Hall of Fame
Shen Qi Team of seven, waiting at the Brazilian airport for their flight to the United States, unexpectedly encountered Schultz was about to fly to Germany.
A German man and a German woman are arguing; they are legally married.
Two other elderly German men stepped in to mediate, but as they tried to calm things down, the two German professors and the young German man got into a heated argument.
The older Swedish youth, who was observing from the sidelines, couldn't stand it anymore and berated the German youth as a bastard.
The German woman, having reached her limit, decided to resolve the dispute by force.
The young Chinese man was the German woman's academic leader. Not wanting to escalate the situation, he pulled the furious German woman back.
Germans, Swedes, and Chinese were pulling and tugging at each other, shouting in a mix of German and English, plunging the scene into chaos. This was a complex international dispute.
Eventually, airport security intervened and the chaotic situation was brought under control.
Schultz was alone, facing seven opponents who were incredibly united and focused on their common enemy.
A wise man doesn't fight a losing battle, Schultz chose to back down.
Before leaving, Schultz vowed, "Mary, I will not sign the divorce papers. I can't lose you. I will not divorce you, never."
"Your opinion doesn't count; the judge's opinion does," Mary said calmly, regaining her composure.
"A judge? Does this matter between the two of us really need a judge to decide? Haha." Schultz chuckled dryly, walked away, and then glanced back at Shen Qi with obvious hostility.
Shen Qi shrugged and watched Schultz leave.
After this little incident, Shen Qi and his group returned to the United States.
Schultz, Mary, Muller, and Jonas —they are all people with stories to tell.
Even an upright official finds it difficult to settle family disputes. As the academic leader, Shen Qi can only offer objective suggestions and show necessary concern for team members and academic partners, but he cannot interfere too much in other people's family matters.
He also didn't have time to interfere in other people's family affairs. After returning to Princeton, Shen Qi was promoted to professor in Princeton University Mathematics Department with an annual salary of $210,000, which is considered a wealthy salary in the United States.
Princeton held a grand ceremony to honor Shen Qi, and his portrait was displayed in the window of the mathematics building's exhibition hall.
To Shen Qi's left is Terence Tao's portrait, and further to his left are Andrew Wiles, Grader Faltings, Edward Witten, Pierre Deligne, William Thurston, Charles Feierman, John Milnor, John Nash... The two big names side by side on the far left are John von Neumann and Kurt Gödel.
Einstein never worked in the Princeton Mathematics Department; his portrait and bronze statue are displayed in the Physics Department and the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University.
Shen Qi stood silently in front of the shop window.
Director Feierman stood beside Shen Qi and said with deep emotion, "Whether they are alive or gone, we have no regrets. We did what we had to do."
"Charles, what should we do next?" Shen Qi stared at himself in the shop window. At first, he felt a little uncomfortable, but after a few more glances, he got used to it.
"I won the Fields Medal forty years ago, and I'm about to retire. Qi, what to do next is a question you have to ask yourself. My job is to get you into the Mathematics Department's Hall of Fame, nothing more," Feierman said with a smile, sounding relaxed. During his tenure as department chair, Princeton Mathematics Department finally produced another Fields Medal winner.
Shen Qi said, "I want to complete my 'History of Number Theory,' Riemann zeta function's theory of prime number distribution will appear in my 'History of Number Theory' for the first time in a complete version with original author annotations. It won't be many pages, less than 100 pages. The entire 'History of Number Theory' will be around 400 pages."
Feierman: "Then do it, follow your heart."
Shen Qi added, "Although I've just been hired as a professor in the Mathematics Department, I still want to continue learning, well, to study pure physics. You know Charles, my initial area of expertise was Mathematical Physics."
Feierman: "Then do it, follow your heart."
Shen Qi: "Actually, I already obtained a bachelor's degree in physics while studying in China. So, how do I obtain a master's and doctoral degree in the Physics Department from Princeton?"
"Given your current status, it's not really appropriate for you to take classes, write papers, and complete credits alongside graduate students in the Princeton Physics Department," Feierman said, looking troubled.
"Oh, right," Director Feierman said, an idea forming in his mind. "Edward has returned to the Institute for Advanced Study. Why don't you go find him and become his doctoral student in physics, pursuing a PhD in physics at the Institute for Advanced Study? I'll put in a good word with Edward and the director. Qi, you should also contact Edward privately as well."
"OK, I hope Edward will take me as his apprentice." Shen Qi felt that Director Feierman's suggestion was very suitable.
Edward refers to Edward Witten, who has moved between the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study, the Mathematics Department at Princeton University, and the Physics Department at Princeton University over the past decade or so.
Witten's job-hunting policy is based on his mood. Two months ago, he returned to the Physics Department of the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study to immerse himself in his Superstring Theory research.
The Princeton Institute for Advanced Study admits a very small number of doctoral students. Shen Qi has already reached the pinnacle in mathematics, but in physics he only has a bachelor's degree in physics from Yenching University.
How can one become a PhD student in the Physics Department of the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study? Do I need to obtain a Master's degree in Physics from Princeton or another university first?
Given Shen Qi's current status, becoming Edward Witten's apprentice in physics would be the most suitable choice.
Shen Qi contacted Witten directly and said bluntly, "Edward, I want to apply for the doctoral program in the Physics Department of the Institute for Advanced Study, and I sincerely hope that you can become my physics advisor."
Witten: "Then write a physics paper. If, in my opinion, this paper is at the level of a master's thesis in physics, then the Physics Department of the Institute for Advanced Study welcomes you, and I welcome you too."
"Okay." Shen Qi agreed to Witten's request, which was a very reasonable pledge of loyalty.
Shen Qi made a list of short-term plans:
As a professor in the Princeton Mathematics Department, completing the academic monograph in the field of mathematics, "History of Number Theory," is a research task.
My teaching task is to recruit a small number of Mathematical Research and mentor them as a mathematics tutor.
As a physics student, I'm writing a master's-level physics thesis with the goal of becoming a PhD student in physics at the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study.
Draft a plan and begin execution.
Shen Qi will have to National First Prize the Christmas holidays.
The leaders will meet with Shen Qi at the Great Hall of the Shen Qi in the capital and award him the National Senior Medal in recognition of his Shen Qi as the first Chinese mathematician to receive the Fields Medal.
Things are busy, let's handle them one by one.
Shen Qi's first task was to work on the remaining half of "History of Number Theory." He already had the materials; what he needed to do was integrate them.