normally, it's not like this…"

It was obvious… that this wasn't normal.

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Chapter 326: Relax A Bit

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

The speech ended with a round of applause.

Lu Zhou put down the chalk and looked at the audience.

This crowd is pretty good.

At least a lot better than the MRS Conference.

It was obvious that some chemistry and physics professors were able to understand some of Lu Zhou's theory.

The scholars that had studied his thesis thoroughly understood more than 70% of his speech.

Lu Zhou was happy with this kind of result.

The award ceremony of the Adams Chemistry Prize came to an end.

Lu Zhou put his celebratory thoughts aside and decided to focus on the academic side of the Organic Chemistry Conference.

Even though he was on the cutting edge of research, there were still many things for him to learn.

However, the learning that occurred at a conference was different from the type of learning one would receive from inside a classroom. A scholar that wanted to produce the knowledge needed to discuss with peers, read works of literature, and listen to talks.

And this was exactly what the Organic Chemistry Conference provided.

The next afternoon, Lu Zhou, who had just listened to an organic chemistry lecture, made himself a cup of coffee. He found a corner to sit down and quietly sort out the notes he had just written.

During the talk just now, a researcher presented a non-fullerene organic solar cell, a fluorinated binary heterojunction battery current-voltage curve, and the highest photoelectric conversion efficiency curve.

The data on the graphs were beautiful.

Although Lu Zhou wasn't researching photovoltaic materials, he still had some knowledge of fullerene materials. What interested him the most was the part of mathematical analysis. The author of the thesis had a good mathematical foundation.

Lu Zhou planned to spend some time studying it.

Suddenly, he heard the tapping sounds made by heels.

A beautiful blonde sat across from him.

Lu Zhou looked up at the beautiful woman and asked, "Who are you?"

The blonde woman smiled and said, "My name is Roy, it is a pleasure to meet you."

"Nice to meet you," Lu Zhou shook her hand and said, "are you a university student?"

"I'm a master's student from Harvard, but not a chemistry major."

I guess she's not giving me her resume.

Lu Zhou asked, "Reporter from the journalism department?"

Roy blinked and said, "Not quite."

Lu Zhou smiled and asked, "You're a writer?"

"Correct!" Roy snapped her fingers and said, "I'm a science writer."

You're actually a writer?

I guess there's a difference between novel writing and science writing.

Lu Zhou smiled and said, "I didn't expect writers to be interested in my research. I'm curious, why did you come up to me?"

Roy: "Actually, I signed up for the Organic Chemistry Conference to find the inspiration for writing. I didn't expect to bump into the award winner of the Adams Chemistry Prize."

Lu Zhou smiled and said, "I guess you didn't understand my speech."

"I didn't, but it didn't prevent your speech from inspiring me. Especially your insights on energy and materials, it brought so much inspiration to my mind." With a serious expression, Roy looked at Lu Zhou as she asked with a sincere tone, "I have a few questions I want to ask you. I don't know if I can borrow some of your time?"

Lu Zhou looked at the steam coming from his coffee cup, and he thought about his itinerary for the day before he said, "… You have time until I finish drinking this cup of coffee."

"No worries, it won't take long," said Roy. She then took out a pen and notebook before she asked, "Then, the first question…"

Roy asked some superficial and mainstream questions.

Lu Zhou tried to use simple words to explain his thoughts.

Time quickly passed by.

Lu Zhou finished his coffee, and since Roy finished asking her questions, she put her notebook and pen away.

"Thank you for taking the time to answer my question, I will send you a copy of my work."

Lu Zhou smiled and asked, "Is your signature on it?"

Roy smiled and said, "I'll sign it if you want."

She then said in a joking tone, "This is my business card. I'm interested in you, maybe we can talk in depth next time."

The gorgeous blonde looked at Lu Zhou in a flirting manner before she left.

Lu Zhou looked at her and smiled.

Talk in depth?

I'm good.

Even the professors from Cornell University don't understand my theory; it'd be a waste of time to talk with you.

Suddenly, an unexpected acquaintance came over.

As Grynberg looked at Roy leaving, he said, "Your taste is good."

Lu Zhou asked, "Do you want me to ask her phone number for you?"

"This does sound tempting," Grynberg sat down on the sofa and said, "but I'm not here to talk about women."

You're the one that brought her up?

Lu Zhou looked at him as he put Roy's business card away.

"So, what are you here to talk about?"

Grynberg said, "Nothing, I just want to tell you a piece of bad news."

Lu Zhou asked, "Oh yeah?"

Grynberg looked serious as he said, "Mobil Chemical intends to join in on the production of lithium-sulfur battery materials. Not only that, but they have Professor Stanley as well!"

That's it?

Lu Zhou thought it was something major.

He had a bored look as he said, "Oh, I already knew about that."

Grynberg said, "Woods told you?"

Lu Zhou nodded and explained, "That's right. The night before yesterday, he and Stanley came to visit me."

Grynberg looked around and whispered, "Which step are they on?"

Lu Zhou asked, "What do you mean by step?"

Grynberg said, "I'm talking about research progress… Wait a minute, didn't you ask them anything?"

Lu Zhou looked at him strangely and asked, "Why would I need to ask them anything?"

Grynberg: "…"

Grynberg was in disbelief while Lu Zhou sighed and said, "Honestly, I don't understand why you're being so cautious."

"You don't understand how insane the market prospects for sulfur batteries are," said Grynberg. He then took a deep breath and restrained his anxious emotions before he continued, "Listen, Mobil is also researching positive electrode material for lithium-sulfur batteries. Their research and development direction is also carbon-sulfur composites and hollow carbon spheres! You just helped them in a major way! You shouldn't have published the two theses!"

Grynberg wouldn't be that scared if Nichia was ahead of him.

However, ExxonMobil was different.

This oil giant was in the upstream of their chemical industry chain, so they naturally had a unique advantage in the cost of raw materials.

If ExxonMobil became interested in the positive electrode material for lithium-sulfur batteries, it wouldn't only hurt Umicore, it would hurt all chemical giants.

Just like there was a gap between geniuses, there was a gap between giant companies.

However…

What did this have to do with Lu Zhou?

He wasn't a Umicore shareholder.

"I don't agree, communication is needed to create academic value," Lu Zhou said. He then frowned and asked, "Plus this is my own research result, why can't I publish it?"

"No, that's not what I meant." Grynberg noticed that Lu Zhou was annoyed, and he quickly said, "I admire your confidence, but the problem is that ExxonMobil is our competitor! In order to fight us, they have invested US$50 million on Professor Stanley! Do you understand what this means?"

Lu Zhou looked at Grynberg and didn't know how to comfort him.

Obviously, Umicore was also researching the positive electrode material for lithium-sulfur batteries and had invested a lot of money in this project. In a sense, Lu Zhou was competing against Umicore in the lithium-sulfur battery project, but the competition wasn't as strong as that between Umicore and Mobil.

If Lu Zhou came up with the invention first, Umicore would receive part of the profits. If Nichia came up with the invention, then Umicore would take a hit. However, if ExxonMobil were to take the lead, then it would be a lethal blow to Umicore.

Because of this, Lu Zhou's two theses made Umicore panic.

Especially because of the race with Mobil Chemical; no one knew how many meters away they were from the finish line. The two theses were like time bombs which caused Grynberg to lose his sleep.

Lu Zhou realized what he had done.

However, he would've done it again.

Lu Zhou paused for a second before he said with a gentle tone, "Relax, I've never viewed you as a worthy competitor."

Grynberg: "…"

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Chapter 327: Worship Among Geniuses

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

"On April 11th, the American Chemical Society held an international organic chemistry seminar in San Francisco and unveiled the winner of the Adams Chemistry Prize.

"The award was established to commemorate the famous chemist, Roger Adams. Since 1995, the American Chemical Society has been giving this award every two years to outstanding scholars in the field of organic chemistry. Among the 29 winners, 11 of them were also winners of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

"The winner of this year's Adams Chemistry Prize is Professor Lu Zhou from Princeton University. He won this award due to his research on the modified PDMS film material which has solved a 30-year-old problem…"

The news was playing on a TV in a cafeteria within the compound of Jin Ling University.

Meng Qi had a pair of chopsticks in her hand as she stared at Lu Zhou receiving the medal from an old man.

Her three roommates also noticed the news, but their reactions weren't as big as Meng Qi. They started to discuss among themselves.

Li Fang looked at the TV and said, "Amazing… What an impressive alumnus."

Luo Meng asked, "Speaking of which, he's the director of the computational materials research institute?"

Su Jiawen: "That's him. I heard from the leaders of the student union that he is very good. Every time he comes back to our school, the academicians would welcome him with open arms. Oh yeah, Meng Qi is an intern at the computational materials research institute, right?"

Li Fang looked at Meng Qi and said, "Meng Qi, have you seen Lu Zhou in person before?"

Two months ago, the Jinling Institute of Computational Materials recruited interns based on their academic grades.

There weren't many opportunities for undergrad students to be exposed to scientific research, so this was a good opportunity for students that wanted to stay in academia.

Meng Qi was one of the three students that got this internship opportunity.

Han Mengqi nodded subconsciously.

"Oh… Yeah, I've seen him before."

Not at the computational materials research institute though…

Li Fang asked curiously, "Then tell us, is he the same person in real life?"

Han Mengqi thought for a moment before she said, "Around the same… He's a bit more handsome than on TV."

"Speaking of which, doesn't he do mathematics?" Luo Meng asked while eating, "When did he start doing chemistry?"

Li Fang said, "Yeah… I really don't understand these geniuses. He's basically a legend."

Su Jiawen said, "Only a pretty girl like Mengqi can date a guy as talented as God Lu."

Su Jiawen was only just joking; she didn't expect Meng Qi to take it seriously.

Meng Qi instantly blushed.

"What are you talking about…"

Meng Qi became quiet.

She suddenly noticed that her three friends were all staring at her.

Han Mengqi asked nervously, "What… are you guys doing?"

Su Jiawen rubbed her chin and said, "I don't know if you guys noticed, but this is the first time that Meng Qi has blushed over a guy."

Luo Meng nodded and said, "Maybe…"

Li Fang said, "Did you…"

Han Mengqi was being questioned by her three roommates, and she panicked.

"No, it's not what you guys think!"

"There's nothing wrong with it, it's just an idol." Li Fang smiled and said, "Even a genius would admire other geniuses. I support you!"

Han Mengqi smiled unnaturally.

"… Thanks."

Meng Qi sighed in relief but couldn't help but feel a little sad.

Is he an idol?

It seemed that in other people's eyes, Lu Zhou had reached an unattainable level.

However, it wasn't like she had those dirty thoughts…

Li Fang patted her shoulder and said, "Which part of God Lu do you like?"

Li Fang wasn't the only one curious, even Luo Meng and Su Jiawen were curious as well.

"Don't get me wrong, it's not that kind of like…" Meng Qi said, "It's more like a brother kind of like."

Luo Meng said, "Brother? He is older than you."

Su Jiawen said, "Meng Qi is an only child, right? Siblings are annoying."

Han Mengqi smiled and said, "No way, I think siblings can't be that annoying…"

I don't really feel like I have a family, so maybe it would be better with a brother?

Ever since Han Mengqi met Xiao Tong in Philadelphia, she had been thinking about how nice her life would be if she switched places with Xiao Tong.

Deep down, Han Mengqi wished that Lu Zhou would date Chen Yushan. She had even tried on numerous occasions to set them up.

Through this way, she could call Lu Zhou her brother…

Girls always changed their topic of conversation quickly, and they soon started to talk about Su Jiawen's brother instead.

Normally, Han Mengqi would chime in.

However, the little girl was thinking about something else today.

Just now, Li Fang reminded her of something.

Is it a bad thing if Lu Zhou is my idol?

If he's my idol, I can fantasize about him.

Maybe I should say it…

"Bro, brothe…"

Han Mengqi shook her head and clenched her teeth as she stopped herself from saying those shameful words.

In the end, she gave up, and she slammed her forehead on the table.

As expected, this was too difficult for her…

…

After eating, Han Mengqi parted ways with her three roommates and went to the computational materials research institute.

Even though her work up until now was trivial, as she merely did stuff like sorting out documents, she had learned a lot of useful things from this job.

Han Mengqi worked hard every day.

Suddenly, someone stopped her.

"Hey, where is the Jinling Institute of Computational Materials?"

Han Mengqi paused for a second as she looked at this person.

She saw a guy in a plaid shirt and black glasses. There was nothing special about his appearance. He looked like a typical engineer. Although he didn't look like a bad person, he looked a little dodgy.

"You're not from here?"

Who doesn't know where the Jinling Institute of Computational Materials is?

The news spread on campus when the chemistry department decided to loan the entire building to God Lu.

The guy panicked and said, "The thing is… I'm here to find Dr. Yang, I have some things to ask him. Can you please tell me where it is, thanks!"

His acting was very poor.

Han Mengqi became even more suspicious of him.

Who cares what you're here to do, why are you telling me…

Han Mengqi pointed in a general direction.

"Just go down the road from here…"

Han Mengqi was going the same direction, but this guy was too suspicious, so she didn't want to walk with him.

The guy thanked her and went on his way.

Han Mengqi looked at him and frowned.

Why do I…

Why do I feel like…

This person is a bit strange?

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Chapter 328: Spying On The Enemy

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Liu Hong was helpless.

He knew how to do experiments, and he knew how to kiss a*s, but his emotional intelligence wasn't high enough to "spy on the enemy".

However, he had no other options; he had to follow his boss' orders.

If the supervisor asked him to clean the toilet, he would have to do it.

However, Wang Haifeng was still "generous" as he paid for Liu Hong's train ticket to Jinling.

There were many ways to explore the research progress of a research institute. For example, the simplest and most barbaric way was to poach the enemy's employees by offering to triple their salary. Although this sounded unethical, it was the most efficient way.

However, this method was obviously expensive.

Although research funding could be used to pay researchers, having high salaries would be alarming to investors. Research funding was no joke.

No investor would want their money wasted on employees that were overpaid.

Also, it wasn't like anyone would be dumb enough to ditch Lu Zhou.

A scholar at the international "Nobel Prize" level was more attractive than Wang Haifeng. Therefore, Wang Haifeng didn't even consider this method at all. Instead, he asked Liu Hong to investigate.

Honestly, this was the most ineffective and dumb method.

Liu Hong was at the computational materials research institute. He was just thinking about how he would complete this impossible task when someone suddenly shouted at him.

"Hey, what are you doing here?"

Liu Hong was shocked by this voice, he turned around and saw a worker here.

"I'm…"

Liu Hong was trying to come up with an excuse when the worker asked, "You're here for recruitment?"

Liu Hong immediately nodded and replied, "Yeah, yeah! I'm here to apply for a researcher role."

The worker smiled and asked, "You're actually here for a job? This place is not easy to get in, what are your qualifications? Did you bring your resume?"

Liu Hong smiled and made up an excuse. "I've got a PhD from Zhi University… I didn't bring my resume. I'm only looking around, and I haven't decided yet."

"Zhi University, not bad, not bad. Zhi University's material department is quite strong," the worker nodded and said, "but still not as strong as ours."

Liu Hong wanted to curse at the worker, but he remembered his mission, so he swallowed his words.

He quickly changed the topic.

"How are the benefits here?"

The worker looked at Liu Hong suspiciously and thought why didn't Liu Hong look at the recruitment guide; the benefits were all written there.

However, the worker still answered the question.

"Different positions have different salaries. A PhD from Zhi University… probably 12,000 yuan per month, and as for research funding and patent rewards, that depends on your abilities."

12,000 yuan?!

When Liu Hong heard this number, he cursed in his heart.

100,000 yuan per year wasn't high for programmers, but materials science was different.

Materials science students were always being told stuff like "Materials science graduates can't find a job" or "How about going into sales instead?"

"… Are the benefits that good?" Liu Hong was intrigued.

"It's okay, but the benefits aren't the main part," said the worker. The worker then added, "Us researchers have to look away from money. Our boss is God Lu, the guy that won the Adams Chemistry Prize. Our second in command is also nutty, he has a PhD from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Who wouldn't want to work for this lineup?"

This lineup really was nutty.

Liu Hong would be willing to work here for half the salary… Right now, his salary was only at 3,000 yuan per month.

Liu Hong gulped. He was suddenly envious as hell.

People loved to compare themselves to others.

He remembered that he was still a PhD student, so he had to provide cheap labor for his supervisor.

Liu Hong suddenly had a crazy thought.

He was still young; he should make some risky choices.

He said, "I… have a question."

"Ask."

Liu Hong asked, "Do you guys hire people with master's degrees?"

The worker looked at him.

I thought this guy had a PhD?

…

Three days after the award ceremony, Lu Zhou was being tagged all over on Weibo.

His fans weren't happy that Lu Zhou didn't share his joy on Weibo. Therefore, they were all tagging him in related blogs.

Those titles of the blog posts were spicy.

[The First Chinese Adams Chemistry Prize Winner?!]

[Shocking! Top Award In Organic Chemistry Was Given To a Mathematician!]

[From "11" To "LiS", Look At This Guy!]

Lu Zhou looked at his notifications and was dumbfounded.

He was being tagged left and right.

[God Lu, you've changed, you've stopped bragging.]

[I've waited for two days for God Lu's Weibo post, I am disappointed.]

[I have been reading about God Lu on Weibo all night.]

[God Lu, you are amazing!]

[…]

Lu Zhou looked at these comments and was confused.

Honestly speaking, he didn't want to brag.

However, his fans were giving him a hard time.

Lu Zhou finally smiled and took a photo of his gold medal and watch. He wrote a caption and posted the photo, thus sharing his joy with his fans.

As usual, there was a prize for forwarding his post.

The prize was 10 Huawei phones; the brand was reliable and had good quality.

Even though he didn't care too much about other people's opinions, he still liked the brand.

Lu Zhou clicked "Send" and put his phone down. He planned to check the post in a minute.

The comment section was slowly growing.

Professor Sarrot sat across from Lu Zhou, and he drank his coffee before he asked, "Speaking of which, did you book your return flight?"

Lu Zhou replied, "Yeah, it's in three days."

Sarrot asked, "Do you not want to hang around in San Francisco? If I remember correctly, spring break isn't over yet."

"I'm a professor, not a student, what does spring break have to do with me?" Lu Zhou paused for a second before he said, "If I recall correctly, you're a Cornell University professor, don't you have to teach classes?"

"I have other teachers helping me, I only have to occasionally give a few lectures. It's not uncommon for well-known professors to work in laboratories, and they don't have to stay on the Cornell University campus." Sarrot smiled and said, "Besides, I prefer San Francisco!"

Lu Zhou smiled and said, "Really? I prefer the quietness of Princeton."

Sarrot heard his phone ringing.

"I have to take this call."

Sarrot grabbed his phone from his pocket, stood up, and walked to the side.

He placed his phone to his ear and had a weird expression.

His veins were popping out of his face.

Five minutes after, Sarrot ended the call and came back.

Lu Zhou asked Sarrot, "What happened?"

Sarrot clenched his fists as he snapped, "Those bastards! I will sue them!"

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Chapter 329: Not A Big Problem

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Sarrot Research Institute

Five resignation letters were placed on the table.

Professor Sarrot didn't even bother to look at the letters. On the other hand, Lu Zhou picked up the letters and read them curiously.

Then, Lu Zhou knew why Sarrot was so angry.

It was obvious that Sarrot wasn't well-liked among the research institute employees as they had all insulted him in the resignation letter.

But this made sense. Before Lu Zhou acquired the research institute, Sarrot was months behind on his researchers' salary. If it wasn't for Lu Zhou, many of these researchers wouldn't have gotten their pay.

"This bunch of scumbags!"

Sarrot sat next to the office desk and was full of anger.

Suddenly, the office door opened, and his research assistant walked in with a stack of documents.

The assistant whispered nervously, "Mr. Sarrot, the documents that you wanted…"

The research assistant looked away from Sarrot while speaking.

Lu Zhou shook his head, smiled, and reached out his hand.

"Give them to me."

"Okay, professor…"

The assistant sighed in relief and quickly left the office.

The assistant diligently closed the door.

Lu Zhou sat down on the sofa and began to flip through the documents.

The documents were divided into two parts; one part was the original contracts of the employees that were leaving, and the other was the loss assessment report.

Mobil Chemical was very fast, and Professor Stanley was decisive.

The battle had just begun, and they already poached five researchers.

Since this was San Francisco, Lu Zhou could easily find replacements. However, the problem was that they had to train the new employees all over again.

Because of the resignation of the five employees, the research progress of Sarrot's laboratory had stagnated.

If this was the only thing, then it wouldn't be that bad.

In a middle-level research institute with a well-managed system, even researchers who were responsible for the same project could not access all the experimental data.

However, this was the problem.

One of the research assistants called Ricardo could leak out the information.

Mentioned in this loss assessment report, the data that the research assistant had contained the spatial structure of the carbon molecules and some mathematical models that had yet to be perfected…

Although there was no direct evidence that he would leak the information, this type of thing didn't require evidence at all.

However, Lu Zhou was relieved.

Sarrot couldn't help but ask, "Are you not worried at all?"

"It's only five assistants," Lu Zhou placed the document on the table and said, "it's not a big problem."

"Not a big problem?" Sarrot looked at Lu Zhou in disbelief and said, "This is bad! Not only do they know our research progress, they know exactly what we are researching!"

"Don't be so scared, my dear Professor Sarrot." Lu Zhou then said, "This is San Francisco, you should understand that jumping ship is normal."

Professor Stanley Whittingham was also a big name in the field of lithium batteries and was the director of the Institute of Materials Research at Binghamton University in the State University of New York.

Thirty years ago, under ExxonMobil Chemical, he developed a TiS2/Li lithium battery system. Due to the lithium dendrite problem, it couldn't be commercialized.

Lu Zhou was a newcomer in the field of materials science, therefore his reputation wasn't as good as Professor Stanley's.

Also, Stanley was not alone. The major shareholder behind his lab was the famous ExxonMobil; the real industry giant that even Umicore was afraid of.

Regardless, it was what it was, and there was no point dwelling over the past.

Lu Zhou thought for a moment before he made a decision.

"We have the non-compete agreement and the non-disclosure agreement, so we can just sue ExxonMobil and make them pay the price."

"This doesn't hurt ExxonMobil, and we have to hire expensive lawyers," Sarrot said. He then cursed, "This group of a*sholes!"

Lu Zhou shrugged and said, "No worries, we have the upper hand. I will let Star Sky Technology handle the case and hire the best lawyers in New York."

Although Lu Zhou was an easygoing person, he would never allow people to play outside of the rules.

If someone was willing to steal intellectual property from him, then they had to be prepared to be sued!

According to the previously signed non-compete agreement, researchers who left the job in abnormal procedures would be prohibited from doing work in related fields for five years. Otherwise, they would bear an additional penalty. Especially for Ricardo, Lu Zhou intended to sue him for commercial espionage, and depending on the seriousness of the circumstances, this crime might be subjected to criminal charges.

Lu Zhou said, "Also, we have to strengthen our confidentiality measures."

Professor Sarrot said, "I will ask the legal team to rewrite our confidentiality contract and non-compete agreement."

Lu Zhou nodded and said, "You also have to remember that you can't always retain talent and that your opponent can always afford a higher price than you."

For companies, the corporate culture mattered. For research institutions, what mattered was the scientific research environment created by well-known scholars, top of the line equipment, research results, and management system.

This was the price for research.

"I know, now is not the time to talk about these things. What next?" Sarrot looked at Lu Zhou and asked, "Should we continue to fight with Mobil Chemical on this?"

Lu Zhou nodded and said, "Of course, we shouldn't change our research direction because of something so small."

Sarrot said, "They have ten times our manpower, doing ten times the work. To put it bluntly, we have no chance at all."

Lu Zhou looked at Sarrot and was helpless.

What should I say?

The HCS-1 material was accidentally obtained when he was studying the caged carbon molecule, and it was Sarrot's research institute that produced the two theses.

But neither the caged carbon molecule nor the research project by Sarrot had anything to do with lithium-sulfur batteries.

Sarrot's research was only to complete Lu Zhou's system mission.

Obviously, he couldn't say this to him.

Lu Zhou wasn't sure if telling Sarrot the truth would make him feel better…

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Chapter 330: Second Best News

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Institute of Materials Research at Binghamton University in the State of New York.

In a conference room with good soundproofing system, Professor Stanley was standing with his assistant, Darren Woods, and representatives from various companies in front of a laptop.

The image displayed on the computer was a caged carbon molecule…

"I'm right, this guy is sophisticated! He didn't publish all of his research in the two theses!"

Professor Stanley looked at the data and images on the computer, and his voice was filled with excitement.

If this was an exam, then what was in front of him would be the exam answers!

Right now, he just had to fill in the "answer steps"…

He was the director of the research institute, and as long as Mobil Chemical could afford the price, he would utilize all the researchers from the research institute to work on his project.

The Binghamton University Materials Research Institute was huge; it could very easily crush the small Sarrot Research Institute just by using scientific research labor alone.

His assistant was shocked as he said, "Unbelievable… Mathematics can calculate the spatial structure of a macromolecule? This is unheard of!"

Using mathematical models to perform computational analysis was nothing new. In fact, more than 80% of the theses produced by the supercomputer "Anton" were like this.

However, even "Anton" couldn't do a simulation like this.

Professor Stanley looked serious; he was speechless.

He didn't want to believe it.

But the facts were in his face.

The HCS-1 material had shown its abilities to prevent diffusion of polysulfide compounds into the electrolyte.

Woods stared at the computer screen and asked, "What can we tell from this?"

Woods was an entrepreneur; he only cared about the patents.

ExxonMobil paid a huge price to poach five research assistants from Lu Zhou.

Although a few million USD was nothing for Mobil Chemical, they wanted their money to be put into good use.

Professor Stanley heard Woods and smiled.

"This is a caged carbon molecular model. The HCS-1 material is morphologically similar to it, except that it lacks several key π bonds, large π bonds, and carbon atoms. According to my speculation, the HCS- 1 materials are most likely the by-products from this caged carbon molecule.

"This should be the key to lithium-sulfur batteries!"

This finally made sense.

Previously, Professor Stanley couldn't understand why in Lu Zhou's thesis, he added expensive fullerene materials and carbon nanotubes to the reactor. Now he knew. It was because the HCS-1 material was screened from a pile of "useless" carbon garbage.

Stanley couldn't help but smirk.

Who would have thought that the HCS-1 material proposed in that thesis was merely a by-product of the experimental waste. No wonder Lu Zhou published the in-progress results with such confidence and didn't care about our research progress.

If it wasn't for this data and carbon molecular model, just basing off the two theses in Science, we would have never figured out what they were researching.

Professor Stanley didn't hesitate. He looked at his assistant and said, "We are already behind them, thankfully not by much.

"Inform the research groups and immediately adjust the research direction. From now on, focus on the technical problem of caged carbon molecules and produce a physical and chemical properties analysis!

"Also, hire 20 research interns! We have to complete this project first!

"Hurry!"

The assistant immediately nodded and said, "Understood". He then left the conference room.

Looking at how enthusiastic Professor Stanley was, Woods couldn't help but smile.

"Mobil Chemical will support your research, I wish you guys success!"

Professor Stanley shook Woods' hand and smiled.

"Thank you! It's a pleasure working with you!"

…

Professor Stanley was strategic.

Through this limited data, he had already extracted 70% of Lu Zhou's research.

However, there was something that he missed out on.

The Sarrot Research Institute wasn't researching lithium-sulfur batteries. In fact, they were researching something completely different…

After the meeting ended, Woods came out of the conference room with his secretary.

Suddenly, a man sitting on the sofa outside the conference room stood up and walked toward him.

This man was Ricardo, the one that made Sarrot furious.

However, he didn't look as happy as when he first received the salary increment.

Because just now, he received a subpoena from the court.

Star Sky Technology, the parent company of Sarrot Research Institute, was preparing to sue him for the non-compete agreement and confidentiality contract he signed.

Not only that, but compared to his four colleagues that also jumped ship, he had another case waiting for him.

That was corporate espionage.

This was a lot worse than the other civil cases.

Although the federal labor laws tried to protect the rights of workers, if the company case was convincing enough, not only would he have to face high fines, but he could even go to prison.

Because of this, Ricardo was extremely afraid.

He walked up to Woods and asked, "You said that you will help me fight the lawsuit, right?"

"No worries, Mr. Ricardo, we will help you resolve the lawsuits. Your data was of great use to us."

Woods had a bright smile on his face.

Ricardo being sued was the second-best news he heard today.

This meant that his opponent was pissed off, and Ricardo's data was valuable.

It was only a lawsuit— a piece of cake for ExxonMobil…

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Chapter 331: Helper Part-time Bodyguard?

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Although Sarrot was angry that his laboratory was infiltrated, it was only a small setback for Lu Zhou.

Lu Zhou tried to calm Professor Sarrot down. He then returned to the organic chemistry conference and focused on his own matters.

Actually, if Professor Stanley could really complete the research using his model, he might even give Stanley a little reward for completing his system mission.

After all, the system mission only required the technology to be researched; it didn't matter who conducted the research.

Is spending money in helping others to complete the missions a patriotic act?

Lu Zhou didn't know.

He hoped that good things would come to good people.

He also hoped that Professor Stanley wouldn't take the "final exam" answers and copied it onto the "midterm exam".

Around half a week later, the Organic Chemistry Conference finally came to an end.

Lu Zhou didn't change his itinerary; he flew back to the East Coast.

After arriving at Philadelphia, Lu Zhou went to the Star Sky Technology office and met with his manager, White Sheridan.

Lu Zhou gave a copy of the relevant contracts to White and gave a brief overview of the lawsuit. He told White to hire the most capable team of lawyers and prepare for war.

If everything went as expected, Mobil Chemical would definitely try to delay and drag this for as long as possible.

However, Lu Zhou didn't care.

He was able to afford the litigation and attorney fees…

…

After the Adams Chemistry Prize, Lu Zhou placed all his energy back into research.

Sarrot's laboratory ran into problems with the carbon molecules and was stagnated.

On the side of the Jinling Institute of Computational Materials, they continued to study a stable preparation method for HCS-1 materials while attempting to improve the HCS-1 material to be ready for the industry.

As for Lu Zhou, he was working on the mathematical model for the positive electrode material of the lithium-sulfur battery and was improving his computational materials science theory by doing experiments.

All of this had to be done step by step.

The day before the end of spring break, Connie returned to Frick Chemistry Laboratory and began the next set of experiments with Lu Zhou.

Connie put on a white coat and was about to prepare for the upcoming experiment when he suddenly remembered something and said, "Professor Chiric said that I can graduate soon."

Lu Zhou was checking the instrument, and he gently lifted a test tube and made a toasting gesture with the test tube.

"Congratulations."

Obviously, this was only a gesture.

Lu Zhou couldn't actually drink the organic electrolyte solution in the test tube.

"Thanks to your thesis." Connie looked at Lu Zhou and said, "Because of you, I can now graduate."

Lu Zhou smiled and said, "You're welcome, you deserve it."

The thesis about HCS-1 on Science naturally had Lu Zhou as its first author.

As for the second, third, and fourth author, it was ranked by contribution. There were researchers from Sarrot's research institute, and Connie was also on the list.

Finally, after adding the two Science theses to Connie's previous work, Connie would be able to receive his PhD by the middle of this year.

Lu Zhou asked, "Do you have any plans for your future?"

"I originally planned to go to MIT to do two years of postdoc research, then become a formal researcher." Connie looked at Lu Zhou and said, "But now, I think staying in Princeton is pretty good."

Lu Zhou looked at him and said, "Have you thought about it carefully? Massachusetts Institute of Technology is the paradise for engineering majors; you might be better suited there."

Princeton was more of a theory-based university, and its chemistry department wasn't particularly impressive.

Doing a nanomaterials postdoc here wouldn't be as helpful as doing one in Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Connie nodded seriously and said, "I've thought about it. The people you do experiments with is more important than where you do the experiments at."

Lu Zhou smiled and said, "I'm happy you can think this way. If you want, you can join my research team!"

Connie smiled and said, "Of course I want to, thank you so much!"

A postdoctoral degree wasn't a degree. It referred to scholars that had recently obtained a doctoral degree but hadn't become a full-time researcher yet.

Generally speaking, postdocs would have supervisors as well.

However, their supervisors were different as their supervisors would be more cooperative than authoritative.

Especially in foreign countries, the relationship between the supervisor and the postdoctoral researcher was almost colleague-like.

Connie's professional knowledge was impressive, but it still depended on how he used it.

Although this guy seemed to be a hunk and didn't look like a researcher at all, Lu Zhou didn't care about this stuff. Lu Zhou only cared about his abilities in conducting experiments.

Also, Connie could also be a part-time bodyguard…

After all, places like the MRS Conference weren't peaceful at all.

After completing the experiment, Lu Zhou registered the data on the computer.

Suddenly, Xiao Ai's notification popped up on his laptop screen.

[Master! Someone is video calling!]

Lu Zhou closed the pop-up and said, "I know, open it for me."

[Okay!]

Lu Zhou: "…"

After more than a year of upgrading, Xiao Ai could now accurately identify Lu Zhou's voice, and Xiao Ai could even understand Lu Zhou's emotions.

This was undoubtedly a great improvement.

However, Lu Zhou felt like Xiao Ai could do more…

Lu Zhou looked at Yang Xu through the screen and asked, "What's up?"

"Good things!" Yang Xu smiled and said, "The idea of synthesizing the HCS-1 material through glucose as a precursor is working! Our experiment is a success!"

Lu Zhou heard this news and smiled.

A stable synthesis of HCS-1 material was the first step to HCS-2 material, and the only way to solve this problem was to create more HCS-1 samples. Also, the experimental data it created could be used to analyze the reason why it could inhibit the diffusion of polysulfide compounds.

Lu Zhou could further improve his theory by using this data.

"This is a piece of good news. Remember to send the experimental data to my email."

Yang Xu nodded and said, "Of course, I already told Qian Zhongming to send it. You will receive the experiment report soon!"

The main reason for the call was to tell Lu Zhou the good news.

However, before ending the call, Yang Xu suddenly remembered something else that happened.

"Oh wait, one more thing."

Lu Zhou: "Say it."

Yang Xu hesitated for a moment before he said, "Here's the thing, there was a researcher that applied to our institute…"

Lu Zhou said, "Do you really need to report this small matter to me? Just make a judgment yourself."

Yang Xu was helpless.

"The problem isn't his professional abilities. I've looked at his resume, and it's pretty good. In fact, it was even better than most PhD holders. He also has experience in thesis writing."

Lu Zhou looked confused. "His salary requirement is too high?"

"Not that." Yang Xu coughed and said, "It's just that he has a unique background…"

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Chapter 332: Scientific Research Boss

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Lu Zhou figured out the truth and found out that he had inexplicably offended someone.

Lu Zhou didn't know what to do after hearing the news.

If he didn't hear about Liu Hong from Yang Xu, he wouldn't even remember where this Wang Haifeng guy came from.

Honestly speaking, having disagreements was nothing unusual in the academic community. After all, there were bound to be people that had different viewpoints.

But, did Lu Zhou care about these people?

Lu Zhou tapped his index finger on the desk, leaned back on his chair, and began to think with his eyes closed.

Don't underestimate opening reports; a real scientific research opening report is completely different than an undergraduate student's opening report.

The writer must have a high level of professional knowledge and a comprehensive understanding of the background of the research.

After all, the opening report is to convince others to invest in you. Although the final result would depend on the investors, a report should still be taken seriously.

Also, the person responsible for the opening report is also responsible for the oral defense. Therefore, whoever writes the opening report is certainly more skilled than the average researcher.

In addition, if Yang Xu didn't believe that Liu Hong has a special talent, he wouldn't have brought this matter to me.

Lu Zhou thought for a moment before he said, "If you think he's good, then hire him. As long as he wasn't fired because of academic misconduct, I'm fine with it."

Right now was the early stages of the Jinling Institute of Computational Materials, and they needed talent.

If the Massachusetts Institute of Technology postdoc thought he had value, then he should be hired.

"I understand, but that's not the problem." Yang Xu sighed and said, "I heard from my classmates in China that Wang Haifeng is well known in the domestic materials science community; he might even become an academician in a few years. Making him your enemy might not be a good idea."

Lu Zhou said, "It doesn't matter. From what I'm seeing, we're getting a talented person to help with our research, so it's worth it."

What a joke, I'm a "Nobel Prize" level scholar, why do I have to care about some random "pre-academician"?

Not to mention, Wang Haifeng is only known domestically.

Also…

Lu Zhou smiled and said, "Also, if I don't hire this guy, he might even thank me."

Yang Xu smiled and said, "You're right, I'm overthinking it."

Lu Zhou said, "Oh yeah, remember to make him sign the confidentiality agreement."

Yang Xu nodded. "Of course."

…

Liu Hong sat outside Yang Xu's office, and he looked nervous.

He looked like a prisoner sitting in court, waiting for the judgment of his fate… even though he had done nothing wrong.

However, this wasn't an easy decision for him.

This meant that his efforts for the past two years would be wasted. He had to start all over again with a master's degree. He would also offend a famous person in academia.

Although Wang Haifeng was nothing compared to Lu Zhou, it was still bad to make enemies.

Liu Hong didn't know if this decision was a curse or a blessing.

Liu Bo stood next to him and sighed.

He went to the water dispenser and got a cup of water before he said to Liu Hong, "Friend, drink some water."

Even though they had to accept working for long hours and being ordered around all day, researchers still had their dignity. Being sent on a spy mission was ridiculous…

Most people often chose to endure the demands, but some people wouldn't.

Liu Bo felt sympathetic that Liu Hong had such a heartless supervisor.

A supervisor could force a stellar student to stay and use them as cheap and high-quality labor.

Liu Bo was well aware of this. Even Jin Ling University had supervisors like Wang Haifeng— every university did.

Everyone had to be cautious when choosing their supervisors.

Liu Hong shook his head and nervously said, "No thanks… Please, I just want to start as an intern! Just give me a chance to prove myself!"

Liu Bo said, "No point saying it to me, I don't manage things around here."

Suddenly, a third voice joined the conversation.

"Willing to start from an internship position? I'll remember you said that."

Yang Xu was outside the office door.

Liu Hong was stunned. He quickly stood up from the sofa and said, "Yes! I will prove my abilities!"

"Not bad, you're ambitious." Yang Xu looked at Liu Hong and said, "From tomorrow onward, you will work at the computational materials science analysis department. Liu Bo will arrange work for you. But I have to tell you that you won't be able to conduct any experiments during your internship. Your main job will be cleaning equipment, sorting chemicals, and etc. Sounds good?"

When Liu Hong heard that his resume was accepted, he said with excitement, "No problem! I accept!"

"Then try your best, this is not a vacation." Yang Xu walked up and patted Liu Hong's back as he said, "Oh yeah, if you can, try to get a PhD, it's very useful."

Liu Hong smiled and said, "Okay!"

Qian Zhongming was standing beside Liu Bo who then poked his arm and said quietly, "This is their world."

Qian Zhongming looked as normal as ever.

"What world?"

"Our boss' world." Liu Bo couldn't help but say, "Our boss is at a level where he doesn't even need to poach himself; people are willing to jump ship just for him."

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Chapter 333: Chemistry Needs My Model!

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Brother Qian's work efficiency was very high.

On the second day that Yang Xu began working, Lu Zhou received an email from the Jinling Institute of Computational Materials. Attached was an experimental report that summarized all of the experimental data collected during this time.

Lu Zhou could continue to perfect his theory using this data.

He could finally start the next step.

The next morning, Lu Zhou called Jerick into his office and asked, "I remember that you told me you wanted to research computational materials. Are you ready for it?"

Jerick immediately said with excitement, "Of course! Professor, I am ready!"

Jerick finished his undergraduate degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and he majored in both applied mathematics and applied chemistry. He was the only student under Lu Zhou that had degrees in both mathematics and chemistry.

Wei Wen sat next to them at the desk while looking at them with jealousy.

Jerick, who was in the same cohort as himself, already chose a research direction.

However, it had been half a year, but Wei Wen hadn't been involved in any kind of research.

Lu Zhou could sense Wei Wen's jealousy so he said, "You don't have to envy him. If you want to research mathematical physics, you have to spend more time and effort than him."

Mathematical physics and computational chemistry were different; the latter was experimental based and tried to explain phenomena with new theories, while the former went beyond experiments and entered the unknown field.

The effort needed to break into a newly emerging field versus a mature field was completely different.

Wei Wen obviously knew this, so he was only a little jealous.

He nodded and said, "Okay."

Jerick raised his hand and asked, "Professor, what do you need me to do?"

Lu Zhou didn't answer this question directly. Instead, he smiled as he replied, "This is a good question, come somewhere with me. You'll know when you get there."

…

Any research began with reading theses.

Whether it was theoretical research or applied research.

Lu Zhou didn't rush to start calculations after receiving the experiment data. Instead, he buried his head in the library.

Lu Zhou planned to do this work by himself, but now he had two helpers. One was Jerick who was interested in computational materials, and the other was a postdoc in computational materials.

Jerick was sitting next to Lu Zhou as he read a piece of literature when he suddenly asked, "Professor, how did you come up with the idea of using hollow carbon spheres to solve the shuttle effect?"

Lu Zhou casually read the documents as he replied, "Scientific intuition? And inspiration. Actually, there is no correct thinking when it comes to decisions like this, only a relatively appropriate idea."

"Relatively appropriate idea…" Jerick looked at the documents in his hand and nodded.

With the help of the two assistants, researching theses didn't take too long.

Reading all of the relevant documents only took a week.

But the work after that wasn't so easy.

Lu Zhou had to do the computing part himself.

The last day of March, Lu Zhou didn't get to his office at the Institute for Advanced Study. After he got out of bed, he walked into the study room next to his bedroom.

He sat in his tiny room and made himself a cup of coffee. He then opened the drawer and took out a pen.

Lu Zhou wrote down a line of words on a blank page.

[Theoretical Model Of Electrochemical Interface Structure]

Electrochemical interface theory was an important pillar of modern electrochemistry and one of the classical problems in theoretical chemistry. It was like the twin prime guess in mathematics, where it occupied a central position in a certain type of problem.

The concept could be traced back to the early 1980s when the interface molecular model was proposed.

Since then, the classical concept of electrochemical interfaces had been transforming into the modern concept of condensed matter physics.

Due to the development of technology, simulations such as the molecular dynamics simulation, Monte Carlo simulation, and other simulation methods were born. This made the theoretical model of the electrochemical interface more applicable.

Even then, no one could provide a theoretical model that could reasonably explain the various microscopic electrochemical processes occurring on the interface.

Two examples.

How to explain the differential capacitance curve of a polycrystalline metal electrode?

How to explain the origin of the capacitance peak in the differential capacitance curve of the Hg electrode in the electrolyte solution of different solvents?

Although these sounded like simple problems, they had never been answered before.

Answering these questions would mean at least two or three Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The Nobel Committee paid more attention to theory than application.

After all, if someone was able to come up with an answer to these questions, even if it wouldn't affect a company's bank account, it would greatly impact civilization. It was more important than the invention of the modified PDMS.

Even Lu Zhou couldn't solve every single problem.

However, the Group Structure Method was based on additive number theory.

If he could use mathematical properties to describe the interface properties, then based on this, he could establish a theoretical model of the electrochemical interface structure. He could build a theoretical tool that could answer all of these questions!

Lu Zhou looked at the thesis title on the page before he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

The next time he opened his eyes, there was an unprecedented concentration in his mind.

His past six months of work was paving the road for this.

He had collected a large amount of data for this.

And right now, he just had to finish the job!

…

As time went by, the paper bin in the corner of the study room gradually piled up.

Whenever Lu Zhou was tired, he would go to sleep in his bedroom. After he woke up, he would come back to his study room and continue to think.

Other than for his meals, he didn't even go downstairs.

He never even went outside the house.

Lu Zhou used countless amounts of pen and paper. He wrote down the last equation on the A4 paper and suddenly stopped.

Lu Zhou sat there for about an hour or so before he scratched his head and threw the pen away.

He paced back and forth in his study room while repeating the same sentence.

"Chemistry needs my theoretical model…"

Suddenly, Lu Zhou remembered something, and his eyes lit up.

He stopped walking and looked at the mountain of papers.

"I need a super…

"I need a supercomputer for computational chemistry!"

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Chapter 334: Teaching Assistant's Job

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

It had been a while since Lu Zhou step foot into his office at the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study.

Vera could still contact him through email a few days ago, but now Lu Zhou didn't even reply to her anymore.

Professor Pierre Deligne, who once served as a tutor for Professor Lu, said that this kind of closed-door research where one was completely isolated from the outside world was a unique way for Professor Lu to think. Not replying to emails meant that Lu Zhou was getting closer to the solution…

However, as Lu Zhou's assistant and student, Vera was worried.

Actually, it wasn't only Vera that was worried; Qin Yue and all of the students were also worried about what happened to him.

Therefore, Hardy proposed for the group to take some time out on the weekends to visit Professor Lu.

At the very least, they could confirm whether their professor was still alive…

"Jesus… There's dust on the door handle. When was the last time our professor left the house?" Hardy looked at the dust on his hand and said, "I'll definitely die if I stay in the house for a month."

He was a member of the Princeton Football Club and played football every evening. If he couldn't play for some reason, he would feel uncomfortable the next day.

Is there really someone that can lock themselves inside their house for over a month, away from society?

Hardy would die if it were him.

Qin Yue said, "This is the difference between our professor and you. If you spent less time playing football and more time on research, I bet we would progress much faster."

The two guys were getting beaten by the little girl. Even Qin Yue, who was usually quite reserved, couldn't help but criticize his teammate.

"Nope," Hardy shook his head and said, "the reason is the difference in IQ."

Vera: "…"

Qin Yue: "…"

Jerick: "…"

Wei Wen: "…"

The Brazilian guy saw that his friends were not speaking, and he scratched his head as he asked, "Why are you guys looking at me?"

I'm embarrassed…

Jerick smiled and said, "Nothing… I just think that it takes courage to admit this. I admire you!"

Hardy smiled and patted his friend's shoulder as he said, "You're right, we're the same."

Vera, Qin Yue, Wei Wen, and Jerick: "…"

F*ck sake!

However, it made sense, and they couldn't refute this.

Wei Wen coughed and said, "Don't forget what we're here to do. Qin Yue, go ring the doorbell."

Qin Yue said, "But… You do it."

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This was the first time that Lu Zhou encountered a computing power bottleneck.

Most of the difficulties he had encountered before were on the logical level. Even if he encountered complicated calculation problems, he could have easily found the result using his computer.

But the situation now was completely different from the past.

A mathematical model built for a single problem could easily be done with a computer and a piece of software like Molpro.

However, when the "single problem" extended to "a certain type of problem", the amount of calculation involved would increase exponentially.

Lu Zhou tried to solve some of the problems in the mathematical model with his own laptop. However, no matter how many times he tried, the final result was that the system crashed.

Fortunately, he thought of someone that could help him.

And that person was David Shaw.

However, Lu Zhou had only met him briefly at the MRS Conference…

"We're here".

Lu Zhou was awakened by Jerick. When he looked outside, he saw the D.E Shaw Research Institute.

He was at the Columbia University campus.

Lu Zhou was surprised that it was already night time as they should have arrived in the afternoon.

"How long did I sleep for?"

"Four hours… The traffic was bad," Jerick replied. He then added on nervously, "Professor, although I know you're doing a great research project, your body is the most important thing."

Lu Zhou rubbed his eyes and said, "I am in good health, I haven't been sick since coming to Princeton." He then sent David Shaw a text message to tell him that he had arrived.

Before he came, he made an appointment with David beforehand.

Lu Zhou got out of the car and soon the Wall Street investment legend greeted him with open arms.

"My friend, you're finally here!" David Shaw gave Lu Zhou a warm hug, and the two started to walk toward the research institute. David said, "I knew that you would come this year."

Lu Zhou said, "You knew?"

"Of course."

"Do you have scientific evidence?"

"Nope! But I could tell from my intuition."

Lu Zhou looked at David strangely.

If he's not joking, then his intuition is scarily good.

David brought the two to his office and made two cups of coffee before giving them to Lu Zhou and Jerick.

Then, he made himself some tea and sat down across the pair. He looked at Lu Zhou and asked, "Go ahead, what kind of exciting things do you need my help with?"

Lu Zhou: "Actually, I don't know if it's appropriate to ask you this… I want to look at Anton, is that okay?"

"Piece of cake, it's not a secret. Anyway, Anton is going through maintenance. I'll bring you there," David said. He then looked at Jerick and asked, "How about you? Come with us or stay here?"

Jerick didn't expect the big man to talk to him, so he said, "I…"

Lu Zhou said, "Just come with us, it's good for you."

David smiled and said, "Then let's go."

…

Anton was located in the corner of the D.E. Shaw Institute and was housed in a separate building. Originally, Lu Zhou thought that this supercomputer would be very large. However, when he really saw it in its glory, it was surprisingly low-key.

This legendary computational chemistry weapon only occupied a dozen square meters or so.

However, for this dozen square meter chassis, David built a supercomputer center that was 100 times larger.

Not just that, but David said that the entire staff and supercomputer center was to keep Anton running.

"Isn't that shocking?" David smiled at Lu Zhou and said, "Most people who see this will have the same expression as you."

"It is shocking…"

Lu Zhou was shocked by its compactness.

Suddenly, Lu Zhou had a strange idea.

What if I put Xiao Ai inside?

Of course, this was only an idea.

He couldn't do this…

In addition to the three people, there were several employees in the room that were supervising Anton.

David gave Lu Zhou a tour of the supercomputer and showed him the performance of Anton.

After hearing his introduction, Lu Zhou only had one question.

"This thing is expensive, right?"

"It is expensive, but I don't want girls or cars, and money isn't useful to me." David shrugged and patted the chassis as he said in a joking tone, "This is my girl."

Lu Zhou said, "Then your girl is quite high maintenance…"

David smiled. "Of course, that is one of the reasons I love it."

Every time Anton flashed a signal light, hundreds of dollars were being burned.

There was no doubt that David Shaw was the least materialistic person on Wall Street.

He had no yachts, luxury cars, private planes…

David looked at Lu Zhou and asked, "Then, can you tell me why you came all the way here?"

David didn't believe that Lu Zhou came here just to look at the supercomputer, Lu Zhou had probably encountered a problem that normal computers couldn't solve.

In fact, David's intuition was correct.

Lu Zhou didn't hide his intentions, and he made a request.

"I want to borrow your equipment to do an experiment."

David was interested. "Oh, what experiment?"

Lu Zhou: "It's about a theoretical model of the electrochemical interface structure."

The laboratory suddenly quieted down.

The engineers who were debugging the computer didn't care. However, the doctors who were doing chemistry calculations paused.

Everyone turned their heads and looked at Lu Zhou.

Especially David… He tried to hide the shock on his face when he said, "Unbelievable… You actually made a theoretical model of the electrochemical interface structure?"

Lu Zhou was embarrassed at all this attention. He then said, "Strictly speaking, not yet. I need to use a supercomputer to perfect my model. Can I please rent your equipment?"

"There's no need for payment," David shook his head and said, "I already have enough money. You should know how that feels. Looking at the string of numbers in your bank account and not knowing how to spend it is a burden."

Lu Zhou: "…"

Is he showing off?

Lu Zhou thought about it for a moment, but he couldn't agree with him.

Although his material needs were met, if someone wanted to give him a billion or two, he certainly wouldn't refuse.

If it were the prize money, even thousands would make him happy. However, this type of happiness wasn't related to money, it was related to winning the prize.

David said, "I only have one request."

Lu Zhou asked, "What?"

"You don't have to add my name to the thesis, but I hope that you can include the Anton Supercomputer Center of the Deshaw Institute as the location of the research institute," said David. He then looked at Lu Zhou and said sincerely, "I hope that the entire chemistry community knows that this came from Anton!"

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Chapter 336: Computational Chemistry Weapon!

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Any scholar would be ecstatic after hearing their request being accepted.

After all, supercomputers were very expensive, even renting one wasn't cheap. David's favor was similar to millions or even tens of millions of dollars being saved. In contrast, the only thing David wanted was to put the name of his research institute on the thesis.

When Lu Zhou heard David's insignificant request, he was pleasantly surprised.

Compared with profitable applicable research, theoretical research was definitely a money burning machine.

Lu Zhou obviously didn't refuse David's offer.

He nodded and said, "Done."

…

In some sense, Lu Zhou choosing Anton to carry out this experiment was inevitable.

A normal supercomputer couldn't perform molecular dynamics simulations efficiently.

However, Anton was different, each chip was dedicated to computational chemistry.

It had a total of 512 compute nodes, which could achieve 17,000 simulations per day of protein-water systems, consisting of 23,558 atoms.

In contrast, a general-purpose supercomputer with the same number of processors could only reach hundreds of simulations per day.

Because of this, Anton was named "the weapon of computational chemistry".

David was an absolute genius.

He was knowledgeable in finance, parallel computing, and in polymer chemistry.

Unfortunately, Anton was too expensive; most research institutions simply couldn't afford to rent it. Otherwise, the Nobel Prize committee might even consider nominating him for a prize.

It would be similar to the biologist, Jacques Duboche, who was nominated for the 2017 Chemistry Prize for cryo-electron microscopy…

After Jerick drove Lu Zhou back to Princeton, Lu Zhou sent an application to Princeton to request for a month-long scholar visit at Columbia University.

Columbia obviously welcomed Lu Zhou's visit with arms wide open. They even arranged a temporary dormitory for him in the vicinity of the institute.

Theoretical research that did not involve patents was always easier to reach cooperation agreements than the research in the application field.

This was especially so for people like Lu Zhou and David who didn't need any money.

After signing a cooperative research agreement which outlined the duties of both parties, the experiment would soon begin.

David showed great interest in the collaborative research project.

Not only did he adjust his original plans for his experiment to accommodate for Lu Zhou, but the entire workforce of the D.E Shaw Research Institute was put into Lu Zhou's project.

Lu Zhou soon witnessed Anton's combat power.

On the day of the experiment, Anton Super Center.

A massive parallel computing project was about to begin.

Lu Zhou and David stood behind as they watched the experiment.

"Experiment Group 1 is in place!"

"Experiment Group 2 is in place!"

"…"

"Begin the experiment!"

The blue signal lights were constantly flashing.

In the digital world, Anton used its powerful computing power to simulate the mathematical model provided by Lu Zhou.

The first experiment lasted for nine hours!

Unfortunately, the results of the experiment were not ideal.

David looked at the experiment report given by the engineer of the supercomputing center, and he frowned while saying, "Your mathematical model is too complicated… Is there a way to simplify it?"

Lu Zhou shook his head and said, "I tried to simplify it, but it was very difficult."

He would've simplified it if it was possible; he wouldn't have waited until now to simplify it.

David rubbed his chin and began to think. After a while, he said, "Then I guess we have to come up with another solution."

David was not an expert in the field of mathematics. He could not simplify complicated mathematical equations. However, attacking this problem from a parallel computing perspective, it was theoretically possible to improve Anton's calculations by adjusting the software.

Lu Zhou said, "Thank you."

"No worries," David waved his hand and said in a joking tone, "at least your mathematical model is in the scope of Anton's abilities. If it were any more complicated, I'm afraid we would need a quantum computer."

…

Lu Zhou's visit to Columbia University was not something that needed to be kept secret. Because he frequently visited the D.E Shaw Institute, the news quickly spread across the campus of Columbia University.

Many people were curious about this Crafoord Prize and Adams Chemistry Prize winner who was only in his twenties. Very few people could make such outstanding achievements at such a young age, especially in two fields— mathematics and chemistry.

Of course, Columbia students weren't the most interested in Lu Zhou. The one that would be most interested in him was his opponent in the field of lithium-sulfur batteries: Mobil Chemical.

They heard the news about Lu Zhou and was nervous as hell.

Not to mention, it was such a big piece of news…

Binghamton University, Institute of Materials Science.

Woods, who just finished a meeting in New York, immediately came over to Binghamton.

"Bad news! Lu Zhou found David Shaw to borrow a supercomputer!"

Stanley wasn't surprised about the news that Woods had provided, and he asked, "Is it fine for you to come to the laboratory every two days?"

Stanley was obviously saying that there was no reason for Woods to come all the way here; Woods could have just called Stanley.

"I'll do anything as long as we win the race," Woods said.

He sat on the sofa in the laboratory and sighed before he said, "F*ck sake! How did Lu Zhou suddenly find David Shaw, how?"

If Lu Zhou collaborated with other laboratories, Exxon Mobil could use its own influence to put pressure on the laboratories' funding partners, thus delaying their progress.

But David Shaw was an exception; this guy was a famous Wall Street freak who was completely disinterested in money.

"This is normal. One of them is doing computational materials, the other is doing computational chemistry. It's not surprising for them to get in bed together." Professor Stanley stood in front of the scanning electron microscope while he waited for results of the experiment. He said relaxingly, "In fact, there is no need to be so nervous. Whether it is a perfect mathematical formula or a theoretical model, if it cannot be implemented in the experiment, it is useless."

Who cares if your mathematics is nutty?

Who cares if you borrowed a supercomputer?

Computer simulation experiments are indeed a promising method, but in the end, it has to be implemented in experiments.

From trial and error, adding up the experience is the only way for materials science experiments.

Fortunately, Stanley already knew the answer, so he only had to figure out the working steps.

Woods asked, "I want to know how far are we from the finish line?"

Stanley stared at the molecular model on the screen and smiled.

"We are close!"

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The red signal light kept flashing.

The engineer finally decided to terminate the program and the temperature of the processors was lowered.

The blue signal light of "hope" was then turned off.

"Experiment number 31."

David looked through the chassis in a radiation-proof isolation room, and his eyes appeared to be gloomy and hopeless.

31 experiments.

This was undoubtedly a failure.

Other than the computing engineers who were still talking about technical problems, everyone inside the research institute was bored and quiet.

Even the supercomputer was tired.

Over the course of a month, the D.E Shaw Institute spent more than ten million dollars on this mathematical model.

During this period, the D.E Shaw Institute continued to improve the calculation process, and Lu Zhou also continued to modify the details of his theoretical model by using the data from the calculation.

However, no significant results were produced.

David looked at the engineers and sighed as he said, "Sure enough, it doesn't work."

Lu Zhou was embarrassed. "How about I pay for the costs?"

David said in a relaxing tone, "No, it's fine, the money is nothing. Research is like gambling, we just went to Las Vegas and lost."

His scientific intuition told him that this idea was worth exploring.

Therefore, he was willing to spend the money.

However, he couldn't help but add on, "Although I've never lost this much at Las Vegas before."

There was a summary meeting at the end of the experiment.

Everyone was silent at the meeting.

Lu Zhou briefly talked about his own point of view. The heads of the two experiment groups talked about the experiment.

As for David, he stayed silent until the end of the meeting.

"Do maintenance on Anton, and start the 32nd experiment three days later." David looked at the engineer closest to him and simply said, "Making sure Anton is running at its best before the next experiment."

The engineer nodded. "Yes, boss!"

"I need to rest, and I'm sure you guys are the same." David rubbed his eyes as he said, "That's it, meeting over."

…

A little setback was nothing for scientific research.

Even though they failed thirty times, no one talked about giving up.

After all, everyone knew that scientific truth wasn't that easy to obtain.

Lu Zhou was prepared to fail a hundred more times.

However, if the 50th experiment still didn't produce any results, he wouldn't let David pay for the experiment anymore.

Even though this money meant nothing to David, Lu Zhou felt that, morally, it wasn't acceptable.

Lu Zhou left the research institute and didn't return to his dorm. Instead, he walked around the Columbia campus.

It wasn't just Anton that needed a break, Lu Zhou also needed time to relax his overheated brain.

He planned to spend at least a day not thinking about the experiment.

Lu Zhou walked past the library, subconsciously avoiding all of the academic buildings.

He didn't know how long he had walked.

Without him knowing it, he was at the Columbia University philosophy building.

Lu Zhou couldn't help but smile.

"Is this fate?"

Even though he had fate with philosophy, he wasn't happy at all.

A bronze statue was erected on the lawn in front of the philosophy building.

The statue was of a man thinking while he was kneeling down, and his muscles were tensed as if he were immersed in a depressing thought.

This was one of the four "Thinker" statues of the world.

However, this statue was in a more deserted area than the other three. Lu Zhou was the only one on the lawn.

He placed his hands on the bronze statue and felt the coldness on his fingertips.

"I can see myself in you."

Thinking was a painful thing.

Especially endless thinking.

Suddenly, Lu Zhou had an idea.

If only someone could give him some inspiration.

Even just a little bit of inspiration…

But then, Lu Zhou smiled and shook his head.

Inspiration didn't come that easy.

This was the theory that could change the chemistry world, it wouldn't be cheap to buy inspiration.

Suddenly, something happened.

Something appeared in front of him.

A blue dialog box showed up in his field of view.

[Congratulations, user, for completing the reward mission!]

Lu Zhou: …?

What the hell?!

…

Unlike the D.E Shaw Research Institute, the Materials Research Institute at Binghamton University was cheering.

"Now is not the time to celebrate, the experiment has been successful but don't sink the ship at the last minute." Stanley then said to his assistant, "Apply for patents right now!"

The assistant nodded excitedly as he said, "Yes, professor!"

Professor Stanley looked at the SEM images and couldn't help but smile.

Preliminary analysis proved that the caged carbon molecule could inhibit the diffusion of polysulfide compounds to a certain extent, and the production costs were acceptable.

However, more experiments were needed to test the effects of applying it to lithium-sulfur batteries.

For example, to mix sulfur element with cage carbon molecules, they needed to find a suitable mixing ratio as well as a mechanical dispersion method. Also, they had to test out how much suppression effect that could be achieved.

However, this didn't affect the patent application; it also didn't affect the thesis submission.

The second they found a way to create caged carbon molecules, they had already succeeded.

Without a doubt, they had won!

They were the leading developers of lithium-sulfur batteries!

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Chapter 338: Level 4 Materials Science!

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

When Lu Zhou saw the mission completion pop-up reminder, he thought about it logically for a moment. He didn't immediately enter the system space. Instead, he picked up the phone and called Sarrot.

Sarrot was busy doing experiments in the laboratory when Lu Zhou called.

When he saw Lu Zhou called him, he picked up the phone.

"Hey, what's up?"

Lu Zhou: "How is your experiment going?"

Sarrot smiled and replied confidently, "We're making progress, you should be seeing results in a month."

Only progress?

Lu Zhou sighed.

He now knew how his mission was completed.

It seemed that Sarrot had lost.

However, Lu Zhou didn't blame him.

After all, Binghamton University was one of the top universities in North America. Although their overall strength was not comparable to Cornell University and other world-class universities, Professor Stanley was still one of the most famous scholars at Binghamton University.

Professor Stanley's research abilities definitely exceeded that of Professor Sarrot's.

Lu Zhou couldn't help but think.

It seems that I still have a long way to go before I can have a world-class research team.

Lu Zhou said bye and hung up the call.

Although Lu Zhou could tell him to stop doing the experiment now, Lu Zhou didn't have a good explanation as to why Sarrot should stop.

After all, there was no way Lu Zhou's "scientific intuition" could tell him that his opponent had beaten him.

Anyway, it wouldn't cost too much money to let Sarrot continue with the experiment.

Lu Zhou placed his phone into his pocket and whispered, "System."

He would definitely thank Professor Stanley if he had the chance.

However, Lu Zhou didn't know if Professor Stanley would accept his thanks…

…

[Congratulations, user, for completing the reward mission!]

[

Mission completion details are as follows: Analyze the carbon nanospheres under the modified PDMS film in Debris No. 1.

Mission evaluation: None (reward missions have no evaluation).

Reward: 50,000 materials science experience points, 10,000 biochemistry experience points. One lucky draw ticket.

]

Lu Zhou stood in the pure white system space as he quietly looked at the texts on the information screen.

When he saw the experience point reward, he was suddenly bursting with excitement.

50,000 materials science experience points!

If my materials science level up, maybe…

Lu Zhou quickly calmed down.

He suddenly remembered that it took 100,000 experience points to level up from Level 3 to Level 4.

Adding the 13,000 he had, he would only have 63,000 points.

"Hopefully I get something good in the draw."

Lu Zhou sighed and clicked the lucky draw button.

A roulette wheel started to spin.

Lu Zhou yelled, "Stop!"

With its momentum, it spun for a couple dozen more laps before it slowly reached to a stop.

A text popped up on the screen.

[Congratulations, user, for winning the "special" prize.]

When Lu Zhou saw this, he felt nervous all of a sudden.

The last "special" prize was an unpleasant experience.

The last prize gave him a "patronage appreciated", and he almost kicked the system in the face.

Undoubtedly, this could be worse than the "garbage" prize.

Come on!

[Received: Experience double award (last mission experience points doubled, effective immediately).]

Lu Zhou: …?

The f*ck?

It's not a "patronage appreciated"?

Lu Zhou was stunned.

This system actually has integrity now?!

In some sense, this reward was more exciting than the blueprint.

Especially when Lu Zhou remembered that his last reward consisted of 50,000 and 10,000 experience points.

If it doubles, then does that mean…

Lu Zhou suddenly laughed out in ecstasy, and he immediately exited out of the lucky draw page before speaking to the translucent screen, "System, open my characteristic panel!"

The translucent holographic screen started to load.

Soon, Lu Zhou's characteristic panel appeared in front of him.

[

A. Mathematics: Level 6 (4,000/600,000)

B. Physics: Level 4 (33,215/200,000)

C. Biochemistry: Level 3 (24,000/100,000)

D. Engineering: Level 2 (0/50,000)

E. Materials science: Level 4 (13,000/200,000)

F. Energy science: Level 2 (0/50,000)

G. Information science: Level 1 (3,000/10,000)

General points: 2,975 (one lucky draw ticket)

]

As expected, my experience points have been doubled!

Lu Zhou's materials science level went from Level 3 to Level 4, surpassing biochemistry, and was now at the same level as physics.

Lu Zhou's understanding of materials science would be further strengthened due to the level up. Although this didn't directly increase his materials science knowledge, it increased his materials science thinking abilities…

He received his award, did the lucky draw, and looked at his characteristic panel.

Now, it was time to choose his new mission.

Lu Zhou looked at the mission panel but didn't make a decision.

For him, the system was a tool and not his "boss".

Lu Zhou only had one goal for the time being, which was to complete the theoretical model for the electrochemical interface structure.

He didn't care about anything else.

He exited the system space and came back to reality. He felt a tingling sensation from his spine to his brain.

Within half a minute, this warm tingling sensation penetrated his cerebral cortex and began to spread throughout his brain.

Lu Zhou was standing in front of the "Thinker" statue when he absorbed the power and experienced the sensation that came along with the process.

This warm sensation was weirdly comfortable.

It was like his brain was wrapped in a warm bath while it was gently stroked.

Lu Zhou opened his eyes, and he felt more awake than ever.

It was like the exhaustion that he felt for the past one month had been removed in an instant.

However, what surprised Lu Zhou the most was the inspiration that was rushing into his brain.

The only thing Lu Zhou wanted to do now was to go back to the research institute.

If this inspiration disappeared, it wasn't only him that would be affected.

It would affect the entire computational chemistry industry…

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Inspiration was elusive.

It inadvertently came and inadvertently passed.

Lu Zhou didn't want to waste a second.

He walked to the nearest library and sat down. He placed the pen and paper he bought from the convenience store on the table.

This library was one of the 20 libraries at Columbia University, and it was open 24 hours and sold delicious sandwiches and coffee in the lounge area.

He could stay here for as long as he wanted, and he wouldn't have to worry about his ideas getting interrupted.

Lu Zhou closed his eyes and imagined the equations he had previously written.

Even though he didn't have the information at hand, he would never forget something he had researched himself.

It didn't take long to recall all of the information.

Lu Zhou took this chance to incorporate new ideas into his theory…

"In a system with N electrons, the total wave function can be written as the product of all single-electron wave functions…"

Lu Zhou wrote down the first equation on the blank paper.

[Ψ(r1,r2,…,rn)= Ψt(rt).]

He didn't stop; he continued to write the next line.

"Then, use the Hartree equation!"

Lu Zhou was gradually getting excited.

However, this was only the first step.

But he could see the light in front of the tunnel.

[{pi2/2mV(ri)1/4πε0drfΨj(rj)2e2/ri-rj}Ψi(ri)=EiΨi(ri)]

[…]

The inspiration came like a tsunami, completely unstoppable.

His pen danced on the page, writing faster and faster.

Lines of formula appeared on the page, gradually building a theoretical model.

This theory included all of the cumbersome and complicated equations as well as the collision between particles, the interaction between electrons, and even the microscopic interactions.

"This should work!

"We don't need to explain and describe the system wave function of each particle motion. We just need to find a spatial wave function that only has the particle density of three variables…

"All of the particles can be calculated, and we can use this to predict the physical properties of the material!

"Even if the prediction is within a range!"

Lu Zhou's eyes lit up as he talked to himself.

The pen in his hand was like a sword, cutting through the unknown.

Lu Zhou was immersed in research; he completely forgot about time and everything around him.

He didn't know how much time had passed.

When he finally stopped writing, he saw the dark night had turned into the light yellow of dawn.

The rays of morning sunlight shone on the antique bookshelves.

Lu Zhou looked at the draft paper. He then relaxed and finally smiled.

Several months of effort was for this moment.

He finally found the answer to a problem that had no answer.

Especially writing the last equation, it was like putting down the last brick in the wall of a building. He felt like the happiest man on earth.

That happiness was far greater than any material object could provide…

"Maybe this is what heaven feels like."

Lu Zhou put away the pen.

Lu Zhou's concentration attracted a red-haired man sitting next to him.

There were many people writing theses in the library, but few had a sense of purpose.

"Hey, dude, writing a thesis?"

Lu Zhou didn't answer as he tidied up the stack of draft papers.

Although the theory was recorded in his mind, these were the precious manuscripts.

Maybe one day, he would donate them to a library or a museum.

But right now, he had to keep these things to himself.

"Theoretical chemistry?" The man didn't care that Lu Zhou ignored him as he continued to ask, "What a coincidence, I'm also studying theoretical chemistry, who is your supervisor?"

Lu Zhou smiled and said, "I don't have a chemistry supervisor."

Lu Zhou actually wanted a chemistry supervisor to mentor him.

However, given that his theory was completely self-made, who could mentor him?

The red-haired man looked at him with disbelief as he said, "You're an autodidact? Unbelievable… There are people that learn this stuff by themselves? What major are you in?"

Lu Zhou said, "I guess you can say it's mathematics."

Lu Zhou didn't stay at the library for long. He took his manuscripts and went to the D.E Shaw Research Institute.

Although the sun was already up, the research institute was still brightly lit.

Anton sat in the middle of the room like a tall goddess.

The engineers at the research institute were busy working in front of the chassis.

They had to have been here all night.

It wasn't just the researchers, even David Shaw himself was the same.

David Shaw stood in his usual spot as he stared at Anton from behind a glass panel.

Suddenly, David heard footsteps.

He turned around and saw Lu Zhou at the entrance of the laboratory.

David noticed his dark circles and the manuscript in his hand. "You stayed up all night? You should take a break, we'll need your help in three days."

Lu Zhou placed the manuscript on the desk as he said, "Or do we?"

The two locked eyes and laughed at the same time.

The researchers turned their attention and wondered what the two guys were laughing about.

However, neither David nor Lu Zhou explained anything.

Because there was no need for any explanation.

David said in a joking tone, "I'm guessing that we are very close to the finishing line."

"Yes," Lu Zhou smiled and said, "I can promise you that it is right in front of us."

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The 32nd experiment finally began.

The original plan for the experiment was to be three days after the previous experiment, but it had only been one day since then.

The results of the experiment were gratifying for Lu Zhou.

During the ninth hour of the experiment, a loud cheer was heard in the laboratory.

People were clapping and bumping their fists.

"Yes!"

"God… It's incredible!"

"We did it! We did it!"

Lu Zhou heard the cheers from the researchers, and as he looked at the data of the experiment that was reflected on the screen, the knot in his heart finally unraveled itself.

"I guess the problem was my mathematical model after all."

Just now, the researchers used the computational power of Anton to test Lu Zhou's new theoretical model of Li electrolyte solution interface.

The experiment results were perfect.

With Anton's help, Lu Zhou's mathematical model produced perfect digital simulations.

The establishment of this theory would have a meaningful and far-reaching impact on the entire electrochemical field and computational materials field. Prior to this, people could only study the physical and chemical properties of electrochemical interface structures through trial and error.

But now, the establishment of the theoretical model of the electrochemical interface structure would provide a theoretical basis for scholars who studied theoretical chemistry.

Undoubtedly, this was groundbreaking work.

"I have to thank you, my machine here made a new breakthrough thanks to your mathematical model," David said with a smile. "Maybe soon you will see a third-generation Anton."

Lu Zhou was surprised by it as he replied, "I look forward to that day."

There wasn't a good reason why the powerful Anton still needed upgrades as it was future-proof for computational chemistry for at least a few years.

The entire computational chemistry industry would be thrilled to see Anton3.

The need for supercomputers was an advantage for both the computer science industry and the chemistry industry.

…

Since the experiment phase was over, it was time to write the thesis.

Lu Zhou left the D.E Shaw Research Institute and instantly went back to his apartment to sleep.

He slept until 9 a.m. the next day before he crawled out of bed. He then went to his computer desk and sat down.

Lu Zhou consulted David's opinion and decided to submit the thesis to JACS 1 .

Compared to other journals, the impact factor of JACS wasn't high, but it was well respected in the chemistry community.

After all, the impact factor was not the only factor that measured the influence of a journal. The total number of citations and references also mattered. Combining all of these factors, JACS ranked first in the field of materials and chemistry.

Lu Zhou opened the unfinished document on his laptop and placed his hands on the keyboard. He then began to fill in the contents for his thesis.

He already wrote the outline of the thesis a month ago.

Right now, he only had to modify the mathematical model and fill in the new content.

This work was boring compared to the simulating research work.

If it wasn't so difficult, he would have asked his student to write it for him.

"If only I had an assistant…"

Lu Zhou spent the entire morning writing ten pages before he leaned back on his chair and stretched his shoulders.

He was about to make a cup of coffee when he suddenly received a notification.

Xiao Ai: [Master, you have mail!]

Mail?

Lu Zhou opened his email.

When he saw the title, he was intrigued.

He didn't expect to receive an email from Professor Stanley.

[

Dear Professor Lu, how are you?

The last time I chatted with you at the Organic Chemistry Conference, I was quite inspired by your research.

Thanks to you, we were able to make a major breakthrough in the field of the lithium-sulfur batteries. You will soon see our thesis on JACS

To celebrate this great moment, this evening, at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Manhattan, New York, there will a banquet hosted by ExxonMobil. Many well-known scholars and entrepreneurs in the industry will attend this party.

We will show our new technology at the end of the banquet.

If you are interested, you are welcome to come.

I will introduce you to some interesting people who might be useful for your next research project.

]

Once Lu Zhou had read the email, he shook his head.

He could smell the humble bragging coming through the screen.

Maybe Professor Stanley hoped that he would lash out at the banquet and embarrass himself?

Obviously, Professor Stanley was wrong.

A "good idea" was only 1% of the product.

The other 99% was in patents…

Lu Zhou deleted the email and closed the browser.

Although he would be happy to congratulate Professor Stanley, he had another party waiting for him.

To celebrate this hard-won victory, David Shaw decided to invite all the engineers and researchers at the institute to the Hilton Hotel.

Lu Zhou would much rather celebrate with his comrades.

"Xiao Ai, help me reply to the email, just refuse the invitation," Lu Zhou said while he continued to type out his thesis.

Xiao Ai: [Okay, master, I got this!]

Oh?

There are improvements, it knows how to write emails now.

Lu Zhou was surprised at Xiao Ai's reply.

He clearly remembered that this thing couldn't even write his award-winning speech.

Lu Zhou decided to give Xiao Ai a chance.

"Okay then, take care of it."

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After Professor Stanley obtained the patent number, he submitted the thesis to JACS.

To celebrate this victory, ExxonMobil organized a banquet. Not only was Professor Stanley and his research team invited, but Woods also invited the company's shareholders.

Of course, Professor Stanley also invited Lu Zhou.

He decided to show respect to his opponent who had lost the race.

However, it seemed that the kid didn't have a lot of respect for him.

[Not coming! ]

Stanley: …

Short and concise reply.

When Stanley saw the line of text, his eyebrow twitched.

What the hell is this?

He calmed himself down and deleted the email.

"You don't have to let a loser affect your mood."

Stanley took a deep breath and tried to relax his mind.

He reached out to fix his tie before he went back into the party with a smile on his face…

…

In order to build momentum, ever since the beginning of the year, ExxonMobil had kept their involvement in the battery industry a secret.

Professor Stanley making a breakthrough in lithium-sulfur batteries was undoubtedly a shocking piece of news for the entire industry.

Because this meant that Mobil Chemical, who had an advantage in raw chemical materials, had first dibs on the patent.

During the party, Professor Stanley naturally became the center of attention.

Whether it was business people or scholars, they all didn't want to miss the opportunity to make friends with this lithium-sulfur battery expert.

Woods stood in the middle of the banquet hall and raised his glass to Professor Stanley before he said, "Congratulations, Professor Stanley, your status in the lithium field has strengthened once again."

Professor Stanley gracefully sipped some wine before he said, "Thank you, congratulations to you too, I heard ExxonMobil's shares are booming."

Woods had a bright smile on. "Of course."

A Broadway singer played a melodious song for the banquet.

The guests attending the banquet gradually stepped onto the dance floor.

People outside the dance floor formed into circles as they enjoyed the party in their own ways.

Professor Stanley was standing with his research team, and he had a glass of champagne in his hand as he spoke loudly.

"Everyone, quiet please, I have something to say!"

People around him stopped talking and focused their attention onto this big man.

Stanley enjoyed the attention. He coughed and said solemnly, "This is without a doubt a great moment! We should thank those who silently contributed to a great cause."

He raised his glass and smirked.

"Cheers to Professor Lu!"

"Cheers!"

"Hahaha! Thank you, Professor Lu, for your thesis!"

"…"

The researchers knew the inside story; they started to laugh and some even whistled.

Professor Lu undoubtedly helped them greatly.

However, history didn't remember people that helped, only people that created.

No matter how close someone was to the results, coming second meant nothing.

Ricardo waited until no one was around Stanley before he walked up to him to ask, "Congratulations, Professor Stanley, have you submitted your thesis yet?"

Stanley nodded and said, "Yes, Mr. Ricardo, your data came in handy."

Ricardo said, "According to our agreement, you will add my name on the thesis, right?"

Stanley had a sudden flash on disdain in his eyes, but he managed to conceal it well.

He nodded. "Of course, you are our hero."

According to the contract, his name would be on the thesis, and he would remain in the research team.

Of course, he could forget about being involved in important research.

No matter how talented he was, Stanley would never allow him in the core research team or to touch any sensitive data.

A researcher without integrity was worthless.

Ricardo was immersed in joy; he obviously didn't realize Professor Stanley's plan. He really thought he was a hero.

In a sense, he did make a great contribution.

A contribution that was so great that Lu Zhou was willing to sue this guy…

But neither he nor Professor Stanley noticed any weird signs.

Until halfway through the banquet when Professor Stanley suddenly received a call…

…

"What did you say? The inhibitory effect of the carbon molecule on the shuttle effect isn't as ideal as we thought?"

Professor Stanley stood on the balcony with his cell phone; he was in disbelief.

Just now, he had received a piece of bad news from his research assistant who was still in the laboratory.

Really bad news…

He made sure that no one was around before he lowered his voice and asked, "Are you sure you experimented with all of the ratios?"

The research assistant said, "I have increased the carbon mass ratio to 50%. Although there is some effect on polysulfide compounds, the effects are far below our expectations."

Professor Stanley turned red and suddenly found it hard to breathe.

"This is impossible! Continue the experiments and increase the carbon mass ratio to over 50%!"

The assistant said, "Professor! We're making a battery! Battery!"

Professor Stanley suddenly realized what he had said.

His face turned white.

Yeah, they were making a battery.

The carbon nanomaterials weren't part of the electrochemical reaction.

Normally, the ratio of carbon in carbon-sulfur composites was within 30%. If it were increased to 50%, then there would be no point for the material to exist. This was because the real reaction didn't involve carbon, it involved sulfur!

Even if the producers could accept this cost, the market would never accept a battery so unnecessarily large…

The old professor took two steps back and leaned against the balcony railings. He looked as if he had aged 20 years instantly.

It was like he was just standing on a cloud before he got hit by lightning.

Right now, he didn't know why this was happening.

Suddenly, Professor Stanley remembered that email.

He calmed down and thought about it from a different perspective.

If he were the one that got poached and his researcher leaked important experiment data, he would be furious. Even if he could contain his anger, he would never be able to write such a calm email.

Maybe…

He had a scary thought.

This thought sent chills down Stanley's spine.

Maybe he was played…

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Chapter 342: Not Everyone Can Laugh Until The End

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

While ExxonMobil was celebrating their "victory", another victory celebration was going on nearby at the Hilton Hotel.

In order to celebrate Anton's great victory in the field of computational chemistry and the creation of the model for the electrochemical interface structure, David rented a luxurious ballroom at the Hilton Hotel to host the party.

They spent a month working overtime on this project; everyone was dead tired.

Party was the best way to relax.

What surprised Lu Zhou was that these formal PhD researchers took off their white coats and put on their most expensive tuxedo to this party, completely going against the stereotype of a "science bro".

What surprised him the most was the ladies that attended the party.

Where there that many female researchers at the D.E Shaw Research Institute?

He was at Columbia University for over a month, he had been going to the research institute every single day, and still, he could only count a handful of female researchers.

However, those young and beautiful ladies… they didn't look like researchers…

The party hadn't begun yet but the guests had already arrived.

David, who was wearing a suit, stood at the entrance of the ballroom. He poured himself a glass of champagne and raised his glass.

"This is a moment worth celebrating, let us toast to Anton and Professor Lu!"

This lighted the atmosphere of the party.

The guests smiled and raised their glasses.

"Cheers!"

The champagne popped and foam burst into the air.

The party had finally begun.

The waiters in uniform walked into the ballroom with plates and dining carts; the food was stacked on long tables on both sides of the dance floor.

A melodious jazz song started to play while the young woman and men gradually stepped onto the dance floor.

Most people were willing to dance with their favorite person before eating…

However, Lu Zhou obviously didn't want to do that.

He was more attracted to the food than dancing.

Especially after eating a month of bacon sandwiches, the salads, chicken legs, and foie gras looked exceptionally appetizing.

He was adding more delicious food onto his plate when David came over.

"How do you feel?" David smiled at Lu Zhou and said, "This party is for you."

Lu Zhou smiled and said, "It's very New York style."

"Princeton is different?"

"Princeton is mostly about barbecue on lawns; it's another type of enjoyment."

Lu Zhou then said with a relaxed tone, "Speaking of which, I never noticed so many female researchers at the institute before."

"Of course they're not all my researchers, there are also girls from Columbia's Manhattan sisters sorority." David looked at Lu Zhou and joked, "You know, 90% of researchers at research institutes are male, so this gives them a chance to "socialize". This is one of the responsibilities of being a boss."

Lu Zhou asked, "Kind of like a group dating club?"

David smiled and said, "Haha, I guess so."

In American universities, clubs, fraternities, and sororities were extremely common. Almost half of the students participated in some kind of club.

There were basketball, football, and even dance clubs. The social clubs allowed young people to interact with one another.

However, all of the clubs had a common theme— an endless amount of partying.

In some sense, Lu Zhou's food club was an elite club. It rarely hosted any kind of party events.

But how did David connect with Manhattan Sisters?

Actually, it was easy.

This was the Hilton Hotel in Manhattan; there were very few people that could host a party here.

There were tons of young and beautiful girls who were willing to dress to impress the D.E Shaw Research Institute.

They enjoyed partying and posting photos on Instagram.

"Speaking of which, you're still single, right? Actually, there's nothing wrong with being single," David said. He shook the glass of champagne in his hand as he added, "Feel free to ask anyone to dance."

Lu Zhou said, "But I don't know how to dance."

"It's fine, people don't care if you dance horribly," David said. He then smiled and continued, "I bet that many girls are willing to dance with you."

Is he calling me handsome?

Lu Zhou smiled awkwardly.

This… I'm embarrassed.

Even though Lu Zhou thought of himself as handsome as well…

David opened a new bottle of champagne and as he filled his glass, he asked, "What is your next step? How about you just become a professor at Columbia University? I can convince the principal to open a computational materials department."

Lu Zhou looked at the lights of Manhattan outside the window and said, "Columbia is a beautiful place, so is Manhattan. But I think Princeton is more of my kind of place."

David sighed and said, "Really? Okay then, everyone has their preferences."

He poured the remaining alcohol into Lu Zhou's glass and said, "If you have time, remember to come and visit me here."

"Sure, it's close by anyway."

Lu Zhou suddenly remembered something when he said, "Oh yeah, I have something to ask you before I go back to Princeton."

David: "What?"

"The theoretical model of the electrochemical interface structure has already been completed, but the new theory is often ignored. In order to enhance its credibility, I intend to use our theoretical tools to try to solve more specific problems. I need the power of Anton for this." Lu Zhou paused for a second before he said, "I won't need it for too long, I only need it before I return to Princeton."

His visit to Columbia University would last until June, which meant that he still had a month to go before leaving for Princeton.

This experiment wouldn't take a month. Optimistically, it would only take two weeks.

Also, this experiment was related to the Jinling Institute of Computational Materials.

Therefore, whether David wanted or not, Lu Zhou planned to pay him equipment rental fees.

David was interested, so he asked, "What kind of problem?"

Lu Zhou smirked.

"It's a molecular dynamics simulation of the interface between carbon-sulfur composites and organic electrolytic solutions!"

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A major event in the chemistry industry took place in July.

Well, two events.

Two important theses were published in the latest issue of JACS.

In particular, the "Cage-like carbon molecules and sulfur elemental composite cathode materials" thesis which was written by Stanley shocked both the materials science industry and the energy industry.

A month ago, after the patent number was received, the materials science laboratory of Binghamton University released a statement, and now the material science and industry finally saw the true content of the thesis.

Even though the academic community doubted if Professor Stanley really solved the problem regarding lithium-sulfur battery, they were generally optimistic.

After all, Professor Stanley was a big name in the lithium field, and he had ExxonMobil's support, thus making his thesis very credible.

Many research institutes were doing repeated experiments.

Maybe soon lithium-sulfur batteries would come out of laboratories and into people's lives…

As for the other important thesis, it was the highly controversial "theoretical model of the electrochemical interface structure".

Prior to this, the theoretical chemistry community did not have a theoretical model that could thoroughly clarify the microscopic essence of various electrochemical processes occurring on the "interface".

If this model proved to be effective, it would help the entire chemistry community on electrochemical interface research.

However, this theory was too advanced.

Because of this, this thesis caused widespread controversy in the theoretical chemistry community.

It was no exaggeration to say that if it wasn't because of the Crafoord Prize and the Adams Chemistry Prize, JACS would never have published this thesis so easily.

Although mathematics could be judged by its logical self-consistency, research outside of mathematics, especially for applied sciences, couldn't be judged by its logical self-consistency.

The most difficult thing was that there were very few mathematicians that could understand the logical self-consistency in Lu Zhou's mathematical model.

It wasn't difficult to find a scholar both proficient in mathematics and in chemistry but to find a Crafoord level mathematician, that was much more difficult.

Although testing the model through experiments sounded like a good idea, it wasn't.

After all, not every laboratory could afford supercomputers. Especially for calculations of molecular dynamics, the price wasn't cheap.

The reason why "Anton" was so famous in the computational chemistry industry was that it had no worthy opponents.

However, due to Lu Zhou's reputation in materials science and mathematics, many people were convinced that his theory was reliable.

Among them were scholars in theoretical chemistry and scholars in applied mathematics.

Rumors said that the Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science in Germany had set up a task force that brought together several scholars in the fields of mathematics, chemistry, and condensed matter physics to test the model.

Maybe soon the answer would come out.

But for now, it seemed that the controversy would stay.

Lu Zhou, who was at the center of all of this, was surprisingly calm. He did his experiment without hesitation.

Three days after the JACS publication, his second experiment with the D.E Shaw Research Institute came to an end. He had finally completed the research on the molecular dynamics simulation of the interface between carbon-sulfur materials and organic electrolytic solutions.

After sending these millions of dollars worth of experiment data to Yang Xu, who was far away at the Jinling Institute of Computational Materials, Lu Zhou was about to turn off his computer. Suddenly, he received a video call from Sarrot.

Lu Zhou knew what the professor wanted and picked up the call.

As expected, Sarrot had an awkward expression.

He stayed silent for a while before he said, "I'm sorry… for letting you down."

Lu Zhou didn't blame him.

"It's fine, you don't have to feel guilty. You did what I asked you to do."

Scientific research wasn't gardening; just because one planted seed doesn't mean results would come out.

Professor Stanley was the director of the Institute of Materials at Binghamton University; Sarrot was no match for someone like him.

Not to mention Stanley's financial support, it would be a miracle if Sarrot had won the competition.

However, just like Lu Zhou had guessed, it didn't matter who developed the technology.

Sarrot was confused. He then looked at Lu Zhou and said, "I don't understand, why do you look like you don't care? This is the lithium-sulfur battery project, you must have invested a lot of money into this?"

Lu Zhou smiled and said, "Of course, I spent a lot of money on your lithium-sulfur batteries, and your experiment on HCS-1 was inspiring. But when did I say the key to solving lithium-sulfur batteries was the caged carbon molecule?"

Sarrot was stunned.

Lu Zhou told him to do everything he could to solve the laboratory synthesis method of the caged carbon molecule, and the HCS-1 was only a by-product of the caged carbon molecule.

But Lu Zhou never said the caged carbon molecule was the key to solving the lithium-sulfur battery shuttle effect…

He suddenly realized this.

His eyes widened. "Wait a minute, you're saying…"

"The caged carbon molecule is a very interesting material whether it is from the perspective of its geometry or its physical chemical properties. However, it has nothing to do with lithium-sulfur batteries." Lu Zhou threw a sugar cube into his coffee and said, "As for its use, I will tell you later."

Sarrot gulped and said, "Which means the JACS thesis that Professor Stanley had published…"

"They're probably running around like lobsters in a pot," Lu Zhou smiled and said, "but it's their fault."

Similar things happened before.

Professor Stanley's thesis could be interpreted as an academic mistake.

Lu Zhou guessed that in order to win the competition, Stanley probably "modified" some data in order to publish sooner.

For example, according to the mathematical model he established for "the effect of pore size and surface area of hollow carbon spheres on the diffusion of polysulfide compounds", the caged carbon molecule had a lesser effect on the "shuttle effect". This was confirmed in Professor Stanley's experiment.

The so-called lesser effect meant a tiny effect.

Its actual industry application value wasn't even comparable to Lu Zhou's HCS-1…

Sarrot was speechless.

What is a genius?

This is a genius…

Stanley thought he had the upper hand. Instead, he was baited…

From Sarrot's perspective, Lu Zhou had planned this whole thing.

Including Ricardo stealing the data… It was all part of Lu Zhou's scheme.

Sarrot would still be in the dark if Lu Zhou hadn't explained this to him.

However, Sarrot didn't know that the reality was much more simple.

Even if Lu Zhou explained the high tech system missions to him, he wouldn't believe in it…

"Oh yeah, about the Ricardo lawsuit, just withdraw it." Lu Zhou smiled and said, "He's helped us so much, we'll let him go."

Their most competitive opponents were destroyed; this reduced a lot of pressure on the Jinling Institute of Computational Materials.

Lu Zhou couldn't be bothered to go through with a lawsuit.

Lu Zhou originally thought that Sarrot wouldn't be happy to drop the lawsuit. He didn't expect Sarrot to look at him with admiration.

"Okay, boss!"

Sarrot couldn't help but say, "Smart, your scheme was wonderful…"

Lu Zhou: …?

What scheme?

What is he talking about?

I'm so confused.

Lu Zhou felt like Sarrot had misunderstood something.

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Chapter 344: Nobel Prize Winner Is Also Not Sure

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, in a crystal chemistry lecture at the University of Munich.

Professor Gerhard Ertl didn't delegate his lecturing work to his assistant. Instead, he stood in the middle of the classroom as he explained the mysteries of crystal chemistry to his young students.

For a Nobel Prize winner, this kind of basic educating work seemed unusual. However, many well-known scholars were actually happy to share their knowledge with their young students.

Professor Ertl was the same, especially when he came across a complex problem.

Teaching basic knowledge always gave him inspiration.

At the end of the lecture, suddenly a student raised his hand.

"Professor, have you seen the recent thesis on JACS about a theoretical model of electrochemical interface?"

Professor Ertl paused for two seconds before he adjusted his glasses and nodded.

"Yes, I have, is there a question?"

The student looked at him and asked, "Is it correct?"

Ertl thought for a moment before he said with a relaxed tone, "My child, due to the rigorous of science, I cannot answer you this question right now."

The student didn't seem to be satisfied with the answer, and he asked, "What if it's correct?"

"There are no ifs in science, but if I have to answer…"

Ertl frowned and seemed reluctant on answering, but in the end, he said, "If it is correct, then it will revolutionize chemistry."

The classroom exclaimed in awe.

Revolutionize chemistry!

What a shocking statement!

Most people wouldn't have cared if someone else had said this, but this was said by Professor Ertl who was a 2007 Nobel Prize winner and an expert in solid surface chemistry!

In addition to his role as a professor at the University of Munich, he was also the director of the Fritz Haber Institute at the Max Plank Institute.

Who else's opinion in the electrochemistry field mattered more?

Professor Ertl smiled at the student's reaction.

"I am happy to see that you guys are optimistic at the birth of a new theory. You guys are right, the only way to improve is to accept new theories.

"However, in the midst of being curious about new theories, I hope you guys can all remember to look at every conclusion meticulously.

"This is the responsibility of a scientist."

Ertl tapped the podium.

"I will ask my assistant to send you the homework through email, class over."

After leaving the classroom, Professor Ertl didn't return to his office. Instead, he got into his car and drove to the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society.

The recent JACS thesis caused widespread controversy in the chemistry field. The Fritz Haber Institute had a responsibility to express its opinion on this thesis.

Of course, this expression of opinion had to be taken seriously.

Due to the importance of this theoretical model in the field of electrochemical interface structures, the Max Planck Society had set up an interdisciplinary team to bring together top scholars in the fields of mathematics, chemistry, and condensed matter physics to discuss this theoretical model.

Ertl was a member of the research group and the director of the Institute of Physical Chemistry; his opinion represented the research institutes' opinion.

Because of this, he was particularly cautious when dealing with this research project.

He walked into the conference room and saw Faltings sitting there while holding a printed thesis and reading it carefully.

Strictly speaking, this guy was an expert in the field of algebraic geometry and arithmetic geometry. Functional analysis wasn't his field of research. However, he was a big name in the number theory field; it wasn't a rare thing for him to research out of his expertise.

He was also the most influential mathematician since Grothendieck, and he was the director of the Max Plank Institute for Mathematics, thus it was necessary for him to understand other areas of research.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have become the director of the research institute.

However, this old German had a temper at Princeton, and his attitude didn't change when he got back to Germany. In fact, it became worse.

Faltings spoke slowly to Ertl as if he were telling a story.

"Only second-rate mathematicians are interested in applying mathematics to real-world problems. In my opinion, such things have no value at all."

Looking down at applied sciences was the norm at the Bourbaki School. Although the phenomenon was less common among young mathematicians, the concept still existed in the mind of the older generation of mathematicians.

Hardy was a classic example of this. Other than researching mathematics, Hardy's favorite thing was to show off to others. He loved to study pure mathematics and was proud that his research couldn't be applied.

However, unfortunately, Hardy didn't expect his research to be applied in computer science and cryptography…

Of course, Faltings didn't mean that Lu Zhou was a second-rate mathematician; he was only looking down at his thesis.

At last year's Crafoord Prize ceremony, he said there were only four mathematicians in the world that could surpass him; Lu Zhou was the most promising among them.

But now, he thought about changing the number four to three.

Ertl sat across from Faltings and said, "I don't agree."

Faltings replied, "I didn't expect you to agree. It's like how not everyone can appreciate the sculptures of ancient Greece, you just don't understand the beauty of mathematics."

Ertl's eyebrow twitched.

Professor Klaus von Klitzing coughed and tried to stop the two from fighting.

"Enough, Mr. Faltings, I hope you can provide more constructive opinions, we're not here to hear you ridicule us."

Professor Klaus von Klitzing was a researcher for the Max Planck Institute for condensed matter physics. He was the discoverer of the quantum Hall effect and a Nobel Prize nominee.

"I didn't ridicule you guys," Faltings looked at the thesis and said, "I'm only stating facts."

Ertl looked at Klitzing; he decided not to argue with the stubborn old man before he finished reading the thesis.

Fortunately, Faltings had the same intention, and he continued to read the thesis carefully.

After a long time, he threw the thesis on the table and gave a review.

"From the standpoint of a mathematician, his process is fine."

Ertl and Klitzing were relieved.

If Professor Faltings said it was mathematically correct, then it should be fine in the mathematics department.

Klitzing looked at Ertl and said, "What do you think of this theory?"

Ertl thought for a moment before he said, "In my opinion, it's not bad. However, his theory is difficult to understand. Even if we were to give our opinion, the chemistry world wouldn't be able to accept this theory."

Klitzing said, "So you're saying?"

Ertl nodded and said, "There is nothing better than a report. The more difficult the theory is, the more it needs its author."

Klitzing gently tapped his finger on the conference and asked, "What do you think is appropriate?"

"We can send an invitation letter to Princeton and invite Professor Lu to come to Fritz Haber Institute on an exchange visit. We can provide him a platform to explain his views to the chemistry community."

This was a great idea.

Klitzing nodded in agreement.

"I agree, but the problem is which research institute should send the invitation?"

This was an important question.

The Max Planck Institute was not a top-down organization; the research institutes were basically independent of one another.

However, this question was easy to answer.

The two spoke at the same time.

"Of course it should be from the Institute of Physical Chemistry."

"It should be from our Institute of Mathematics."

Faltings and Ertl looked at each other.

Faltings said, "He is a mathematician."

Ertl looked at him in disbelief and said, "But we are talking about chemistry."

Seeing that the two men were arguing again, Klitzing made a compromise.

"Since you guys can't make up your minds, how about the Institute of Condensed Matter Physics…"

"Impossible."

"Don't even think about it!"

Klitzing awkwardly coughed and said, 'I was just saying… If so, we should just resolve this issue in the classic way."

A physicists tradition.

Betting.

"Heads you're out, tails you're in," Klitzing said. As he placed a coin on the table, he added, "Of course, I will also participate."

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Chapter 345: Please Tell Me

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

It had been a month since Lu Zhou's thesis was published in JACS; the debate about the theoretical model of the electrochemical interface had become more and more intense.

Because of this controversy, this thesis had been receiving more and more attention.

Although he didn't choose to submit to the popular journal Science, Science still made a "highlight" for his thesis.

Not only that, the famous theoretical chemist and the 2013 Nobel Prize laureate, Professor Martin Karplus of Harvard University, was invited to write a scientific review and comment on the research results.

"… I've been paying attention to his theses, and I didn't expect his results to come out so soon. This is without a doubt a great achievement. I am quite optimistic at the correctness of the research. However, it answers many problems regarding the electrochemical interface, thus I have some unresolved questions.

"So far, the Nobel Prize has only been given to the computational chemistry field twice. I believe that the Nobel Prize will visit this field again in the near future."

Prior to this, Martin Karplus made an outstanding contribution to the multi-scale simulation of complex molecular system design by proposing the Karplus equation for the relationship between the coupling constant and the dihedral angle. This was the reason he received the 2013 Nobel Prize in chemistry.

He was a theoretical chemist that was also proficient in mathematics. Karplus made many outstanding contributions in fields such as quantum chemistry, biomacromolecules, and molecular dynamics model.

Because of this, his review of Lu Zhou's thesis received widespread attention.

Especially because Science was one of the top two journals in the world, many scholars outside of the chemistry field were able to read a summary of the thesis.

At the same time, a photo had been circling on Twitter among the Columbia University students.

It was a photo of a man standing in front of the Thinker statue.

The caption was in one line.

[A mortal man saw the universe through a bronze statue.]

This photo was taken a month ago.

Apparently, it was taken by a person with a PhD in philosophy who was walking back to his apartment.

This PhD holder thought it was interesting that someone was standing in front of the "Thinker" statue for so long, therefore he took a photo.

After returning home, the PhD holder drank some alcohol and came up with the caption for Twitter.

He didn't expect that his tweet would be discovered a month later.

Actually, this tweet didn't attract any special attention until the 2013 Nobel Prize winner gave this photo a very different meaning on Science.

It brought a sense of character and color.

Even though everyone knew that it was impossible for an apple to teach Newton the laws of gravity, a story gave a sense of scientific romance to the public. It was then easier for the public to spread the story.

Standing in front of a bronze "Thinker" statue while coming up with a new chemistry theory was exactly this type of story.

However, Lu Zhou didn't know that these things were happening on Twitter. He merely realized that he was being recognized more often on the Columbia campus; some people even took photos with him.

He was confused at the enthusiasm of these people, but since he was an easygoing person, he would often accept the requests of his fans.

As for those that were too enthusiastic and naughty…

He obviously rejected them.

The interesting thing was that Lu Zhou wasn't the only popular person on the Columbia campus.

Even the bronze statue became the center of attention.

More and more people began to stand in front of it, both professors and students.

It was difficult to say whether this was a good thing for the statue or not…

…

Times of joy were always short-lived.

It was time for Lu Zhou to say goodbye to this university.

Before leaving, the president of the Columbia University, Professor Lee Carroll Bollinger, personally sent Lu Zhou to the school entrance.

"I can tell that Columbia students like you a lot. Are you sure you don't want to stay?"

Lu Zhou smiled and joked, "I don't think Mr. Eisgruber would like that very much."

Eisgruber was the president of Princeton University. Although Lu Zhou wasn't close to him, he still knew of him.

"Oh, don't do this, I was only thinking for my students." Bollinger smiled and said, "If you can, tell Eisgruber I said hi. Also, the doors of Columbia University are always open for you."

Lu Zhou smiled. "Thank you."

Professor Bollinger said with a heavy tone, "Actually we prepared a gift for you. But this gift is a little special, it requires your opinion…"

Lu Zhou asked, "Can I ask what this gift is?"

"An honorary professor title at Columbia University. Since this gift is nothing useful to you," Bollinger smiled and said, "I don't know if you're willing to accept this gift?"

Lu Zhou smiled and said, "It's my honor."

Professor Bollinger smiled. "This is also the honor of Columbia University."

A person could have many honorary professor tittles. Prior to this, Lu Zhou was only an honorary professor for Jin Ling University.

This title represented Columbia University's recognition of his academic ability and his friendship with Columbia University.

Any scholar would be happy to receive as many honorary professor titles as possible.

Lu Zhou walked outside of Columbia campus and sat in his Ford Explorer.

Jerick was sitting in the driver's seat. When he heard that his professor was coming back, he volunteered to pick Lu Zhou up.

Even though Lu Zhou planned to take the train back, he didn't reject Jerick's proposal.

"Professor, are we going back to school?"

Lu Zhou put on his seat belt and said, "Of course, we can still get some lunch if we get there fast."

Jerick nodded. "Okay, professor."

He was about to start driving, but suddenly, a man in a suit fell in front of his car.

Lu Zhou was muddled.

Is this…

The legendary insurance fraud?

I've never even seen this in Jinling, why is it happening here?

Jerick was also muddled; he had never seen anything like this. He removed his feet from the gas pedal and turned the engine off.

The man in the suit climbed up and walked to the side of the car. When he saw Lu Zhou, he screamed tearfully.

"Please, in god's name, forgive me."

Lu Zhou was confused; he didn't know what was happening.

"Speak slowly, who are you?"

Honest to god, Lu Zhou had never seen this dude before.

It was almost like Lu Zhou had bullied this guy before.

This isn't a good look for me…

Lu Zhou looked around and saw many students staring at the commotion.

The security guard at the entrance of the Columbia campus touched his baton as he stared at them.

There had been an increase in school shootings in recent years. Although New York had the strictest gun laws in America, they still took security very seriously.

This could be seen from the protective gear the security guards had.

"I…" The man in the suit awkwardly hesitated and said, "I'm Ricardo… I used to work at your research institute."

When Lu Zhou heard this name, he finally knew what was going on.

Lu Zhou smiled and said, "Don't worry, I have already withdrawn your lawsuit."

Although Lu Zhou was angry when he was poached…

But it had been so long… Furthermore, since this dude had been a great help to him, Lu Zhou had let this matter go a long time ago.

However, Lu Zhou didn't expect Ricardo to be even more miserable.

"No, please don't do this! Sue me! I beg you!"

Lu Zhou: …?

What?

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Chapter 346: Two Invitation letters

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Lu Zhou swore.

He had never had a better invitation in America.

Lu Zhou looked at Ricardo and asked, "Is the food in jail that good?"

"It's not good…" Ricardo shook his head and said, "No, no, it's good, please send me to jail!"

Lu Zhou: ? ? ?

Jerick: ???

Jesus, is this guy crazy?

Jerick took out his phone and was about to call the police.

As an American, he knew the dangers of mental patients better than Lu Zhou. He was more aware of how to deal with a situation like this.

However, Lu Zhou waved his hand and gestured Jerick not to call the police.

"Although I want to help you…" Lu Zhou looked at Ricardo and paused for a second before he said, "You should be aware that once the lawsuit has been withdrawn, the court will not pursue another civil action on the same case again."

When Ricardo heard Lu Zhou's explanation, his face turned white. He took two steps back and sat on the sidewalk.

The security guards relaxed, but the pedestrians nearby were even more confused. Ricardo looked down at the ground; no one knew what he was thinking about.

Lu Zhou looked at him and sighed.

He remembered Professor Sarrot's anger and could probably guess what Ricardo was afraid of.

In a sense, being a two-faced spy was worse than the usual corporate espionage. He both angered ExxonMobil and stained his resume; he could say goodbye to his career.

However, although Lu Zhou felt sympathetic, he wouldn't apologize.

Ricardo was the one that did something wrong.

If only he didn't bring the data to ExxonMobil…

If it were a normal resignation, Lu Zhou might have even introduced Ricardo to some of his scholar and research institute friends.

However, the world didn't work in that way.

Like how no one would compensate the losses of ExxonMobil and Professor Stanley, no one would compensate Ricardo…

…

Lu Zhou finally left Columbia University and arrived at the quiet Princeton town.

Jerick drove his Ford Explorer to his driveway. When Lu Zhou was taking out his suitcase from the trunk, he received a warm welcome.

"Professor, you're finally back," Hardy said with a warm smile. He then said with an enthusiastic tone, "I was originally going to bet if you were going to stay there forever… but I knew you wouldn't ditch us."

Lu Zhou smiled; he felt warm in his heart.

Lu Zhou was about to say something when Qin Yue patted Hardy's shoulder and said two words, "Pay up."

Hardy muttered, "Oh, Jesus… Can't you wait a bit?" He took out a hundred dollar bill and placed it in Qin Yue's hands.

Vera couldn't help but laugh at the two.

Even Wei Wen chuckled.

However, Lu Zhou gradually lost his smile…

This f*cker bet against me?

Jerick helped park his car into the garage while Lu Zhou walked into his warm house with his suitcase.

However, the dust inside his house made him sneeze.

No one had been in the house in two months.

Obviously, there was no way anyone could live here without some thorough cleaning.

The kitchen was in a mess.

Lu Zhou knew that this would happen, so he planned to go eat at the Ivy Club.

However, out of his five students, only Hardy was a member of the Ivy Club.

The weather was cool today. Therefore, Hardy proposed a barbecue in the backyard. Everyone unanimously agreed to this idea.

The group then started to work on it. They took out the barbecue stove and folding table from Lu Zhou's garage and set up a lively barbecue party in Lu Zhou's backyard.

Lu Zhou sat on the grass while eating authentic Brazilian barbecue and drinking cold beer.

Although this party wasn't as luxurious as the one at the Hilton Hotel, it brought him a completely different type of relaxation.

As expected, he still preferred to hang out with his students.

Vera walked over to him while carrying a plate of food.

She sat next to him and made some small talk. After that, she reported to him her work for the past two months.

This included her number theory lecturing job, results of the class exam, the research progress on Collatz conjecture…

When Lu Zhou heard Vera's report, he nodded with approval.

"Not bad." He smiled and said, "Remember what I said? You were born for this job."

Vera blushed and looked away before she quickly said, "Also, when you were gone, there were two letters sent to your office. I had retrieved it from the mailroom and placed it in your drawer."

Lu Zhou nodded and said, "Okay, I will look at it tomorrow."

He just got back from Columbia University; he needed a day to unpack his luggage and relax.

Today, he wouldn't go to the Institute for Advanced Study.

However, everything would return back to normal tomorrow…

…

Lu Zhou spent the whole day relaxing.

The next morning, he wrote a report on his Columbia University exchange and sent it to Nassau Hall at Princeton University. He then quickly went to the Institute for Advanced Study.

When Lu Zhou got back to his office and sat down on his chair, he opened his desk drawer and found the two letters.

One letter was from the International Mathematical Union (IMU); it was an invitation letter to the International Conference of Mathematicians which was to be held on the 1st of August next year in Brazil.

As expected, he was invited to do an hour-long report at the International Conference of Mathematicians.

Normally speaking, reports were usually forty-five minutes or sixty minutes long. He should be the only Chinese scholar invited to do a sixty-minute long report at the conference.

Lu Zhou was surprised at the other letter.

It was from across the pond, all the way from Germany.

[Dear Mr. Lu Zhou, I apologize for disturbing your busy research schedule. We did extensive research on your "Theoretical Model of Electrochemical Interface Structure" thesis that was recently published in JACS. We still have many questions…

[… We sincerely hope that you can come to Europe. We will arrange a report session for you, and scholars from all over the world will get to witness this great moment.

[Max Plank Institute of Condensed Matter Physics.]

Lu Zhou wasn't surprised by the content of the letter.

The letter itself was fine.

What he was confused about was…

Why was it sent by a condensed matter physics research institute?

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Chapter 347: Experience More When You're Young

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Lu Zhou couldn't make up his mind, and he told Professor Deligne about the Max Planck Institute invitation. Professor Deligne looked at Lu Zhou and asked, "You plan on going to the Fritz Haber Institute?"

"I'm thinking about it," Lu Zhou replied. He then added, "Actually I prefer to do this report in Princeton."

Germany was too far.

He just got back from Columbia University, he didn't want to leave so soon again.

Deligne thought for a moment. Surprisingly, he didn't agree with Lu Zhou, and he said, "Principal Eisgruber will be very happy to hear you say this, but I don't recommend doing this."

Lu Zhou asked, "Why?"

"This is like a monastery, it's suitable for spiritual practice. However, it is not a place for evangelism. There is a bigger world out there." Deligne placed the pen in his hand down and said, "My suggestion is to experience more when you are young. No matter what you are researching, it is good to network with other scholars."

Deligne believed that Lu Zhou's attitude toward academia was suboptimal.

Lu Zhou shrugged and said, "Okay, I will consider your suggestion."

"I hope you will. Also, once you get there, remember to say hi to the old man Faltings for me." Deligne smile and said, "It's been 20 years since he left Princeton, don't know if he's still cocky or not."

Lu Zhou remembered his last encounter with the old man in Stockholm.

Lu Zhou didn't know what Faltings was like 20 years ago.

But the old man still seemed pretty arrogant…

Lu Zhou left Professor Deligne's office and went back to his own office.

He sat in front of his computer and thought for a moment. He then wrote an email to the Max Planck Institute for Condensed Matter Physics.

In the end, he chose to go to Germany.

The Max Planck Institute promised to pay for all expenses, and a free trip wasn't too bad.

But now he had to prepare for his PowerPoint report…

Lu Zhou worked all day until it was dinner time.

He stretched and saved his incomplete PowerPoint report. He then got up from his office chair.

He had some special matters to take care of at night; therefore, he decided to end the day early. He told Vera not to bring him a sandwich. He then went to the dining area on the first floor.

Lu Zhou was about to eat when he coincidentally bumped into Edward Witten, who had just finished his meal.

"Didn't eat at the Ivy Club?" the talkative Jewish professor asked as he sat down across from Lu Zhou. He then added, "The chef changed when you went to Columbia."

Lu Zhou twisted his fork in the meat sauce as he said, "Every time I plan on going there, I end up here because I'm too lazy to go that far."

"Haha, same here. I got used to the food here after a while." Edward Witten smiled and said, "If I didn't have a lifetime membership, I would've canceled a long time ago."

This was the first time Lu Zhou had heard something like this. He looked at Witten and asked, "Lifetime membership? You don't have to pay the membership fee?"

"Of course not, you'll probably get it soon. No club will ask a Fields Medal or Nobel Prize winner a membership fee. This is the Ivy Club tradition." Witten paused for a second and suddenly remembered something important. He then asked, "Speaking of which, you received an invitation from the IMU?"

Witten was obviously talking about the International Conference of Mathematicians invitation.

Lu Zhou nodded and said, "Yeah, they invited me to do an hour-long report."

Edward Witten wasn't surprised at Lu Zhou's invitation.

Lu Zhou was a strong Fields Medal candidate, so it was only natural for him to receive an invitation.

"An hour isn't short, have you thought about what to report on?"

Lu Zhou said, "If all goes to plan, I'll report on the Collatz conjecture."

"If all goes to plan?" Edward Witten looked at Lu Zhou and asked curiously, "What if it doesn't?"

Lu Zhou smiled and answered the question, "Of course, I'll still report on the Collatz conjecture."

The difference being who was going to prove the conjecture.

After solving Goldbach's conjecture, there weren't that many number theory conjectures that Lu Zhou took an interest in.

His Group Structure Method had been perfected by the proof of the Goldbach's conjecture. Lu Zhou was more interested in seeing people use his tools to create new theories.

Because of this, Lu Zhou decided to ask his students to prove the Collatz conjecture. He only provided guidance and methods.

Of course, if his students couldn't solve it, he would solve it himself.

However, Lu Zhou was quite optimistic at the abilities of his students.

Especially Vera; she was the most talented young mathematician Lu Zhou had ever seen.

Although she lacked creativity, she made up for it in analytical skills and logical thinking. Lu Zhou only had to teach her something once and she would never forget. She could also easily apply her newfound knowledge to new problems.

Lu Zhou believed that if she had proper guidance, she could become as successful as Schultz.

She did win the IMO gold medal at a younger age than Schultz…

…

Once Lu Zhou finished his dinner, he didn't go home right away. Instead, he jogged around Lake Carnegie.

A researcher needed a healthy body for grinding.

Lu Zhou discovered this fact after becoming Professor Lu.

He was drenched in sweat and took a shower at home. He then lay down in bed and whispered "system". His consciousness was transformed into the system space.

When he completed his mission last time, he only received the mission reward. He didn't even look at the new missions.

Now that his electrochemical theoretical model had been completed, he finally had some spare time.

It was time to look at the system missions.

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Chapter 348: A Genius Student

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

[

Mission 1: Genius Student Development plan

Description: A super genius cultivates a genius student and receives a cohort of genius students tomorrow. What a great deal.

Requirements: Help a student to complete their thesis.

Rewards: 1 ??? Subject experience points. (Value correlated to the academic value of the research project and negatively correlated to user's participation in the thesis.). 500 general points. One lucky draw ticket. (50% garbage, 25% samples, 15% blueprints, 10% special).

]

Lu Zhou looked at this first mission and complained.

What does this system think of genius students?

Does it think that teaching genius students is like planting trees?

The "super genius student" must be a compliment.

Lu Zhou received recognition from the high tech system, but he wasn't sure if this was a good thing or not.

[

Mission 2: King of the football field

Description: Football is the American national sport. The Super Bowl is a national-level event. The Super Bowl seems a bit too difficult, but the Ivy League fall championship should be fine?

Requirements: Participate in any of Princeton's rugby clubs and place third place in the league.

Rewards: 10,000 to 50,000 experience points. 500 General points. One lucky draw ticket (80% garbage, 10% sample, 6% blueprints, 4% special).

]

Lu Zhou: "…"

What do you mean it should be fine?

This is not fine.

Lu Zhou remembered that Connie was built like the hulk, and he decided to stay away from the dangerous sport of football.

If he got hurt, it would be a loss to all of mankind…

Lu Zhou continued to look at the mission panel.

[

Mission 3: Lithium-air battery is the future!

Description: Lithium-sulfur batteries will eventually be eliminated, lithium-air batteries are the future!

Requirements: Solve a series of lithium-air battery problems and make lithium-air batteries occupy 5% of the global battery market.

Reward: 0-??? subject experience points. 500 general points. One lucky draw ticket (50% garbage, 30% sample, 10% blueprints, 10% special).

]

There was nothing wrong with the mission itself, but the high tech system's logic was similar to Professor Sarrot's.

Lu Zhou didn't know if the system overestimated the technological level of human civilization or if the system just didn't want him to earn experience points.

However, since the system was so confident in lithium-air batteries, Lu Zhou felt that he should consider it seriously. He might have to buy the caged carbon molecule from Professor Stanley.

Anyway, it shouldn't cost a lot.

Lu Zhou looked at the three missions and thought for a bit. In the end, he chose Mission 1 as his primary mission.

Mission 2 was too dangerous and Mission 3 was too difficult; Mission 1 was undoubtedly the best option.

However, the reward was negatively correlated with Lu Zhou's participation in the thesis. The system wanted Lu Zhou to be more "hands-off" and let his student do the project.

Lu Zhou rubbed his chin and began to think.

That's a bit difficult.

…

Institute of Materials Science at Binghamton University.

"Ricardo! Come out! Damnit… Where did that idiot go?"

Professor Stanley was looking for Ricardo in the laboratory. He was so filled with rage to the point that even his beard was trembling.

Obviously, he was as furious as he could get.

Many laboratories had been questioning his thesis, asking him to do repeated experiments.

Professor Stanley replied to these suspicions with "just because you can't do it, doesn't mean that other people can't as well".

This response sounded a bit unreasonable.

However, it was nothing unusual in the academic community.

Although the essence of scientific research was that it could be repeated, not every experiment could be copied perfectly.

After all, even if the experiment process was easy, a small change could lead to wildly different results.

In fact, the caged carbon molecules did have an effect on inhibiting the shuttle effect.

However, it was far less effective than what Professor Stanley had described.

The academic community gradually lost interest in his research and the market began to get annoyed. Especially ExxonMobil, they were becoming impatient at their stock price.

In order to fix this situation, a month ago, Professor Stanley told ExxonMobil that he would do everything he could to make the caged carbon molecules useful.

However, unfortunately, no matter what mixing method he used for the positive sulfur material, he couldn't prevent the polysulfide compound from diffusing into the electrolyte. The positive electrode material would disappear after a hundred or two hundred cycles.

Professor Stanley was more and more suspicious of Ricardo being a double spy. He was about to confront Ricardo when Ricardo suddenly disappeared from his laboratory.

He asked his assistant what had happened.

Since two days ago, Ricardo hadn't been coming to the laboratory.

Suddenly, Professor Stanley understood what had happened.

His worst fear was realizing itself.

He felt like an idiot for believing in that traitor!

The researchers in the laboratory feared Professor Stanley's temper.

No one knew why but ever since that Manhattan banquet, Professor Stanley, who was at the peak of his career, suddenly developed a temper.

Even though they were in the same laboratory and working on the same experiment, no one knew the specifics of the entire experiment.

Other than the core researchers whose name appeared in the thesis, most researchers of the institute knew nothing about the specifics of the caged carbon molecule.

Most researchers thought that they had solved the lithium-sulfur battery shuttle effect and defeated the world-class problem…

"Damn, f*ck!" Professor Stanley couldn't stop swearing as he sat in his office desk and breathed heavily.

Suddenly, his phone rang.

Professor Stanley checked the phone number and took a deep breath to calm down. He then picked up the phone.

Woods' voice could be heard from the other side of the telephone.

"My engineer told me what you can't create the battery at all! Stop giving me boring reasons, I need an explanation."

This was his fifth call to Professor Stanley since the Manhattan banquet. His voice had gotten less and less polite each time he called.

Professor Stanley went silent for a while.

He was about to tell the CEO the whole truth when he suddenly had another thought.

ExxonMobil didn't know that Ricardo was missing from the laboratory.

This might not be a bad thing.

He could throw Ricardo under the bus…

Professor Stanley lowered his voice and said, "We were played."

Woods was stunned at this answer. He then asked, "What do you mean?"

Professor Stanley said, "The data was fake, Ricardo was a double-spy! Don't you understand! We were played right from the beginning!"

Woods immediately said, "Impossible! Where can he go? There is a lawsuit on his a*s, he can't run far."

In America, corporate espionage was a very serious crime. Especially when it came to intellectual property theft…

Ricardo's entry out of the country could be under heavy restrictions.

As long as Ricardo was in America, it would be easy to find him.

Professor Stanley said, "He's a double-spy, do you think that Star Sky Technology will still sue him? They probably have already withdrawn their lawsuit…"

Woods began to think.

He was angry that Professor Stanley had hidden this from him for over a month.

But his anger was now on Ricardo.

If what Professor Stanley said was true, then it wasn't all his fault.

After all, poaching from Lu Zhou was Woods' idea as well.

However, this wasn't the time to argue about whose fault it was…

Woods took a deep breath and spoke slowly, "I will talk to the legal department about the lawsuit. As for now…"

An energy giant like ExxonMobil faced lawsuits every day; a small lawsuit on one of the members of their staff wouldn't attract their attention.

Woods wasn't up to date with the progress of the lawsuit.

Of course, if what Stanley said was true, Woods would make Ricardo pay the price.

As for now…

Woods paused for a moment before he said, "As for now, we must stabilize our position! The new material is not ideal, this information cannot be leaked! Our investors trust us, we cannot let them down.

"Also, I learned that Lu Zhou has been researching new theory recently; lithium-sulfur batteries is not his focus anymore. Although we went on the wrong track, we are not too far behind.

"I need you to do more experiments.

"We have invested a lot of resources, I don't want to see nothing come of it! I don't think you want to fail either!"

When Professor Stanley heard this, he sighed in relief.

Obviously, ExxonMobil wouldn't admit defeat so easily. Woods still chose Stanley to fight on the front line.

Professor Stanley spoke in a gentle tone, "I have been doing experiments already."

He had never intended to admit defeat.

He would fight until the day he received the results.

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Chapter 349: One Year Plan

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

The next morning, Lu Zhou went to his office.

He looked at his five students and walked to the front of the blackboard. He then cleared his throat and said, "Today, I have something to announce."

Everyone stopped working and looked at the professor standing in front of the blackboard.

Lu Zhou changed his tone to be less formal as he continued, "Yesterday, I received an invitation letter from the IMU. They invited me to participate in the 2018 International Conference of Mathematicians and do a 60-minute report at the conference."

Clap clap clap…

The office was filled with applause.

Especially Hardy, his applause was the most enthusiastic. He even added a congratulatory speech.

"Congratulations, professor! I think in order to celebrate…"

Lu Zhou waved his hand and interrupted him.

"We've already had enough parties."

Hardy sighed and said, "This isn't enough, the Princeton football club has parties every week."

Lu Zhou ignored him and continued to speak, "For the subject of this hour-long report, I will use the Collatz conjecture. Our research results will be shown to the mathematics community.

"No one believes that this conjecture can be solved. We will tell those pessimists that they are wrong."

Qin Yue looked hesitant when he said, "But professor, according to your framework, our research on the Collatz conjecture is only at around 30% or so. This is far from being able to present a report…"

"That's why you guys have to work harder," Lu Zhou said as he looked at Qin Yue. He then turned to look at Vera and said, "I will help you guys when necessary, but I hope you can finish this research project on your own. Best case scenario, this thesis can become a master's thesis for all three of you."

Even the risk-averse Qin Yue was relieved.

If the professor helped on the research, there was nothing to worry about.

The only thing was that Professor Lu had been studying chemistry problems recently, so he might not have the free time for mathematics conjectures.

"This is the basic plan for the next year. I hope your research project can go smoothly." Lu Zhou looked at Wei Wen and said, 'Wei Wen, come outside with me for a second, I have something for you to do."

Wei Wen smirked and immediately left the office with Lu Zhou.

It looked like his supervisor was about to arrange a research project for him.

He had been waiting for this for a long time.

…

Lu Zhou came up with an idea for the system mission.

On one hand, he would ask Vera to continue her research on the Collatz conjecture. Due to the academic value of the Collatz conjecture, this was Lu Zhou's first choice.

On the other hand, Wei Wen and Jerick were also arranged to do research projects.

However, their project difficulty would be much lower.

This way, if the research on the Collatz conjecture stagnated, Lu Zhou would still have a backup.

However, even if the system did not give Lu Zhou this mission, Lu Zhou himself would have arranged something for Wei Wen to do.

After all, there was a limited amount of knowledge one could learn from textbooks. Precious scientific research knowledge couldn't be learned in the library.

"… Your research direction is the Hilbert space area of functional analysis. I remember that I suggested for you to do research on mathematical physics when you first came here. Unfortunately, I have not studied that area recently."

Wei Wen stood on the corridor outside of the office. Lu Zhou paused for a second before he continued, "However, although I don't have a suitable project for you, I can recommend a person to you."

Wei Wen asked, "Who?"

Lu Zhou smiled and said, "He's my friend, come with me."

Although Luo Wenxuan's lifestyle was pretty relaxing, he still had the talent and ability. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gotten the offer from Edward Witten.

After all, Witten had strict requirements for his students.

The reason why Lu Zhou recommended Wei Wen to Luo Wenxuan was that Luo Wenxuan's research was related to Hilbert space.

Also, because Luo Wenxuan's master's degree was in the field of functional analysis and he was well versed in mathematical physics, he could teach Wei Wen many things.

Lu Zhou took Wei Wen to Witten's office.

Luo Wenxuan was reading documents when Lu Zhou arrived.

When Luo Wenxuan saw Lu Zhou standing at the door, he smiled.

"Morning, what brings you all the way here?"

"Nothing, just visiting." Lu Zhou smiled and looked at the computer screen as he said, "Reading theses?"

"That's right, it's my daily routine to log onto arXiv and check theses." Luo Wenxuan said, "That's how the field of theoretical physics is, there hasn't been new physics research in a long time. I'm not afraid to come up with a new idea, I'm afraid someone else already has."

Lu Zhou asked, "Have you still not finished your thesis?"

Luo Wenxuan sighed and said, "Nope, Witten's requirements are way too high, my thesis hasn't been satisfactory."

Lu Zhou asked, "So your thesis is still the same one?"

"I changed it." Luo Wenxuan smiled and said, "Now, it's about the research on the even coherent state of the q-distorted harmonic oscillator in the finite-dimensional Hilbert space."

Lu Zhou: "…"

He didn't know why this was worth bragging.

Suddenly, Lu Zhou had second thoughts on lending his student to Luo Wenxuan.

Luo Wenxuan noticed Wei Wen who was standing behind Lu Zhou, and he asked, "Who's this?"

"My student, Yan University applied mathematics graduate…"

Lu Zhou hesitated for a few seconds before he decided to give it a shot.

Although Luo Wenxuan had his shortcomings, he had been Witten's student for a long time. Wei Wen had almost zero research experience, so he could learn a lot from Luo Wenxuan.

Also, Lu Zhou felt like he should help Luo Wenxuan. Luo Wenxuan was almost thirty years old and still didn't complete his thesis.

Therefore, Lu Zhou patted Wei Wen's back and said, "Didn't you tell me last time you required a mathematical genius in Hilbert space to help with your research project? This is it."

Luo Wenxuan was overjoyed. "Thank you so much! My research has entered a bottleneck, you are my savior!"

He looked at Wei Wen and said, "Wei Wen, right? I'll have to thank you in advance."

Wei Wen obviously noticed that this guy seemed unreliable, so he was a bit hesitant.

Will I be okay doing a research project with this guy?

However, Wei Wen trusted Lu Zhou's decision.

Wei Wen said with an uncertain tone, "I'll… try my best."

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Chapter 350: The Dawn Of The Lithium-Sulfur Era

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

After dealing with Wei Wen, Lu Zhou went back to his office and began to prepare his PowerPoint report.

He spent a week working on the "theoretical model of electrochemical interface structure".

When Lu Zhou finally completed his PowerPoint report, he suddenly received a call from Yang Xu.

An excited voice was heard from the other end of the telephone.

"We did it! We did it!"

Lu Zhou heard the exhilarating voice and immediately asked, "Lithium-sulfur battery?"

Yang Xu nodded with excitement and said, "Yes! Your thought process is right, we can use glucose as the precursor and choose the copolymer of polyaniline oxime polypyrrole as the pore-forming agent. We successfully synthesized the surface area to 3022m2/g and created hollow carbon nanospheres with a diameter of only 69nm."

Yang Xu drank some water and cleared his throat; he couldn't wait to speak.

"Then, we mixed the hollow carbon spheres with sulfur by chemical deposition and assembled them into the battery mold to perform the battery performance test. The final result was quite satisfactory.

I won't talk about the rest over the phone, I have sent the relevant experiment data to your email. Look at it!"

"Okay, I will."

Lu Zhou was excited at how thrilled Yang Xu was, so he hung up the phone and checked his email.

There was an email from Yang Xu in his mailbox.

Lu Zhou downloaded the email attachments and opened the file with the experiment data. He converted it to a PDF format and carefully read it line by line.

This experiment data contained the battery performance test data, images taken with the SEM, and also data graph plots.

As per what Yang Xu said, the performance of this new material was quite good. No wonder Yang Xu was so excited.

Comparing the original hollow carbon nanospheres with the activated carbon nanospheres prepared using potassium hydroxide, the activated hollow carbon spheres performed excellently with a 70% sulfur composite.

This was only at the macroscopic level, the microscopic level was even more interesting.

The sulfur ions embedded in the hollow carbon spheres could escape from the surface pores of the hollow carbon spheres. They could also electrochemically react with the lithium ions moving to the positive electrode in an orderly manner as well as generating Li2S2 and Li2S between the carbon spheres. This prevented the pore blockage from affecting the efficiency of the electrochemical cycle.

On the other hand, because the charged sulfur ions were in limited contact with the lithium ions, the formation of a long-chain compound LiSn was avoided.

Everyone knew that long-chain LiSn molecules were easily soluble in organic solutions, and that was the basis of the shuttle effect. If the formation mechanism of these molecules could be reduced, it would totally prevent the loss of the positive electrode material.

Not just that, even if a small amount of LiSn (where n is greater than 2) compound was formed in the reaction system, due to the surface absorption properties of the hollow carbon sphere, the polysulfide compound would be trapped inside the positive electrode material. This could prevent it from diffusing through the surface of the material and into the electrolyte.

These two layers of protection minimized the effects of the shuttle effect.

Once Lu Zhou finished reading the physical and chemical properties analysis, he looked at the battery testing.

According to the battery experiments done by the Jinling Institute of Computational Materials, the ability to inhibit the diffusion of polysulfide compounds into the electrolyte peaked when the sulfur content was at 73%. Even after 500 battery cycles, the coulomb efficiency remained at a high level.

When the sulfur content was at 75%, other factors such as energy density, volume energy density, etc reached an optimal level.

Yang Xu named the new hollow carbon sphere HCS-2, following the nomenclature of Lu Zhou.

This new material was undoubtedly more applicable than HCS-1!

"Perfect."

Lu Zhou placed the experiment report on the table and took out his phone. He called Mr. White Sheridan, the general manager of Star Sky Technology. He told Mr. White to immediately start the international patent applications.

Taking into account the broad prospects of this material, Star Sky Technology would separately register patents on a series of aspects such as compounds, production, use, and mixing ratio of sulfur to HCS-2 materials. This allowed them to establish a robust patent defense.

If things went well, Lu Zhou could receive the patent numbers before the end of the month and could begin writing his thesis.

The success of the HCS-2 material was partly due to computational materials methods. This would undoubtedly provide an important example of his theoretical model of the electrochemical interface structure.

Lu Zhou was particularly looking forward to his theory being applied…

…

White was very efficient; he had already submitted all of the documents and passed the patent application.

After getting the patent numbers, Lu Zhou immediately began writing the thesis.

The last paper on HCS-1 was also written by him. He could use the same format and structure for this thesis. He finished writing the thesis within three days.

He chose the Science journal as his submission target.

Lu Zhou submitted the journal and began to prepare for his Max Planck Institute meeting.

However, this submission gave the editorial department at Science a hard time.

Submitting theses in Science was a hobby of many big names. For example, David Shaw was one of them.

And Science welcomed these theses. After all, the big names gave Science a good reputation within the academic community.

However, Professor Lu had submitted three theses within half a year; it was a bit extreme…

The problem wasn't the HCS-2 material itself. Most mathematics academic editors in the department couldn't believe that Lu Zhou made such a huge improvement on the HCS-1 material within such a short period of time.

Not to mention the carbon-sulfur composite thesis by Professor Stanley was also on JACS.

Everyone had reason to suspect that Professor Lu might have competed with Professor Stanley on the lithium-sulfur battery project and that Professor Stanley might have published incomplete experiment results.

Things like this had happened in the academic community before.

The Science editorial department decided to hand it over to the reviewer.

The reviewer responsible was Professor Bawendi from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Just like last time, this professor accepted the review request and repeated Lu Zhou's experiment step by step by paying out of his own pocket.

He was amazed by the results.

Bawendi succeeded again…

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Wang Haifeng was feeling very unhappy recently.

Accurately speaking, he hadn't been happy for the past six months.

First, he had to redo his research project due to various reasons. Then, his researcher was poached by the Jinling Institute of Computational Materials.

Honestly, he had never thought that the small, honest-looking Xiao Liu would betray him.

To begin with, he didn't have many skilled students in his laboratory, and now the most capable one was gone. He used to delegate many matters to Liu Hong, but now he had to do these things himself.

Finally, his research project was approved, and he received the research funding.

However, within a few days, he received a piece of bad news from across the Pacific Ocean. The Binghamton University Materials Science Research Institute, sponsored by ExxonMobil, developed a caged carbon molecule that successfully solved the shuttle effect problem of the lithium-sulfur battery.

This thesis was published in JACS and was promoted by ExxonMobil. The entire academic community focused on Professor Stanley and his thesis.

There were several other Chinese research and development teams that were also researching the shuttle effect.

Especially for the companies that invested in the research projects, they had already cut their investments by half.

Research teams were facing the risk of being divested.

In contrast, Wang Haifeng was quite lucky.

His research grant was from the National Research Fund.

The National Research Fund didn't care as much about profits and were less prone to changes in the market.

At the very least, they didn't give up on research projects halfway through.

In any case, ExxonMobil had set up patent barriers on lithium-sulfur batteries and had full pricing power control on lithium-sulfur battery cathode materials. This was bad news for the global energy industry.

Wang Haifeng felt sorry for domestic energy companies, but he also felt a sense of comfort.

As for why he felt a sense of comfort…

The reason was that Lu Zhou wasn't the one that won the lithium-sulfur battery battle.

After all, Professor Stanley was a big name in the lithium battery industry. Professor Stanley was the one that created the earliest lithium battery model, so losing to him wasn't a disgrace.

However, if Wang Haifeng had lost to Lu Zhou, he would feel extremely embarrassed.

Professor Wang finished his lecture and was about to walk to the laboratory building.

Suddenly, a man in a suit and his assistant greeted him.

Wang Haifeng looked at the stranger and asked, "Who are you?"

The man in the suit had a friendly smile as he handed Wang Haifeng his business card.

"Hello, I am a reporter for the Science Magazine, you can call me Xiao Li."

"Magazine reporter?" Wang Haifeng frowned and asked, "What do you want?"

Xiao Li said, "Here's the case. I have learned from many sources that you are a big name in the battery industry. I want to ask you some battery-related questions, are you free right now?"

Wang Haifeng didn't want to do any interviews, but he was happy to be called a "big name".

"I am busy, I can only give you ten minutes. Just ask any questions you want."

"Okay, Professor Wang." Xiao Li smiled and signaled his assistant to record the conversation before he asked, "What do you think about the recent JACS thesis by Professor Stanley?"

Wang Haifeng said, "The academic community hasn't come up with a conclusion yet. However, the author is Professor Stanley, and he is quite reputable in academia."

Xiao Li asked, "Then, do you think the caged carbon molecule is more applicable than Lu Zhou's HCS-1?"

"HCS-1?" Wang Haifeng laughed and said, "The two are not comparable at all. If the carbon molecule is a light bulb, then the HCS-1 would be a candle. That's how big the difference is."

Wang Haifeng wanted to laugh.

Why would anyone trust in a twenty-something-year-old professor?

Lu Zhou lost in the end.

Xiao Li asked, "Don't you think this is a big exaggeration?"

Wang Haifeng said without hesitation, "Not at all, in fact, it's conservative. You're not in the field, so you don't know much about the material science industry. The materials science industry produces amazing results every once in a while, but less than 10% of these research results have an industrial application uses. The HCS-1 material is an in-progress achievement and is a good result, from an academic point of view. However, this technology is worthless on the market. Do you think anyone is interested in his patent?"

Xiao Li nodded and said, "How can you be sure that Professor Stanley's caged carbon molecules are applicable in the real world? Did you look at the thesis data?"

"The focus is not on the thesis, it's on ExxonMobil. They're an international giant that strives for success, and there is a reason that they funded this research."

Wang Haifeng then said with emotion, "I have to say that the hollow carbon spheres are a good research direction; many research teams including my own are researching toward this direction.

"I believe that Professor Lu made a mistake talking about his ideas in that meeting. He should have kept his optimistic views on carbon spheres to himself. This way, no one would have copied his ideas.

"But I understand. He's a young man, he's full of energy. Maybe he'll become more rational when he grows up."

Professor Wang looked sad when speaking.

It was almost like ExxonMobil had won because Lu Zhou spilled the beans.

But actually, the fault wasn't on Lu Zhou.

Before that meeting, there weren't many research teams that focused on carbon nanospheres.

This included Wang Haifeng himself. Although he knew about hollow carbon spheres for a long time, he had never done any experiments in this area.

Also, it was the meeting organizers that published the content of the meeting, not Lu Zhou.

However, Lu Zhou was still the one that said the words.

Xiao Li's eyes lit up. He could sense a story from Wang Haifeng, and he immediately asked, "What do you think of Professor Lu?"

Wang Haifeng smiled and said, "He's talented in scientific research, but he doesn't look at the whole situation, so it is quite embarrassing."

Xiao Li asked, "Why do you say that?"

Professor Wang laughed and said, "Look at the Jinling Institute Computational Materials, hundreds of millions have been invested in that institute, but what results have they produced?"

Wang Haifeng wasn't afraid to speak his mind.

After all, everyone was aware of the limited application use of HCS-1…

Wang Haifeng successfully finessed the reporter, and he felt extremely satisfied.

He returned to his laboratory and sat on his chair.

Suddenly, his assistant walked into the laboratory holding a journal magazine.

"Professor, this is the new Science journal. You told me to give this to you, so I'll put it here."

"Yes, just put it here." Wang Haifeng noticed that his assistant looked weird, so he asked, "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing." The assistant smiled and placed the journal on the table before he walked away.

Wang Haifeng sensed something was wrong. He reached out and picked up the new Science journal.

He was about to flip the page, but his hands suddenly froze.

He stopped breathing as he was rooted there like a statue.

On the cover of the Science journal, there was a line of text regarding the "highlights" section.

This was Wang Haifeng's worst nightmare…

[HCS-2 Material: Terminator of the Shuttle Effect]

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Chapter 352: Times Magazine Interview

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

[HCS-2 Material: Terminator of the Shuttle Effect]

Theses that get highlighted were often the most outstanding research results in the journal issue.

As for Lu Zhou's thesis, not only was it selected to be on the cover of the journal, but the reviewer evaluation from Professor Bawendi was also in the scientific review section.

However, the evaluation was very short…

[Frankly, I didn't trust the data in the thesis until I did the experiment myself.]

This short evaluation caused someone to be ashamed after reading it…

Far away at Binghamton University.

The latest issue of the Science journal as well as an experiment report was on the table.

Professor Stanley sat in front of the desk.

He looked muddled and in disbelief.

Woods looked at the experiment report and sighed. "We lost."

Professor Stanley's lips moved as if he wanted to say something. However, he didn't speak.

He received the latest issue of the journal three days ago.

He couldn't believe that Lu Zhou could produce such a great research result in such a short amount of time.

Especially the data in the experiment, it was like the data was faked.

Like Professor Bawendi, he repeated the experiment.

The results were perfect enough to make him hopeless.

Although there were some fluctuations in the data due to the differences in chemicals and equipment used, the general outcome of the experiment was consistent with Lu Zhou's thesis data…

What was the premise of science?

Repeatability.

What made something industrially applicable?

Able to produce stable outputs.

There was no doubt that once the HCS-2 met these two requirements, the market would undoubtedly prefer the HCS-2 material.

Professor Stanley couldn't help but look bitter.

His experiments couldn't be repeated; this was his weakness.

Although he had been trying to remedy his results, the academic community and market were becoming impatient. Since the HCS-2 material came out, major energy companies had already begun to design lithium-sulfur batteries in accordance with the standards of the HCS-2 material.

It seemed that his attempts to remedy it were too late…

However, Professor Stanley still couldn't bear losing six months of his efforts.

He couldn't help but speak, "Give me half a year! I promise I can come up with a solution."

"There's no point, my dear Professor Stanley." Woods said, "Unless you can do better than him, what is the point? Also…"

Woods paused for a moment before continuing, "Also, HCS-3 or even HCS-4 might have come out by the time your research results are out."

Professor Stanley opened his mouth and couldn't speak.

Woods didn't say anything. He merely patted Stanley's shoulder and left.

The birth of the HCS-2 material caused an earthquake in the energy industry.

After the lithium dendrites problem was solved, the market went back to traditional lithium batteries, and these were seen in phones and laptops.

Many people were looking forward to what lithium-sulfur batteries could bring.

And now, this dream could become a reality.

Many OEM manufacturers that helped 3C electronics had completed the transformation of the production line and adjusted the production capacity of lithium-ion batteries into lithium batteries. They had to continue to design new capacity adjustment plans and start preparing to embrace the new era of lithium-sulfur batteries…

…

The most fortunate thing about Lu Zhou's thesis publication was that he didn't have to deal with patent licensing and pricing problems anymore. They were all handled by the management at Star Sky Technology.

Otherwise, Lu Zhou would have to deal with all kinds of patent inquire calls…

On a sunny morning, at Lake Carnegie near the Princeton campus, a small drone flew past the kayaking team.

The kayakers cheered and whistled as the small drone hovered around Lake Carnegie before it flew back to the park and landed on the grass.

There were several students sitting on the park bench, and all of them were looking at the computer screen.

"Oh, Jesus, what did we get?"

"Christine didn't wear a bra!"

"This is huge…"

"Oh, send me a copy of the photo."

Obviously, these guys were up to no good taking photos near Lake Carnegie.

Lu Zhou stood next to them, and he warned the group of boys.

"Jimmy, I promised to be your technical consultant to help you win the competition, I didn't promise to help you to infringe on other's privacy."

"Sorry, professor, I will delete the photo." The guy with a face full of freckles lowered his head and deleted all of the photos in front of Lu Zhou.

Although it would be cool to share the photos on social media, it wouldn't be fun for the victims in the photographs.

Jimmy was the group leader, so he had to be responsible for his friends.

Lu Zhou made sure the photos were deleted before he looked at his watch. He then said, "Flight time was 30 minutes, look at the remaining battery."

Jimmy placed his laptop aside and got up from the park bench.

"Okay, professor, I'll go right now."

Lu Zhou said, "Call me coach."

"Okay, coach!"

Jimmy stood up straight and was laughed at by his friends. He then walked over to the drone sitting on the grass.

It was already summer, so it wasn't just football competitions anymore, there were a variety of other interesting competitions.

For example, the drone design competition was one of them. This was a popular competition among American universities; it was just like the robot and artificial intelligence competitions.

Although the engineering department at Princeton was nothing special, these engineering students were still very capable. They made the drones themselves and purchased the materials online or from the professors' laboratories.

Lu Zhou was the consultant and also participated in the creation of this drone.

It was quite a coincidence that Lu Zhou became a consultant for these students.

These students originally went to Professor Chiric to ask about the battery of the drone and how to increase the battery performance. Professor Chiric immediately recommended Lu Zhou to them.

Fortunately, Lu Zhou had just finished his experiments and had a lot of samples left over. He used equipment from the Frick Chemistry Laboratory and helped the boys to replace the positive electrode material in the battery.

Although this kind of DIY process couldn't match industry standards, it was considered high tech among college students.

It more than doubled the battery performance of the drone.

This project was very interesting; it was like a new world was opened to Lu Zhou when he saw his research result flying in the sky.

Compared to football and rugby, Lu Zhou felt like this kind of intellectual hobby was more suitable for him.

Then, because Lu Zhou was very interested in technical problems, he gained a lot of inspiration from talking with the students. Therefore, he accepted their invitation and became their club consultant.

Because of this, he gained another title: Chief Consultant of the Princeton University Drone Club.

Of course, even though he was a consultant, he didn't actually have to do much work. The students knew that he was busy and didn't bother him much.

At most, Lu Zhou would spend a few hours on the weekends to discuss some technical problems with them and watch them fly the drone.

While Lu Zhou was watching the students flying the drone, a woman with blonde hair and dressed in business attire walked to the park.

She had an assistant and photographer following her. Obviously, she was not from the university.

Lu Zhou noticed this woman walking toward him, and he asked, "Who are you?"

The lady smiled and handed him her business card.

"Hello, Professor Lu, I am a reporter from the Times Magazine, are you free right now?"

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Chapter 353: Science Is Endless

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Founded in 1923, Times Magazine was one of the most influential media outlets in the world.

Times wrote reports on many different industries and fields. However, they weren't for industry experts to read. Rather, they were for normal people who wanted to understand the world through the window of Times.

Lu Zhou took the business card from this lady and turned the card over.

Under the iconic logo "Times" was a name: Julia Drake.

Lu Zhou thought for a moment before he said, "I don't have a lot of time."

Julia smiled and said, "Don't worry, this won't take long."

The interview quickly began.

Julia turned on the recorder and asked the first question.

"Most people know you from the Goldbach's conjecture and Crafoord Prize, and they think of you as a mathematician. Can I ask what made you interested in the chemistry industry?"

The first question was very interesting. Lu Zhou thought about it seriously for a moment before he came up with an answer.

"The public likes to label a person based on their limited knowledge. In fact, this labeling is often biased and one-sided. The more cutting-edge the research is, the more difficult it is to classify a problem.

"For example, my research on modified PDMS film was undoubtedly a materials science problem, but it was also an organic chemistry problem. It involved the analysis of the physical and chemical properties of the material, so it was also related to condensed matter physics. Personally, I used a computational model myself, so it could also be classified as a mathematics problem."

Julia asked, "Why battery then?"

Lu Zhou smiled and said, "Probably because my phone is often out of battery at important times, so I want the battery to last longer?"

Julia was unsatisfied at this answer.

She asked, "Is this the real reason?"

Lu Zhou said, "If I have to give a reason, this is the only one I can think of. In fact, most of my colleagues at the Institute of Advanced Study are engaging in research work with no specific motivation behind the research. Just like me, they are just curious and interested."

Julia's eyes lit up as she asked, "So, do you think interest is the best supervisor?"

Lu Zhou nodded and said, "You could say that."

Julia looked at her notes and asked, "The next question might be a bit offensive, but do you want to talk about personal assets?"

Lu Zhou said, "It depends on the question. I hope it doesn't involve me talking about any specific numbers…"

He wasn't sure how much money Star Sky Technology had made for him.

After all, the string of numbers in his bank account was only a tool to help him achieve his purpose, not the purpose itself. Unless the research required a lot of investment, Lu Zhou wouldn't pay attention to the finances.

Julia smiled and said, "No worries, I won't ask about that."

She continued to speak, "Star Sky Technology has made hundreds of millions off your modified PDMS patent. Lithium-sulfur batteries could also be hugely profitable for you.

"There is no doubt that you are living a life that all researchers are envious of. You can research any topic you wish without constraints. Most people describe your career as successful, but what do you think of your career?"

This question wasn't easy to answer, and Lu Zhou had to think for a long time.

After a while, he finally answered.

"I enjoy the fun that science brings me more than the money. As for the numbers in the bank account… They are useful of course. As per what you said, I can research anything I want without having to think of the economic, culture, and politics."

"As for the success," Lu Zhou smiled and said, "I think science is endless. But I don't think I deserve this evaluation."

The interview took about 20 minutes. Julia asked him other questions about life, research, and working as a professor. Lu Zhou responded selectively.

At the end of the interview, Julia asked one last question, "Can I ask about your future plans?"

"Future…" Lu Zhou looked up and thought for a bit before he said, "Maybe physics."

Julia asked, "Physics?"

"That's right," Lu Zhou said with a nod. He then continued, "Theoretical physics has always been an area of interest for me. I think this field is closely related to mathematics. In fact, I have done quite a lot of research in this area, and most importantly, there is still a physics problem that troubles me."

It was about the 750 GeV signal.

Although the mainstream opinion was that this was just a coincidence, Lu Zhou believed that mathematics wouldn't lie.

There was an amazing secret behind the signal.

Julia smiled and said, "This is a bold decision. I wish you success. Also, there is one more favor I have to ask."

Lu Zhou said, "What?"

"If you don't mind, I want to take a photo of you for the next cover of Times Magazine. But not here. Do you have time tomorrow?"

Oh, this is what you want?

Easy.

Lu Zhou smiled and nodded.

"Sure."

Lu Zhou had always been confident about his looks.

He agreed to a time and place for the photoshoot before Julia left with her assistant and photographer.

As per what she said, this interview didn't take long.

The club members saw that the interviewer had left, and they came over.

Jimmy was the first to speak and this freckled boy asked, "Coach… who were those people?"

Lu Zhou said, "Reporters."

A Mexican guy asked, "Are you going on the news?"

"I guess." Lu Zhou looked at the club members who were worshiping him and said, "Work hard, if you win the championship, I'm sure a lot of people will want to interview you."

The Mexican dude asked, "Can I ask which TV station those reporters were from?"

"Not a TV station…" Lu Zhou said. In fact, he was also surprised why there was a photographer.

Was it for capturing photos?

The crowd quieted down after hearing it wasn't a TV station.

They lost their interest.

It turned out that Lu Zhou wasn't going on TV.

Lu Zhou added another sentence.

"It's just Times Magazine."

Everyone: "…"

People were speechless at how nonchalantly Lu Zhou spoke.

Finally, Jimmy was the one to speak first.

The kid quietly whispered, "… Times Magazine would never interview a drone competition winner."

Everyone in the Princeton Drone Club agreed.

Their consultant was great; the only downside was that Lu Zhou humble bragged too much.

They were muddled.

Lu Zhou smiled and didn't reply to Jimmy. Instead, he clapped his hands and changed the topic.

"Stop wasting time, hurry up and train. This is probably my last session with you guys before the competition."

Jimmy asked, "Coach, are you busy next week?"

Lu Zhou nodded.

"I will go to Germany for a while next week. It might take a week or two, or it might take a month. If you need to use the equipment in the laboratory, you can ask Connie."

Lu Zhou patted the young man on the shoulder as he said, "I hope that the next time I come back, I will be standing among winners."

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Two weeks after the interview, Times Magazine published its weekly international issue.

The person interviewed in this issue was quite special.

This person wasn't a politician, a movie star, or a CEO.

He was a scholar.

The public definitely didn't pay attention to academia figures. Interviews about science or scholars were often labeled with boring titles.

However, surprisingly, after Julia Drake's interview came out, the article attracted widespread attention.

Lu Zhou was about to go on a flight from New York to Berlin. He had been busy working on the report and almost forgot about his interview.

He then suddenly saw the magazine at the airport while waiting for the plane to depart.

Although he didn't really care about the public's opinion on him, he was still curious about what the world-class magazine said.

Lu Zhou flipped through the pages and read the text.

[… Three years ago, he didn't have any research results, nor did he have a single medal, nor were there people visiting the Jin Ling University library like a shrine, sitting in his old seat while hoping to gain inspiration.

[But three years later, not only did he have all of this, but he also used mathematics to create a different world for everyone.

[When he stood on the stage of the Stockholm Concert Hall and received the Crafoord Prize, not only did he receive recognition from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences but also from the entire world. The Goldbach's conjecture was finally solved.

[Today, his new achievements in the field of lithium-sulfur batteries have changed the energy industry. Any consumer that uses electronic devices is directly affected by his research.

[Very few scholars are able to achieve this much at such a young age, and even fewer are able to avoid the obsession with money and fame while maintaining their excellence in climbing the mountain of science.

[After all, going into unknown territory required more than just courage.

[Recently, he was invited by the Max Planck Institute to travel to Europe to attend a conference. He will present his latest research findings to the academic community on the theoretical model of the electrochemical interface structure.

[As he promised, he would redefine science with mathematics. He will attempt to fulfill his original promise.

[He isn't just a person but a symbol.

[The symbol of the new generation of scholars.

[This new generation of scholars will shape our future.

[Times Magazine 21/8/2018.

-Julia Drake]

Lu Zhou looked at the international issue of Times Magazine in his hand and smirked.

Times didn't evaluate every interviewee positively, and they often published satirical and criticizing content. However, there was no doubt that this article about him was positive.

And obviously, Lu Zhou was most satisfied at the photo of himself on the cover.

The series of spell-like formulas and letters on the blackboard, and the books and documents that piled up at the corner of the table; they all portrayed his identity as a mathematician. He wasn't portrayed as a nerd at all.

He was wearing his favorite plaid T-shirt, and he looked like an ordinary college student instead of a professor.

He was holding a piece of chalk in his right hand and "Little Guy" from the Princeton Drone Club on his left arm.

Yes, the name of the four-rotor drone was "Little Guy".

Perhaps the Times Magazine wanted to use the four rotors to symbolize his never-ending thinking process.

Of course, Lu Zhou felt like all of this could be symbolized into one word.

Anyone that looked at this photo would know the word.

Handsome.

…

After a few hours of flying, a bright silver airplane landed at the Tegal Airport in Berlin.

Soon after Lu Zhou got off the plane, he received a warm welcome.

He saw a gray-haired old man extending his right hand and walking toward him with a smile.

"Hello, Mr. Lu Zhou, welcome to Berlin."

Lu Zhou let go of his suitcase and shook hands with the old man.

"Hello!"

Even though Lu Zhou didn't speak German, they could still communicate in English.

After some small talk, the old man introduced Lu Zhou to several scholars standing behind him.

"Please allow me to introduce myself, I am the president of the Max Planck Institute, Martin Stratmann." Stratmann then looked at the person next to him and said, "This is Professor Klaus von Klitzing…"

Although this was their first time meeting, Lu Zhou knew who Stratmann was.

He served as the president of the Max Planck Institute and the director of the famous Max Planck Institute of Steel Research; he was an expert in surface chemistry.

The Kelvin scanning probe he invented was widely used to study the hidden secrets in corrosion science such as revealing the stability mechanism of the metal-polymer interface.

Lu Zhou had read his thesis when he was studying computational materials science in the library.

As for Professor Klitzing, he had countless achievements. Whether it was in theoretical physics or condensed matter physics, his name was everywhere.

His most famous research result was the quantum Hall effect which won him the 1985 Nobel Prize.

In addition to Klitzing, the director of the Max Planck Institute for Physical Chemistry and Professor Faltings were also there.

Faltings hadn't changed since Lu Zhou met him last year. The old German man still had a temper.

"Hello."

"Hello."

"We meet again."

"… Yeah, we do."

Lu Zhou thought that Faltings would be more welcoming to him since they had met before.

Since the old man came all the way to pick up him, this had to be Falting's unique way of expressing recognition.

After all, there weren't many people that were worthy of Falting's recognition.

The old man respected less than a handful of mathematicians in the world.

Lu Zhou thought that his theory was quite reasonable.

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Chapter 355: Max Planck Institute

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

The greeting ceremony at the airport wasn't spectacular. There were no welcoming staff and no crowd. Apart from three directors and one president, there were only two research assistants that also came along.

According to Mr. Faltings, these two were doctoral holders of the Max Planck Institute. They were here were because they had worshiped Lu Zhou for a long time.

Although there wasn't a crowd, there were two Nobel Prize and one Fields Medal winners here, so the pick-up was quite meaningful.

However, as a scholar, Lu Zhou didn't care about this kind of stuff.

When he went to Stockholm to receive the award, he took the subway after landing and went sightseeing by himself.

This time, Lu Zhou planned to take a taxi to the hotel. He even mapped out the travel route.

However, it seemed that he had overprepared…

"You're an absolute genius, how did you come up with the formulas?" Professor Ertl said while sitting in the special Max Planck Institute car.

Lu Zhou said in a joking tone, "You might not believe it, but the Schrodinger equation gave me a lot of inspiration."

Klitzing smiled and said, "This isn't unbelievable. HF methods and molecular dynamics simulations have a lot to do with quantum mechanics."

Professor Ertl continued to ask, "I've read your thesis. Although I don't understand some of the theories, I still have doubts about the parts I do understand. How do you accurately simplify the solution of the multi-body ground state to the ground state density? What is the difference between the theory and the first principle calculation method if it is passed through the Schrodinger equation?"

The first principle calculation method was the core method of modern computational chemistry, and the source of the theory was the Schrodinger equation in quantum mechanics. This kind of calculation method had some issues.

First of all, the number of variables reached 3N (N being the number of total particles), and this astronomical number resulted in controversy.

It wasn't just because the number of variables was so large. In order to make the theory more "presentable", the empirical parameters were also horrendous.

"Yes, but not entirely," Lu Zhou replied. He then smiled and said, "I introduced the concept of partial functional density theory in the ground state density distribution problem. For example, taking the radius of the designated core atom as RA, the chopping function outside the truncation radius is the same as the real valence electron wave function ψv, thus obtaining…"

"Let's talk about the specifics in a week," Stratmann said as he was already confused. He looked at Lu Zhou and asked, "What do you plan to do this week?"

Lu Zhou didn't have access to a blackboard, so it was difficult to explain in detail.

Lu Zhou thought for a moment before saying, "Before the report, I want to become familiar with the environment around here. Is there any interesting places that you would recommend?"

Professor Klitzing was suddenly interested, and he said, "Places? There isn't a more interesting place than the laboratories at the Max Plank Institute, do you want me to take you there?"

Lu Zhou immediately replied, "Please do."

Compared to the landmarks of the Brandenburg Gate and the Houses of Parliament, Lu Zhou was still more interested in laboratories. In particular, the laboratories of the Max Planck Institute were famous in the condensed matter physics field.

Plus Lu Zhou had a Nobel Prize winner as his tour guide.

After a half an hour drive, they arrived at their destination.

Lu Zhou took out his suitcase from the trunk in front of the Pegnitz Hotel.

He was about to bid farewell to the scholars when he suddenly remembered something.

"Oh yeah, I have always wanted to ask something."

Professor Klitzing said, "Go ahead."

Lu Zhou smiled and said, "This question might be a bit boring. Just out of curiosity, why was my invitation letter from the condensed matter physics institute instead of the chemistry institute?"

Lu Zhou would understand if it came from the mathematics institute but from the condensed matter physics institute… Although it wasn't completely unrelated to his research, he was still confused.

Suddenly, there was an awkward tension in the air.

Especially Professor Ertl and Professor Faltings.

Lu Zhou suddenly realized that he shouldn't have asked this question.

Professor Klitzing looked somewhat proud as he cleared his throat and speak, "Good question…"

However, Faltings interrupted him.

"This is a boring question." Faltings looked like he didn't care when he said, "Also, next time I'll play Blackjack instead of flipping a coin."

Lu Zhou: "…"

Lu Zhou kind of knew what was going on…

…

The predecessor of the Max Planck Institute was the Royal Society of Williams which was founded in 1911. Emperor Williams II believed that interest in science and technology could enhance the country's strength, so he established the society in his own name.The royal family funded the research to strengthen Germany's scientific research community.

This decision was undoubtedly wise. Due to the support from the state, a large number of outstanding scholars and scientific research projects were created. Within 30 years, German technology was the best in the world.

After World War II, although the Royal Society of Williams was disbanded, it was retained due to support from the United Kingdom Max Planck Institute.

The impact of this historical heritage could be seen today.

Although the academic community had been leaning toward America ever since the Cold War, the Max Planck Institute had always been the world-leading institute on condensed matter physics.

From this aspect, the Germans were undoubtedly more fortunate than the French who had lost their status as the world's mathematical center.

Lu Zhou spent a day resting in his hotel room. On the second day, he went to one of the Max Planck Institute laboratories.

Strictly speaking, the laboratory was also a legacy of the Royal Society of Williams, but it was unrecognizable after the modern renovations.

"… The laboratories of the Max Planck Institute are located in various cities in Germany. This is only one of them, but it is the largest. Many chemistry and physics projects are done here."

Lu Zhou said, "So the research projects here are determined by the research institute?"

Professor Klitzing said, "Not exactly. Strictly speaking, most of the projects here are done by research groups. There is a big difference between the research groups. We use a different research method compared to American research institutes."

Professor Klitzing walked along the tree-lined path leading to the condensed matter physics laboratory while talking to Lu Zhou about the internal organization structure of the Max Planck Institute.

They walked past a round-shaped building when Lu Zhou asked, "What is that?"

Professor Klitzing smiled and said, "That is the Institute of Plasma Physics, I bet you can't guess what's inside."

"Is it a collider?" Lu Zhou joked.

"Haha, nope. It's more fictional than a collider," Professor Klitzing joked. He then said, "You might have heard of it before, controllable nuclear fusion is an interesting topic."

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