A Happy Collaboration

Ralph reported Yale's perspective to Shen Qi replied, "I understand. It's normal for disagreements to arise during the research process. Contact Professor Jackson's team; we'll visit Yale tomorrow."

"Okay." Ralph contacted the other party.

When Shen Qi was starting this Lie Algebra project, he met Professor Jackson from Yale once; Professor Jackson had visited him at Princeton at the time.

It is only polite to reciprocate, so this time it was Shen Qi's turn to return the visit to Yale.

Shen Qi attaches great importance to this project in collaboration with Yale, as it is related to funding applications for next year or the year after.

In the United States, university professors mostly have to find their own research funding, which comes from two main sources: corporations and the NSF.

The majority of the funding comes from corporate sources, and renowned professors from prestigious universities engaged in engineering and applied research can easily find corporate partners.

The NSF, or National Science Foundation, provides funding primarily to professors engaged in pure theoretical research.

Shen Qi has a research grant with a current balance of $550,000.

Half of the $550,000 came from an application to the NSF earlier this year, and the other half was an internal subsidy from Princeton.

Professors like Shen Qi, who are engaged in basic Mathematical Research, find it difficult to obtain funding from companies, as these companies do not have projects they would entrust to him to tackle.

Therefore, Shen Qi's research funding mainly comes from NSF and internal subsidies from Princeton University.

Princeton's evaluation of professors mainly includes the quantity and quality of their published academic works, the number of doctoral graduates, the amount of funding they receive outside the university, and their service both on and off campus.

As the year draws to a close, Shen Qi ranks sixth in professional performance evaluation among the many professors in the Mathematics Department of Princeton University.

He didn't make much money outside, hasn't mentored a single doctoral graduate, and hasn't done any service work. His main strengths lie in his academic works, including the publication of "History of Number Theory" and a paper proving the Goldbach Conjecture, both of which are significant academic achievements.

Competition exists in every industry. Professors who fail to publish academic works, mentor doctoral students, or earn money may be dismissed by the university.

Princeton won't fire a Fields Medal winner, but Shen Qi is a man of pride. This year, he ranked in the top ten in the academic performance of professors in Princeton University's Mathematics Department, which is barely satisfactory. He hopes to be in the top three next year.

The two projects we're collaborating on this year with the Mathematics Department of Victoria University are laying the groundwork for next year. Shen Qi and Ralph drove to Connecticut; Yale is located in New Haven Connecticut, not far from Princeton.

Professor Jackson the Mathematics Department at Yale University warmly received Shen Qi and Ralph, and the two sides then had a friendly exchange on the project of "Research on Linear Lie Algebra and Their Supergroups".

The Yale representatives were Professor Jackson and his doctoral student Jimmy. Jimmy and Ralph each gave their opinions, while Jack and Shen Qi remained silent.

"We assume that P(λ) is not equal to zero, let L0(λ) be a restricted irreducible g0-modulus, and take a maximal weight vector vλ of L0(λ). After making the following proof, we can conclude that any submodulus of the Kac-modulus V(λ) contains the element T-vλ..." Ralph stated confidently in a loud voice. Professor Shen said, "We are right, don't back down."

"But Ralph, your proof doesn't completely convince me in the complex field." Jimmy walked to the blackboard and quickly wrote down a bunch of formulas to express his point of view.

Professor Jackson gave Jimmy an approving look, which further solidified Jimmy's resolve.

Ralph hesitated. He glanced at Shen Qi and saw that Shen Qi was smiling, a smile that looked so confident.

Yes, don't back down, stick to your principles and academic viewpoints.

This was the message Shen Qi was conveying to Ralph through his eyes.

Ralph rallied, switched to a slide in the PowerPoint presentation, and suddenly exuded an air of unparalleled confidence. "Jimmy, we've discussed this issue many times. Today I'll say it again, and for the last time."

Jimmy shuddered. Why had Ralph suddenly become so aggressive?

Shen Qi maintained his smile. "That's right, my students should be confident and never be weak when they need to be."

Ralph became increasingly assertive. "From the representation theory of modular Lie Algebra, I introduce the Baby Verma Module here, and we can clearly see that V((p-1)ρ0) is an irreducible u(g)-module, and Str is an irreducible Gr-module!"

Jimmy stared at the PowerPoint presentation and noticed that Ralph's paper on this page had been revised compared to the previous version.

Ralph felt a strange sense of satisfaction seeing Jimmy's dumbfounded expression.

This revision was completed yesterday by Ralph under Shen Qi's guidance. Minor flaws have been fixed, and there are no omissions.

Jimmy's mind went blank for a moment. This revision had far-reaching implications, and he couldn't respond immediately. He could only say, "Wait a moment, I need to do some calculations."

"Jimmy, sit down and have a cup of coffee," Professor Jackson finally spoke. "Ralph, please continue your presentation and look at the next part."

Next was Ralph's turn to perform, and he delivered his report in one go.

Professor Jackson stood up and shook hands with Shen Qi and Ralph: "Professor Shen, Ralph, we have no more doubts. We will revise our part as soon as possible. It's been a pleasure working together."

"It's a pleasure to cooperate with you." This was the only sentence Shen Qi uttered throughout the entire meeting room.

Professor Shen's power is immense. He just sat there, didn't say a word, and the project was done... Ralph only realized Shen Qi's true value when he came to places outside Princeton. Professor Shen, the Fields Medal laureate, is a strategic nuclear weapon...

On the topic of "Research on Linear Lie Algebra and Their Supergroups", Princeton and Yale have reached a consensus. The next step is to quickly compile the manuscript and publish the research results. This work is mainly being done by Ralph and Jimmy.

Shen Qi didn't even need to personally intervene in Yu Lei 'Yu Lei work; Professor Little Guy of Victoria University fully recognized Yu Lei's achievements.

After the Christmas holidays, the new year arrived, and Shen Qi turned 24. This was his fourth year in the United States.

"What are your wishes for the new year?" Ou Ye asked.

Shen Qi held up three fingers. "Three wishes: to rank among the top three in the Mathematics Department's academic rankings, to obtain a doctorate in physics, and for your good health."

At the beginning of the new year, Yu Lei's research paper was the first to be completed and he gave the final draft to Shen Qi for review. The paper was titled "Research on Multivariable Holomorphic Functions" and was authored by Yu Lei, Mike Rainer, Shen Qi, and Fred Guy.

"Should we include my name and Professor Little Guy's name?" Shen Qi asked.

Yu Lei nodded. "Your directional theoretical framework is the soul of this project. How can we not include your name? Professor Little Guy felt the same way."