The Video Conference

Shen Qi bought a Tesla out of his own pocket and gave it to Old Yan as a congratulatory gift for Old Yan's successful marriage.

Old Yan got married on time, and after the wedding, he went on a business trip to Ou Beiqi Pharmaceutical in Nangang.

Shen Qi personally reviewed numerous resumes from around the world. The resumes were submitted by chemical researchers, some of whom were Chinese citizens and others were foreign nationals.

One resume in particular surprised Shen Qi; it belonged to Charles Barton, Nobel Chemistry Prize nominee and professor at Stanford University.

Professor Barton was nominated for the Nobel Chemistry Prize last year, but unfortunately he did not win it.

Even without winning the award, being nominated for the Nobel Prize is enough to demonstrate Professor Barton's academic strength.

Shen Qi does not reject foreign scholars; he himself worked in the United States for many years as a foreign scholar.

The center's global reputation has spread, so it's not surprising that Shen Qi has applicants with Physics and Nobel Prize in Physics Fields Medal in mathematics and physics. Mr. Witten, a Fields Medal and Nobel Prize in Physics laureate, serves as an advisor to the center.

In the field of chemistry, Shen Qi never expected to attract resumes from Novochem nominees.

Stanford University's chemistry program has consistently ranked among the top five in the world and has produced numerous Nobel laureates in chemistry.

Professor Barton is under 50 years old and is in the prime of his academic career.

"This Professor Barton is quite a character." Shen Qi contacted Professor Barton via email, and the two arranged to hold a video conference.

At 9 a. m. China time, Shen Qi saw Professor Barton in the video.

"Professor Barton, it's a pleasure to have this chat."

"Professor Shen, I hope to go to China and work with you."

Shen Qi and Professor Barton had never met before, so why did Professor Barton express such a strong desire?

"Is it because of my personal charm?" Shen Qi asked. "I'd like to know Professor Barton's true thoughts?"

"Regarding research on Macrocyclic Compounds, I haven't been able to secure sufficient research funding in the United States. I understand that Professor Shen has ample research funding, so I hope we can collaborate."

Oh, I see.

Shen Qi understood: Professor Barton couldn't make it in the United States, so he wanted to come to China.

After all, Professor Barton was a Nobel laureate nominee, not a Nobel laureate winner.

If someone is a Nobel laureate, they will receive various resources and support wherever they go.

In the field of Organic Chemistry, the research direction of Macrocyclic Compounds is one where "you may not see results even after a lifetime of research, but once you do, you're incredibly successful."

Shen Qi was fairly familiar with the American scientific research system.

American professors need to secure research funding themselves, either from the US government or from corporations.

Research directions that promise results that may not yield significant outcomes even after a lifetime of research, but whose success is truly remarkable once achieved, are actually not easy to secure long-term funding for.

Shen Qi's understanding is that Professor Barton encountered a funding crisis on his research path, which was on the road to "being awesome once he achieved results".

"Professor Barton, how much research funding do you need for your research on Macrocyclic Compounds?" Shen Qi asked.

Professor Barton: "Five million a year, I mean in US dollars."

Shen Qi looked surprised. "What?"

Seeing Shen Qi's shocked expression, Professor Barton from across the ocean quickly said, "Four million is fine too!"

Seriously, you can't do scientific research without money.

Shen Qi has over 100 million US dollars in research funding at his disposal. He has also studied Macrocyclic Compounds himself, and he feels that an investment of 5 million US dollars a year in this research direction is too little. It should start at least at 8 million US dollars, otherwise no results can be achieved at all.

There are very few scholars in China who study Macrocyclic Compounds. The Organic Chemistry textbook at Yenching University, where Shen Qi and his colleagues studied, explicitly states. "One of the principles of organic synthesis is to avoid Macrocyclic Compounds as much as possible, because Macrocyclic Compounds with eight or more members are not easy to obtain, and the chemical reactions involved are rarely developed. Of course, with the improvement and development of research on Macrocyclic Compounds synthesis methodologies, this principle will be gradually revised."

Despite years of research, no one has discovered any new principles related to Macrocyclic Compounds.

Revising a chemical principle and developing a new compound are not on the same level of difficulty.

Shen Qi was eager to master Macrocyclic Compounds, as this was one of the requirements for his continued advancement in chemistry.

Shen Qi said, "Professor Barton, I think that investing four or five million US dollars a year in the research of Macrocyclic Compounds is not enough. China's scientific research system is different from that of the United States, and I don't have a lot of research funds at my disposal. Eight million US dollars a year, do you think that's enough?"

Professor Barton's shock and delight traveled across the vast Pacific Ocean. The Canadian chemist working in the United States couldn't wait to fly to China: "Oh my God! When can I come and work here with you?"

"Anytime is fine," Shen Qi said. "But I must remind Professor Barton that the patent rights for research results achieved at Yenching University belong to Yenching University, while the patent development rights can be freely controlled by the original researchers. After approval by the relevant Chinese authorities, these rights can be converted into material income for the original researchers. To put it bluntly, if we overcome the challenges in the field of Macrocyclic Compounds, the honor belongs to us, but everything else belongs to Yenching University."

"No problem, I just want to complete the work I believe should be done." Professor Barton stated, "I came to China not for money, but for my dream."

Called by his dream, Professor Barton set off for China.

Professor Barton had a team in the Stanford University Chemistry Department, but now, the boss has left, and the team members are temporarily unemployed.

The team members had two choices: either follow the old boss or find a new one.

Not everyone who works in the United States is willing to come to China.

Ultimately, only two chemistry PhDs followed Professor Barton to China: one Iranian and one Bulgarian, both of whom were Professor Barton's students.

As the Shen Qi Science Research Center becomes increasingly international, this internationalization means that confidentiality measures need to be improved.

"Professor Barton, Dr. Aziz, Dr. Kosonov, these are confidentiality agreements. Please sign them." Shen Qi handed three confidentiality agreements to the three foreign scholars.

The confidentiality agreement stipulates that Professor Barton, Dr. Aziz, and Dr. Kosonov must abide by Chinese laws and Yenching University's confidentiality rules while working at Yenching University. If they leave Yenching University in the future, they may leave, but their research materials must remain at Yenching University.

This is the international practice. When Shen Qi left Princeton, he left all his academic materials from his time at Princeton with the Princeton.

The three foreign scholars signed a confidentiality agreement and then began their formal work.

Shen Qi continued to recruit chemical researchers to strengthen Professor Barton's team.

Book Recommendation: <Revolution, Goddess>. Li Qi is thrown into another world by the goddess of revolution. Here, gods and demons abound, and extraordinary beings are as common as dogs. It's already hard enough to struggle for a comfortable life, but the goddess wants him to start a grand revolution among mortals.