Shen Qi Welcomes His Graduate Students (Third Update: Thanks to Alliance Leader Blue Sky 202)

Shen Qi, an Aquarius, is about to turn 23, and the National Medal of Honor is the best birthday gift he has ever received.

Shen Qi's reputation in China has reached new heights. As a national treasure-level young scientist, he can practically do whatever he wants in the country.

Shen Qi, who originally planned to stay in China for a week, changed his plans, went home for the Chinese New Year, stayed in China for a month, and returned to Princeton at the end of January.

No matter where you go in the world, your motherland is still the best.

Although living in the United States, Shen Qi's heart is with his motherland.

Staying at Princeton naturally offers some unique advantages. All Shen Qi can do is make full use of these advantages and resources, continuously strengthen and enrich himself, and make great strides after returning to China.

This is Shen Qi's third year in the United States.

Ou Ye and Zhou Yu'an have entered their third semester of studying in the United States, and they are expected to enter the doctoral program after this semester.

Shen Qi welcomed his first batch of graduate students, two in total, one Chinese and one American.

The Chinese student studying abroad is really handsome. His name is Yu Lei. He won an IMO gold medal and studied Mathematics Department at Shuimu University.

"Yu Lei, you finally came." Shen Qi was very pleased.

"Little Brother Qi, oh no, Professor Shen!" Yu Lei was a bright and energetic young man, full of vitality.

"You don't feel guilty about being my student, do you?" Shen Qi asked tentatively.

"Of course!" Yu Lei covered his chest with both hands, pretending his heart was pounding.

"Really? What kind of psychological burden?" Shen Qi needed to understand the student's psychological state as soon as possible.

"My advisor is a big name in the Fields Medal, so I'm definitely under pressure. I have to produce outstanding results to prove myself, and most importantly, I can't let Professor Shen down." Yu Lei was quite sensible, handsome and understanding.

"Oh, the pressure in that regard is nothing to worry about. We'll take it step by step." Shen Qi smiled and praised, "Yu Lei, you're so handsome. You should just be a quiet, good-looking guy at Princeton. Shuimu University really does produce a lot of handsome men."

Yu Lei stated firmly, "I'd rather be a quiet, high-achieving student."

Shen Qi laughed, "That's a great idea, and it has potential!"

In a great mood, Shen Qi immediately invited Yu Lei to dinner and also invited Zhou Yu'an.

Zhou Yu'an looked Yu Lei up and down repeatedly; this kid had grown into a handsome young man.

After confirming the information, Zhou Yu'an finally dared to admit it. "Yu Lei, you could easily make a living off your looks, why did you go for a master's degree?"

"Little Brother Yu, can you rely on your looks forever?" Yu Lei shook his head and said, "Only knowledge can retain its value indefinitely."

"Our junior teammate is remarkable." Shen Qi had a very good impression of Yu Lei. He suddenly felt an urge to pass on all his knowledge to Yu Lei so that someone could inherit his mantle.

What did Shen Qi learn throughout his life?

What are the characteristics of his school of thought?

Shen Qi's self-assessment of the characteristics of his school of thought is: unconventional, integrated, both specialized and broad, and interwoven.

"Yu Lei, remember this? Repeat the sixteen-character outline of our school of thought."

"Unconventional, integrated, both specialized and broad, interwoven... Little Brother Qi, do you mean our school of thought aims to cultivate mathematical generalists?"

"That's how it's theoretically set up. You and Ralph are among the first batch of graduate students I recruit, and I have high hopes for both of you."

"Huh? So we were the Xiao Bai."

What is a generalist?

Shen Qi believes that undergraduates are the prototype of generalists because they learn everything.

Of course, undergraduate courses are numerous, but also quite basic.

Graduate students may specialize in one or two areas, but this can also lead to a fixed academic style.

Ou Ye and Zhou Yu'an's paths have basically been set; they will definitely delve deeper into number theory, Differential Geometry Partial Differential Equations when pursuing their doctorates.

Only Yu Lei, a blank slate fresh out of college, possesses the potential to be molded.

The other blank slate was American student Ralph Miller, who studied Princeton Mathematics Department as an undergraduate.

Shen Qi couldn't discern Ralph's strengths or weaknesses from the report card.

In the first lesson, Shen Qi didn't talk about tactics, only strategy.

To accommodate Ralph, who didn't understand Chinese, Shen Qi spoke in English: "Yu Lei, Ralph, I'm not forcing you to choose any major or minor specialization. In my school of thought, any research direction can become your major. What you need to do first is to review all the mathematics courses you took in your undergraduate studies, in advanced mode. Do you understand what I mean?"

"That's almost impossible." Ralph rarely smiled and seemed somewhat rigid.

"Yes, Professor Shen, I also think that mathematical generalists are too difficult to cultivate. Not everyone is like you, with the ability to be both specialized and broad." Yu Lei spoke English, he solemnly addressed Shen Qi as "Professor Shen", while when he spoke Chinese, he called Shen Qi "Little Brother Qi".

"I just want to complete my master's degree smoothly. Obviously, choosing a direction for my thesis is the logical thing to do." Ralph completely disagreed with Shen Qi's idea of cultivating mathematical generalists. He did not blindly cater to Shen Qi and neglect his own soul just because Shen Qi was a big name in the Fields Medal.

Sigh... Shen Qi sighed silently. In the very first class, his school of thought was questioned and his strategic thinking was not accepted.

Shen Qi, who was originally full of enthusiasm, was now somewhat disappointed. He finally understood Edward Witten's helplessness: he had great skills, but no one to carry them on.

"Okay, Ralph, I respect your opinion." Shen Qi had read Ralph's undergraduate thesis. He said, "Ralph, the title of your thesis published in your fourth year was 'Research on Augmented Quotient Groups of Dihedral Groups.' This topic falls under the category of algebra, or more specifically, Group Theory."

"That's right." Ralph nodded.

Shen Qi said, "Your paper is excellent; I've read it through roughly. But I must point out that Proposition 3.1 on page 67 is not rigorous. Sn is not absolutely a linear extension of Bn over Z, and there are flaws in your induction about well-ordered sets."

"Hmm?" Ralph seemed surprised. He memorized my paper after reading it only once? Professor Shen's memory is amazing!

Ralph's undergraduate thesis on Group Theory was 82 pages long, which is an absolute monumental work for an undergraduate.

Shen Qi, empty-handed, could accurately state that proposition 3.1 on page 67 of Ralph's paper was not an absolutely correct proposition, and that the inductive treatment of well-ordered sets could be even more perfect.

Ralph couldn't immediately determine whether the well-ordered set induction in that paper was perfect; he needed to find the paper and study it, as he himself couldn't remember the full text of the paper he had written.