Popular Stocks for the Calculator Girl
Shen Qi walked to the information board at the entrance of the Mathematics Department building and stopped.
Some important information was posted on the signboard.
"Professor Cheng Qigang of our college, in collaboration with the School of Computer Science, successfully completed the 863 Project and was selected for the 'Outstanding Youth' list."
"Dr. Nian Ruiming from our institute published a paper in Ann-Math, making a groundbreaking research advancement in the field of Group Theory."
"Our Honorary Doctor Peter-Lax will give a lecture on November 3rd, covering topics such as Functional Analysis and Fluid Mechanics, applications of Partial Differential Equations, and Numerical Analysis and computation."
"Our Visiting Professor, Mr. P. Griffith, will be teaching a course on 'Algebraic Curves' from November to December."
"Amazing people, they're all amazing people." Shen Qi stood in front of the bulletin board for a long time, reading each notice one by one.
"Is it awesome?" A man's voice suddenly came from behind.
"Of course." Shen Qi turned around and looked at him, quite surprised. "Editor-in-Chief Nian."
Nian Ruiming laughed and said, "I've been laid off and am currently handing over my responsibilities. I will soon be stepping down as editor-in-chief of the <Mathematical Herald>."
"This... that can't be!" Shen Qi was puzzled. Editor-in-Chief Nian published a JAMS paper at the beginning of this year and an Ann-Math paper at the end of the year. He published two papers in the Top Four Journals within a year. Why would such a talented person be laid off? Moreover, Editor-in-Chief Nian is very young, only in his early forties, in the prime of his life.
"My new position will still be in the School of Mathematical Sciences, mainly involving project work and team leadership," Nian Ruiming said.
"So Teacher Nian got promoted! I knew it!" Shen Qi's doubts were resolved.
"I've been transferred to a new position and I'm building a new team. Are you interested in joining, Shen Qi?" Nian Ruiming asked.
"I'm currently working on a project with Professor Sun."
"My team will welcome you after Lao Sun's project is completed." Nian Ruiming was eager to find talent; he was about to leave the editorial department of <Mathematical Herald> and truly had no capable subordinates.
This... this is asking me to betray Lao Sun? In this world, loyalty is the most important thing. Shen Qi said, "Teacher Nian, I'm just a sophomore, I'm afraid I'm not capable enough."
"I like sophomores the most, and Shen Qi, you're not an ordinary sophomore. The School of Mathematics has paid nearly 100,000 yuan in publication fees for you in just one year. A sophomore like you has never appeared in the history of the School of Mathematics." Nian Ruiming expressed his appreciation for Shen Qi.
Shen Qi has previously published several papers in core journals and SCI paper, and the journals charge publication fees for those papers.
The publication fees for core journals are not cheap, averaging 20,000 yuan.
The School of Mathematical Sciences paid the nearly 100,000 yuan publication fee for Shen Qi.
In actual research projects, the main force of a research team is doctoral students, but there are also outstanding graduate students who can take on important responsibilities.
Undergraduates are almost never seen on teams working on major projects; Shen Qi and Ou Ye are exceptions.
Shen and Ou had already made a name for themselves within the School of Mathematics. They frequented the SOS Project Office every day and hung out in the same mathematics building. Nian Ruiming had long since figured out their situation.
Nian Ruiming prefers to mentor undergraduate students, as they are highly malleable, while graduate and doctoral students are generally already set in their ways.
Especially rare are atypical undergraduates like Shen Qi, who possess graduate-level skills.
"If Ou Ye is willing, you two can join my team together." Nian Ruiming extended an olive branch again, intending to acquire Shen and Ou Ye as a package deal. "I'll put in a good word with Lao Sun."
Wow, Ou Ye has become a hot stock too?
Shen Qi remained noncommittal. "After Professor Sun's project is completed, and before I've even reported to Princeton, Ou Ye and I will consider Professor Nian's suggestion."
"If you can't go to Princeton, then come with me for a combined Master's and PhD program." Nian Ruiming was quite direct, adding afterward, "I graduated with my PhD from Princeton and worked at New York University for two years."
Nian Ruiming pointed to Peter-Lax's picture on the notice board. "Back then, Mr. Lax was teaching at New York University, and I was his assistant."
In terms of personal academic experience, Nian Ruiming is more accomplished and younger than Sun Erxiong. He is a key academic leader being cultivated by the School of Mathematical Sciences at Yenching Big Mathematics Department.
"Shen Qi, think it over." Nian Ruiming left without saying anything more.
Reaching the main entrance, Nian Ruiming turned back and said, "You could attend Mr. Lax's lecture, if your English listening comprehension is good enough. His accent is quite strong."
Shen Qi took out his phone and photographed all the information on the signboard.
"Hey, Shen Qi." At this moment, another middle-aged man passing by greeted Shen Qi as he entered the mathematics building from outside.
"Hey, Professor Cheng." Shen Qi recognized Professor Cheng Qigang; he knew all the professors with some reputation in this building.
"You and Ou Ye have a good relationship, don't you?" Professor Cheng asked.
"It's alright," Shen Qi said.
Professor Cheng: "I'm mainly responsible for research in computational mathematics. Could you ask Ou Ye if she'd be interested in pursuing a master's degree with me?"
"Why don't you go ask her yourself?" Shen Qi pointed to the SOS Project Office.
"I asked her, and she doesn't seem to be very good at communicating with people." Professor Cheng shook his head helplessly, then smiled and said, "Besides, Ou Ye said she'll go wherever you go. So, the key is you, Shen Qi."
Ou Ye has become a hot stock; her nickname "Calculation Ji" has spread throughout the math building.
This is all thanks to Sun Erxiong, Sun Dazui. Old Sun always brags to everyone he meets that his two undergraduate students are incredibly talented. One is both specialized and broad in knowledge, and the other is extremely gifted in mathematical calculations.
Undergraduates are leading key projects, and the results are almost here. You've never seen undergraduates like this before, have you? I, Lao Sun, have two of them, a perfect pair.
He boasted too much, and young academic leaders such as Nian Ruiming and Cheng Qigang came to poach his talents.
Nian Ruiming received the title of "Outstanding Young Scholar" a few years ago when he was not yet forty years old.
Cheng Qigang was recently selected for the "Outstanding Young Scholar" list, and he is exactly forty years old this year.
Although the title of "Outstanding Youth" includes the word "youth," researchers who receive this title are often not young. It is almost impossible to find anyone under the age of 35, and the average age is around 40.
According to social age classifications, residents who have reached the age of 28 automatically withdraw from the Communist Youth League, officially bidding farewell to their youth.
People aged 30-40 are considered middle-aged and young adults, while those over 40 can be referred to as "uncles" and "aunties".
Of course, this only applies to the field of scientific research; researchers in their thirties and forties are considered relatively young.
Professor Cheng Qigang specializes in computational mathematics. The 863 Project he worked on in collaboration with the School of Computer Science of Yenching University is related to intelligent Computer Science systems.
Professor Cheng, equally eager to recruit talent, hopes that "Calculation Ji" will join his team.
However, "Calculation Ji" was wholeheartedly following Shen Qi, and she couldn't operate by buying this stock alone; she had to buy it together with Shen Qi.
"Well, Professor Cheng, I'll talk to Ou Ye about it later," Shen Qi said. He personally felt that Professor Cheng's specialized computing team was a good fit for Ou Ye's academic style.
After saying goodbye to Professor Cheng, Shen Qi strolled around the Yenching University campus and met a foreign student. He chatted with the student in English.
Shen Qi, who is about to take the TOEFL and GRE exams, needs to practice his English listening and speaking skills to get a feel for the test.
The GRE is equivalent to the graduate school entrance exam in the United States, and it was originally jointly administered by four top American universities: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Columbia.
Compared to the non-constant equilibrium solutions of the bipolar non-isentropic Euler - Poisson Equation, the math section of the GRE was too easy for Shen Qi, and the verbal and writing sections were also not difficult.
In essence, the GRE is a written exam, but it's computer-based, meaning you take the test on a computer. There are no listening or speaking sections.
On the contrary, Shen Qi was afraid of failing the TOEFL listening and speaking sections.
The new TOEFL consists of four sections: Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. Three of these sections require test takers to have strong listening skills.
Shen Qi practiced his listening and speaking skills by chatting with foreigners, talking about all sorts of things.
Attending English lectures is also a good way to practice, especially math lectures, killing two birds with one stone.