Loss in One Place, Gain in Another
The awards ceremony begins.
The first award presented was the "New Horizons Award for Basic Physics," which follows the same rules as the "New Horizons Award for Mathematics."
Three "New Horizons Award for Basic Physics will be presented to young physicists, with each award containing $100,000.
The award presenter was Apple's vice president, who announced the winners of the three "New Horizons Award for Basic Physics" and the reasons for their awards:
"The first recipient of the ' New Horizons Award for Basic Physics is Julian Dodge of Princeton University, in recognition of his contributions to the field of superfluids and superconductors!"
The second group of recipients of the "New Horizons Award for Basic Physics" is Ben Hill of Caltech and Hugo Rodriguez of Stanford University, in recognition of their groundbreaking progress in the field of local magnetic moments!
The third group of recipients of the "New Horizons Award for Basic Physics" is Jürgen Auger of the University of Freiburg and Garland Speer of the Swiss Federal Institute for Science in Bell, in recognition of their outstanding research achievements in the field of chaos in quantum systems!
The audience erupted in applause as the three groups of winners went on stage to receive their awards. They were all very young, the youngest being 28 years old and the oldest only 36.
The Princeton laureate on the East Coast of the United States will receive $100,000, while the Caltech and Stanford University laureates on the West Coast will share $100,000. The two laureates from Europe will also share $100,000.
The sponsors of the Breakthrough Prize and the New Horizons Prize are all well-known billionaires. Their companies mainly fall into several categories: e-commerce, social networking, software development, cutting-edge technology research and development, platform construction and operation, and venture capital.
The wealthy may not understand life sciences, physics, and mathematics, but the review experts hired by their organizing committee are all authorities in the academic field.
The three groups of winners were selected by physics experts based on their research achievements in areas such as superfluids and superconductors, localized magnetic moments, and chaotic phenomena in quantum systems.
These research areas all belong to one category: Condensed Matter Physics.
In today's Physics Community, whoever masters Condensed Matter Physics reigns supreme.
"To produce research results in Condensed Matter Physics, you have to spend a lot of money." Through this conference, Shen Qi learned about many of the latest trends in academia, not only in mathematics, but also in physics and life sciences.
$100,000 isn't even enough to operate a single experimental machine for cutting-edge physics research.
Even bigwigs at companies like Google and Apple don't dare to show off in front of top scientists; flaunting luxury cars, mansions, yachts, and supermodels is outdated.
If the funds physicists use for their experiments were used to buy Google shares, physicists would immediately become Google's largest shareholders.
Princeton alone spends over $1 billion annually on the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL).
Technology companies have great respect for scientists because they have their own laboratories and conduct research and development. They know that the world's most extravagant spenders often come from top-tier laboratories.
If we're talking about the most carbon-efficient and environmentally friendly subject, it has to be mathematics.
Mathematics is low-carbon and environmentally friendly; it doesn't cost much money, yet it holds a very high status.
It is precisely because mathematicians provide the fundamental theoretical support that physicists have reason to spend exorbitant amounts of money to verify theories and develop applications.
Next, the Google Vice President will take the stage to present the awards, including the first two "New Horizons Award for Mathematics.
"The first recipient of the 'New Horizons Award for Mathematics' is Mary Vijasovska from the Swiss Federal Institute in Lausanne, in recognition of her remarkable achievements in Riemannian Geometry and Combinatorics!"
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (SFT) is a powerful yet low-profile research institution. Galin Bell, who recently won the New Horizons Award for Basic Physics, comes from the Zurich branch of the SFT.
The first group of "New Horizons Award for Mathematics" was awarded to a beautiful mathematician, Vija Sovska, who is from Ukraine and works at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne.
"A blonde beauty from Eastern Europe, with both looks and talent, truly deserving of the title." Shen Qi applauded in congratulations, acknowledging Vija Sovska's contributions to Riemannian Geometry, Combinatorics.
Surprisingly, the second "New Horizons Award for Mathematics" was also awarded to a female mathematician.
"The second recipient of the ' New Horizons Award for Mathematics is Sophia Morrel from the École Normale Supérieure, in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the field of Algebraic Geometry!"
A dark-haired white woman went on stage to accept the award. Sofia Morel is French and a student of a student of Grothendieck, the founder of the Paris school.
Grothendieck is a godfather figure in the field of Algebraic Geometry. Sofia Morrel was a student of Grothendieck, and she specializes in Algebraic Geometry, which is currently one of the most popular areas in Mathematics Community.
"Women hold up half the sky!" Shen Qi clapped and congratulated her, acknowledging Sophia Morrel's research achievements in Algebraic Geometry.
Globally, an increasing number of young women are studying mathematics, enjoying mathematics, choosing mathematics as a lifelong career, and achieving excellent results; this is an inevitable trend.
Women hold up half the sky. The first two of the three "New Horizons Award for Mathematics" were awarded to two beautiful and intelligent European women, one with blonde hair in a bun and the other with naturally curly brown hair, each with her own unique charm.
Shen Qi straightened his bow tie, preparing to go on stage. He believed that the last group, the "New Horizons Award for Mathematics," was reserved for him.
The presenter for the third group of "New Horizons Award for Mathematics" was the CEO of Netbridge Ventures. He announced, "The winners of the third and final group of 'New Horizons Award for Mathematics' are..." He then drew out his words, keeping everyone in suspense.
Shen Qi smiled, buttoned up his suit jacket, and was ready to accept the award with dignity.
"He is... James Maynard from Oxford University! Congratulations, Professor Maynard, for your significant contributions to number theory. Please come up to the Maynard to accept the award!"
"This..." Shen Qi was stunned. It wasn't me?
"What...!" Professor Maynard, standing next to Shen Qi, was also stunned. It was me?
Before the awards ceremony, it was widely believed that Shen Qi would win the New Horizons Award for Mathematics, while the young British mathematician Maynard was expected to share the $3 million Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics.
However, the organizing committee didn't follow the usual rules!
Shen Qi did not win the final "New Horizons Award for Mathematics".
The final "New Horizons Award for Mathematics" was given to Maynard.
Although it was quite unexpected, both Shen Qi and Maynard returned to normal in the shortest possible time.
Shen Qi took the initiative to shake hands with Maynard beside him, displaying a magnanimous and composed demeanor. "Congratulations, Professor Maynard, this award deserves to be yours; you are an outstanding representative of young mathematicians."
"Thank you." Maynard maintained an awkward yet polite smile as he went on stage to receive the "New Horizons Award for Mathematics" and a check for $100,000.
He appeared elegant and composed, but Shen Qi was inwardly conflicted. It seemed his performance the day before yesterday had been for nothing; he hadn't achieved the effect he wanted. If he wasn't given an award, what was the point? He couldn't bear the embarrassment. He had already boasted to his friends in the media!
At this point, IMU Vice President and Fields Medal winner Jones took the stage to present the prestigious Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics, an award worth $3 million. More importantly, the Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics is a more prestigious and prestigious title.
Jones, who won the Fields Medal in his thirties and is now under 60, began announcing the winners. "The first winner of this year's Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics is... Gong Changwei of Columbia University, in recognition of his groundbreaking progress in number theory!"
"The second laureate is... Alessio Faltings of Princeton University, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the fields of Partial Differential Equations and Differential Geometry!"
"The third laureate is also from Princeton University... He is... Shen Qi! Shen Qi's research achievements in number theory and Functional Analysis are highly representative!"
"Please welcome the three winners of the Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics to the stage to receive their awards!"
The audience erupted in applause.
Shen Qi was both surprised and delighted. This was truly unexpected. He lost the $100,000, but received an upgraded reward of splitting $3 million.
Winning the prestigious Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics brought Shen Qi's trip to Washington, D. C., to a perfect close, allowing him to leave the American capital with dignity.