Feeling Isolated
Tang Xia has been recommended by Yenching University as a candidate for the Yangtze River Young Scholar. She has passed the initial evaluation within the university and will soon enter the review stage.
The initial evaluation involves examining some hard criteria, such as being under 38 years old, holding the title of Associate Professor or above, educational background, academic experience, and working age.
The internal review process mainly examines several important indicators of candidates: first, their moral character; second, their academic level; and third, their achievements in their field.
"Two" and "three" are actually the same thing; together they constitute academic examination. The former is more subjective, while the latter uses data to support its arguments.
After the internal review at Yenching University is approved, the list of candidates for Yangtze River Young Scholar will be publicized.
During the public announcement period, the Ministry of Education will conduct a final review. If the Ministry of Education approves the candidate, the candidate will be awarded the title and benefits of Yangtze River Young Scholar.
Every scholar has the mind of a genius.
Being named Yangtze River Young Scholar is a small step on the road to becoming a Yangtze River Young Scholar, Tang Xia aspires to be selected as one.
Tang Xia is now facing the problem that some people are bringing up old issues and criticizing him for academic misconduct.
Academic misconduct represents a failure in moral character and ethics, and it is a veto-level offense.
People who are labeled as having committed academic misconduct will find it difficult to even make a living in academic circles, let alone be selected for the Yangtze River Scholar program.
"Professor Shen, as you know, in the Hodge conjecture project, part of the Mathematical Analysis section of the SLW system was completed by me alone. There was absolutely no plagiarism or copying of anyone else." Tang Xia was both helpless and annoyed. It was obvious that someone was stirring up trouble and trying to ruin his reputation during the crucial stage of his selection for the Yangtze River Young Scholar Award.
Shen Qi laughed and said, "Great talent is often met with misfortune, while demons and monsters rejoice in human suffering. The fact that someone is targeting you means you have a certain academic standing in the field. No one would deliberately try to ruin a nobody, right?"
Tang Xia sighed, "That makes sense, but I'm still very unhappy."
"I understand, anyone would be upset in that situation. Old Tang, you were among the first batch of doctoral students mentored by Vice President Lu, didn't Old Lu help you clear your name?" Shen Qi asked.
"Recently, Professor Lu has been focusing on calligraphy and has not been involved in worldly affairs. Dean Wang is a very cautious person. He neither approves of nor easily rejects unfounded rumors." Tang Xia refers to Lu Guozhen as "teacher" and the dean as "dean," which shows the status and intimacy between the dean and Vice Dean of the School of Mathematical Sciences in his mind.
In the later stages of his career, Lao Lu entered a state of spiritual cultivation, no longer caring much about mundane matters such as awards, professional title evaluations, and the Yangtze River Scholar selection. He did not join any internal or external review committees, focusing solely on his calligraphy art.
My esteemed teacher, Lao Lu, is about to ascend to heaven, and he doesn't care about the vulgar and trivial matters of his students choosing titles.
Dean Wang was lukewarm towards Tang Xia, and Tang Xia, feeling helpless, had no other choice but to seek help from Shen Qi.
Shen Qi is a standing committee member of the Yanjing University Academic Committee and a member of the new Standing Committee of the Party Committee of Yanda University. With his prestige and reputation in the academic community, it would be a simple matter for him to help Tang Xia.
Shen Qi stroked the black cat and said, "There's nothing wrong with the series of articles you wrote before. I confirmed it a few years ago when I was working on the Hodge conjecture project. Old Tang, you can go back now. I'll say it again: justice will prevail."
Tang Xia stood up solemnly and bowed deeply with joy. "Thank you, Professor Shen!"
Not long after Tang Xia left, Secretary Liang led the two directly to Shen Qi's office.
These two individuals are Yu Lei and Yu Lei graduate students.
Secretary Liang knew his boss, Shen Qi, very well. If it was a business visitor like Tang Xia, Secretary Liang would handle it strictly by first informing his boss and then arranging a meeting according to Boss Shen's wishes.
Yu Lei and Shen Qi have an unusual relationship. Yu Lei is Associate Professor at Shuimu University, and he is also Shen Qi's student.
Everyone knows that Shen Qi has only supervised two doctoral students in mathematics so far: one is Yu Lei, and the other is in the United States.
Secretary Liang understood that Shen Qi was sentimental and that if Yu Lei were left waiting downstairs, Boss Shen would definitely yell at him.
So Yu Lei and his graduate students went directly to Shen Qi's office.
"Little Brother Qi, I've missed you so much!" Yu Lei was completely at ease when he saw Shen Qi.
"There's coffee and drinks available, please help yourself," Shen Qi said, pointing to the small refrigerator.
Yu Lei skillfully opened the refrigerator door, took out two bottles of drinks, and handed one to the graduate student he had brought.
The young graduate student didn't dare to say a word after entering the room. He was excited to see Shen Qi in person, but his expression was also uneasy.
"Young man, you must be Yu Lei's graduate student?" Shen Qi asked the young man kindly.
Yu Lei punched the young man and scolded him, "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and pay respects to the ancestral master!"
The young man was an honest man; he immediately knelt down and was about to kowtow to Shen Qi.
"Hey, what are you doing!" Shen Qi strode forward and helped the young man up. He said, half-laughing and half-crying, "This is a research institution, not a gang."
The young man trembled as he said, "Grandmaster, Master Qi!"
"Damn you!" Shen Qi had seen simpletons before, but never Mathematical Research this clueless. "In terms of seniority, I'm your teacher's teacher. You can call me Teacher Shen, or Professor Shen. If I hear you use terms like 'Grandmaster' or 'Master Qi' again, I'll expel you from the school."
"Teacher Shen!" The young man's nose tingled with joy; the great Master Shen Qi had recognized him as his grand-disciple.
Shen Qi asked the young man, "You've successfully caught my attention. What's your name?"
"My name is Zhu Wenbo, and I am a first-year graduate student in the Mathematics Department at Shuimu University."
"Xiao Zhu is quite cute." Shen Qi patted Xiao Zhu on the shoulder. Needless to say, the academic level of a first-year graduate student is just so-so. Shen Qi was that he was silly, silly in an extraordinary way.
"The reason I brought Xiao Zhu here this time is to let him experience the atmosphere of this holy land of Chinese mathematics. If it's convenient, could Xiao Zhu study and observe in the designated area of the center on his own?" Yu Lei asked Shen Qi.
Yu Lei brought Xiao Zhu all the way from Shuimu University to Yenching University to pay homage to the founding master; this gesture was quite thoughtful.
Once he arrived, Yu Lei wanted to be alone with Shen Qi, so he must have something important to discuss.
Shen Qi picked up the landline phone. "Secretary Liang, look who in the Mathematics Room isn't busy right now, find one of your guys to show Zhu Wenbo, a student from Shuimu University, around the center."
Secretary Liang led Zhu Wenbo away from the Director's Office, leaving Shen Qi and Yu Lei alone.
"Don't let Xiao Zhu's seemingly eccentric personality fool you; he's incredibly talented in mathematics. Perhaps eccentric people can be more focused than conventional people in certain fields." Yu Lei is Associate Professor of mathematics at Shuimu University. He returned to China as Associate Professor and held that position for several years without promotion.
Associate Professor and professor are professional titles, while master's supervisor and Doctoral Supervisor are academic qualifications. There are also Associate Professor supervise doctoral students, but they are relatively rare.
At top-tier universities like Shuimu University, Doctoral Supervisor are all full professors.
There is definitely a gap in the level of graduate students and doctoral students. In a high-end research team, doctoral students do the major work, while graduate students can only do minor tasks, and only exceptionally outstanding graduate students are qualified to do minor tasks.
To build a high-level research team, the academic leader must have several outstanding doctoral students under his command; otherwise, it will be difficult to produce results.
In officialdom, a superior's influence can be immense, and the same applies to academia.
The treatment and resources enjoyed by full professors and Doctoral Supervisor are different from those of Associate Professor and master's supervisors.
Yu Lei found Shen Qi, he didn't mince words and went straight to the point. "Little Brother Qi, after returning to China, I worked at Tsinghua University for several years, and I felt isolated."