Psychological Adjustment Period

"Cheers!"

Shen Qi, Muller, Mary, Jonas opened a bottle of champagne in the faculty and staff restaurant on the Princeton campus and held a small celebration.

Shen Qi became incredibly famous, and Muller, Mary, and Jonas also Xiao Hong, after all, the three of them, together with Shen Qi, completed the proof of the Riemann Hypothesis, and their names appeared on the paper.

Just now, Professor Muller was inexplicably nominated as a candidate for this year's Leibniz Prize. The Leibniz Prize is the highest honor in German Mathematics Community and is awarded only to German mathematicians.

Mary, who holds a doctorate, will no longer be Muller's teaching assistant; she has been hired as a research fellow in the Princeton Mathematics Department and will soon assume her post.

Jonas returns from vacation to receive shocking news: he will be admitted to Princeton for a PhD, with mandatory graduation.

Jonas, who had spent nine years studying at Princeton, also didn't know what to do after graduating with his doctorate; the Swedish PhD was lost.

The biggest contributor is Shen Qi, who is about to receive his PhD. The department's notice is: Qi, defend your thesis within the month, it's just a formality, and you will officially start working in September.

Shen Qi was informed that he would become a lecturer in the Princeton Mathematics Department starting this September.

The lecturer position is just a formality; after one semester, starting next spring, Shen Qi will be promoted to Associate Professor.

How long does it take to go from Associate Professor to professor?

The department didn't say anything, and Shen Qi didn't ask either.

The transition from student to teacher requires a psychological adjustment period, and Shen Qi agreed with the department's arrangements to take some time to adjust.

Despite the string of good news—a Riemann Hypothesis benefiting the entire team— Professor Muller felt a pang of sadness. "Starting next month, the three of you will be leaving me."

"Mary and I will both stay at Princeton. Professor Muller, have you forgotten? We're still a team working on the project concerning the supplementary theorem to Riemann Theorem, what IMU calls the 'third expression.' Our work isn't finished," Shen Qi said. He then asked Jonas, "And you, Jonas, what are your plans after you graduate with your doctorate? Will you continue to stay with our team?"

"Why not?" Jonas was no longer confused; he was ready to follow Shen Qi.

Both Shen Qi and Jonas will receive their doctoral degrees this month, meaning they will no longer be Professor Muller's students.

The project "RT Third Expression" is currently under Professor Muller's name. On the day Shen Qi receives his PhD, he will become the principal investigator of the "RT Third Expression" project, with the right to allocate project funds and other academic rights.

So Jonas is about to start working for Shen Qi.

RH is an abbreviation for the Riemann Hypothesis. Now RH is history because it has been proven by Shen Qi and his team.

T stands for Theorem.

RT is an abbreviation for Riemann Theorem, a new term that has recently become popular in the Mathematics Community.

The "RT Third Expression" project has actually been underway for several months, but Shen Qi has been too busy with other matters, and his teammates are also busy, so the progress has been temporarily put on hold.

Inside the Princeton faculty and staff restaurant, professors at neighboring tables would occasionally raise their glasses, conveying their respect to Shen Qi and his group from a distance of several meters.

The following day, Shen Qi gave a speech to the entire faculty and students at Princeton.

Early June marked the start of summer vacation at American universities, and the lecture hall was packed with listeners. Some students even postponed their holidays to attend Shen Qi's lecture.

This lecture, organized by Princeton University, was Shen Qi's first formal lecture after the proof of the Riemann Hypothesis was recognized by IMU.

"Someone asked me why I tackled the Riemann Hypothesis first out of the remaining six Millennium Prize Problem?" Shen Qi delivered his speech with great enthusiasm, drawing enthusiastic responses from the audience.

"The reason is simple: the Riemann Hypothesis is a purely mathematical problem, which I call the 'Symphony of Primes'."

"Similar Millennium Prize Problem include the BSD, the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture, which is also a purely mathematical problem, more specifically, a number theory problem. To be even more specific, the BSD is a conjecture about Diophantine equation, which I call 'this equation is a bit cold.'"

"The Hodge conjecture is widely regarded in the Mathematics Community as one of the most difficult Millennium Prize Problem. It belongs to Algebraic Geometry and I call it the 'geometry problem without a figure'."

"The research and solution of the three Millennium Prize Problem mentioned above can be achieved solely through mathematical knowledge." Shen Qi paused briefly at this point.

"That's just you, Qi!" a student in the audience shouted. They felt like they had been hit hard, but they still listened with great interest.

"The remaining three problems have driven physicists and Computer Science scientists to despair, and have also left mathematicians at a loss," Shen Qi continued.

"The Navier-Stokes equations are one of the most interesting equations. We use them to create waves and manipulate nature... Theoretically, that's how it works, and we've even put some of it into practice. The only thing missing now is a universally accepted, reasonable solution."

"Similar to the Navier-Stokes equations, the general solution of the Yang- Mills equations is a treasure we've always sought. What constitutes us is a field, and we become lost within that field, unable to discern direction... This is the significance of the Yang- Mills equations; they point us in the right direction."

"Actually, what I least want to touch is the P versus NP problem. I'm not good at this area, and I also have a deep sense of awe for it. Computer Science are powerless in the face of P-to-NP problems, and so am I."

"Ladies and gentlemen, mathematics is both enigmatic and fascinating. My team and I have proven the Riemann Hypothesis, but this is just the beginning; many more challenges await us."

"My team welcomes you to join us anytime, whether you are an undergraduate or a graduate student. As long as you love mathematics, feel free to contact me. Thank you!"

Shen Qi finished his speech and was met with thunderous applause.

Zhou Yu'an was among the audience who applauded. After the lecture, he said to Shen Qi, "Teacher Shen, your recruitment advertisement was truly brilliant."

Shen Qi said, "The pressure is immense, Lao Zhou. Next semester, I'll be teaching a math course as a lecturer. I'm good at solving problems, writing papers, and cracking conjectures, but I'm not confident about lecturing. This isn't Recitation Class; it's a full-fledged lecture."

"Teacher Shen, don't be modest. Undergraduate and graduate students, both male and female, in the Mathematics Department of Princeton University are all your fans now. Your team will only grow stronger in the future, and you can choose any outstanding young mathematicians from Princeton University."

"Zhou Yu'an, when can you join my team?"

"Then you have to give me projects that match my major! I'm not good at number theory, but your projects are all number theory projects."

"Forget it, I'm not your advisor, and I'm not qualified to supervise graduate students. I'm just a prospective lecturer who hasn't started teaching yet."