Papers

When the American Physical Society (APS) was mentioned, the graduate students present immediately snapped awake. It was the world's second-largest physics organization, second only to the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). However, CERN primarily studied Particle Physics and was a multinational collaborative laboratory, while APS focused on physics scholarship, making it a holy land for physicists worldwide.

"Really?" the crew-cut male master's student asked somewhat awkwardly.

He might not have published many papers, but that did not mean he was unaware of P.R.B.'s standing in the field.

At least in condensed matter physics, anyone who could publish in P.R.B. had secured a place in the industry. With a P.R.B. paper in hand, they could easily land an Associate Professor position at some ordinary second-tier university. It carried far more weight than a master's degree. Many universities only required doctoral dissertations to include one SCI journal publication, and some merely required a paper in a major domestic journal.

Tao Xun had witnessed Du Ke's paper publication from start to finish. Hearing the crew-cut male master's student's doubts, he immediately bristled. "How could it be fake? I translated Little Du's paper into English for him, and Dean Chen Yang and I helped revise the wording. If that still couldn't pass P.R.B., then nobody could publish in P.R.B. Go back and take a good look at the latest issue of the Journal of Chemical Physics. Little Du published three papers in one go!"

Just then, Du Ke's phone chimed. A new email had arrived.

Tao Xun was about to return the phone to Du Ke when he caught sight of the sender. It was still from Physical Review B, so he opened it directly. Given his current relationship with Du Ke, there was no need to stand on ceremony. "P.R.B. sent another email. I'll take a look for you. Hmm, this is... an invitation to submit? Little Du, impressive! P.R.B. clearly thinks highly of your paper. They're inviting you to submit already!"

"An invitation to submit?" Du Ke did not understand. He still had not really figured out the rules and conventions of academia.

But the master's students present changed expressions again. The cute, round-faced female master's student immediately exclaimed, "Old Tao, is it a targeted invitation? That's incredible! A targeted invitation from Physical Review B! This is an overseas core SCI journal. Du Ke, are you really that amazing? No wonder you were recommended for graduate school at Xiake University. You really are a top student."

The cute, round-faced female master's student's eyes practically sparkled as she looked at Du Ke. A young, handsome, talented man like him—she was totally smitten.

That made the crew-cut male master's student very uncomfortable, but he had no idea how to refute it. He could only mutter quietly, "It's just an invitation to submit. Don't lots of SCI journals invite submissions once you've published with them?"

But he was sitting right beside Tao Xun, so Du Ke did not even need to explain. Tao Xun rebuked him, "What do you know? This is P.R.B., understand? Do you think it's some trash journal scamming people for manuscripts? Their editorial board can barely keep up with peer review, and they reject so many papers every year! Would the editorial board invite Little Du to submit if his paper lacked quality? When they solicit papers, they solicit them from leading experts in the field!"

Tao Xun fiercely shot down the crew-cut male master's student. After all, Tao Xun's name was listed as the second author of that review paper.

Then he turned to the cute, round-faced female master's student and the others with a smile. "Little Du is a graduate student I personally recruited. After graduating under me, he'll still have to go study for his doctorate under Dean Chen. I've supervised two cohorts of graduate students already. Counting Du Ke's cohort, that makes three. You may all be heading into the workforce soon, but Little Du is absolutely a research talent. Get to know each other better and help one another in the future."

"Junior Du, come on. Your senior sister will toast you," one female master's student said with a smile, using a drink in place of wine.

That immediately put him one rank below her. Du Ke was actually rather impatient with this sort of seniority-based hierarchy, but society was like that, and he did not want to seem too aloof. He raised his glass. "A toast to you, Senior Sister."

After making the rounds at this table, Tao Xun pulled him over to the main table. "Come, come, let me introduce everyone. This is Du Ke, the graduate student I've got lined up for the second half of the year. He's a top student. He just published a paper in P.R.B., and they've already invited him to submit another. His next paper will probably be in P.R.B. too. Once he gets to Xiake University, please take good care of him." Everyone at this table was Tao Xun's colleague.

"Oh my, he can publish in P.R.B.? That's impressive. Tao Xun, you found a treasure."

"Not bad, not bad."

"Du Ke, right? Quite a handsome young man."

Everyone present was a professor, Associate Professor, or at worst a lecturer. P.R.B. did not shock them quite as much, but praise cost nothing, and they still enthusiastically complimented him. For a master's student to publish in a core SCI journal, he deserved that much praise.

Li Yun's birthday banquet ended, and Tao Xun was already drunk. Du Ke was doing all right, but the atmosphere at the master's students' table had not been as cheerful as expected. The crew-cut male master's student refused to accept Du Ke, so after a round of drinking, they had basically all gone their separate ways.

Du Ke had also spent more time chatting with the three female master's students.

After leaving the banquet, he suddenly realized that aside from the prettiest cute, round-faced female master's student, Li Juan, he could not remember the names of any of the other master's students. "Sigh, I've got the same problem as Brother Dong—face blindness... Brother Dong can't tell that his wife is pretty, while I don't recognize anyone ugly."

He had just found a designated driver when Li Yun came out supporting Tao Xun. Even drunk, Tao Xun did not forget to remind him, "Little Du, write your next paper properly. Dean Chen and I will help you revise it again, and get it published in P.R.B. too. Later... later, try to publish one in P.R.L. Once you finish your doctorate, if you stay at Xiake University, you'll start out as at least an Associate Professor. Your conditions are better than mine... I... I just didn't publish enough papers. Even now, I still can't get promoted to pro... professor!"

Li Yun pulled him along and advised, "All right, Little Du, you should head back first. Old Tao is like this. Once he drinks, he nags nonstop, more than an old woman complaining."

"Sister-in-law, is Old Tao all right? Should I call a designated driver?"

"No need. I didn't drink. I'll drive."

"Okay."

When Du Ke returned to the villa, his phone rang again. He saw that Dean Chen Yang was calling. The moment he answered, Dean Chen Yang asked, "Little Du, your paper got accepted? P.R.B. even invited you to submit another?"

"Dean Chen, how did you know?"

"Tao Xun called me."

"Oh, that's right. I only received the email during lunch. I hadn't had time to tell anyone yet."

"You've done very well. It seems your electron flow theory has gained attention from peers both at home and abroad. Do you have any ideas for your next paper?"

"Mm, it's almost finished, I suppose."

"What?" Chen Yang said in surprise over the phone. "Finished? No way, Little Du. You're saying your next paper is already finished? How is that possible? I was planning to help you contact a laboratory so you could carry out research steadily and strive to move electron flow theory from an idea to practical application. How is it already finished? Right, what is the paper mainly about?"

Physics was not mathematics, where one could casually write and calculate a little and produce major news. Many physics experiments required enormous funding. Otherwise, academia would not have debated so fiercely whether to build the Circular Electron Positron Collider (CEPC). Even physics giant Yang Zhenning opposed it, yet the country ultimately decided to construct the CEPC, precisely because it understood that without spending huge sums, scientific research results would not emerge.

Therefore, after learning that Du Ke's paper had been accepted, Chen Yang gave it considerable thought and decided to support Du Ke's experiments, striving to produce more results with electron flow theory.

Yet before he could even help contact a laboratory, Du Ke had said that his fifth paper was already finished. Chen Yang could not help feeling dazed—it felt as though writing papers came as naturally as drinking water. How long had it been? Four SCI papers had already come out, and the fifth was about to follow.