Jiang City University used a credit system, with required major courses, elective major courses, required general courses, and elective general courses. Aside from the required courses, students only needed to earn enough elective credits.
So most students finished the vast majority of their courses in the first semester of their junior year. In the second semester, they only had a few low-pressure electives left, allowing them to properly prepare for graduate school entrance exams, graduate school recommendations, civil service exams, or studying abroad.
Chen Yuanguang had decided in his sophomore year that he wanted to become a freelancer, but under Lin Jia's guidance, he still finished all his courses in the second semester of his junior year.
Because he often went to the School of Economics and Management, he was honestly more familiar with it than with the School of Chemistry.
Whenever he went to the School of Economics and Management for class or to see Lin Jia, its students would always give him a second look.
At times like that, Chen Yuanguang was grateful that Lin Jia was not studying engineering. Her classmates were still quite friendly.
But ever since he had borrowed the Biology Laboratory and published in Nature, Chen Yuanguang finally understood what wolfish gazes were when he returned the keys to the School of Biology. It was even more exaggerated than if he had stolen away one of the beautiful female students from the School of Civil Engineering.
First, the administrative staff member in charge of the keys looked him over from head to toe as if he were some rare treasure. Chen Yuanguang began to wonder whether this married woman in her early thirties had designs on him.
"Yuanguang, have a seat first. Our dean said that if you came by, we should keep you here for a moment. He wants to talk to you. I'll go get him now."
Chen Yuanguang said, "All right. I also need to thank the School of Biology for its help. Without it, publishing in Nature would not have gone so smoothly."
Chen Yuanguang had only meant it as a polite remark, but the other party immediately picked it up. "Our school's laboratories and environment are more impressive than the School of Chemistry's, aren't they?
"So, how about coming to the School of Biology for your PhD? Jiang City University's biology program is much stronger than its chemistry program."
In 2018, Jiang City University's School of Biology had two academicians, while the School of Chemistry had none. By 2021, both the School of Biology and the School of Chemistry had added one academician each.
At present, the School of Biology was indeed much stronger than the School of Chemistry. Chen Yuanguang knew that very well. In terms of all kinds of internal university resources, the School of Biology was ahead.
Of course, that advantage in resources had little to do with ordinary students.
"I have no plans in that regard for now. Compared with biology, I'm still more interested in chemistry."
Only after Chen Yuanguang brushed her off with a few words did she go to the dean of the School of Biology's office to ask for instructions. Once she was done, she called Chen Yuanguang in.
When Dean Shu saw Chen Yuanguang, his face blossomed with a smile. "Ah, Yuanguang, right? I've heard about you for a long time. Now that I see you in person, you truly are an outstanding young man. Come, sit, sit."
Chen Yuanguang caught the scent of a banquet at Hongmen. "Thank you, Dean. You flatter me. I still have much to learn from all of you."
Dean Shu poured water into the cup before Chen Yuanguang and said, "Yuanguang, I read your paper published in Nature. It was extremely thoughtful, and you started with the theory before using experiments to test it.
"That is something many biologists cannot do, because they do not have such a strong mathematical foundation. It is difficult for them to first sort out the logic from an abstract level, much less directly derive an entire framework through deduction.
"If you come from a biology background, we generally prefer to observe first and experiment first. Only after getting results do we summarize and generalize them into a theory.
"But as research goes deeper, to put it bluntly, all the easy research has already been done, and the easy theories have more or less already been summarized. The remaining fruit requires tremendous effort to uncover.
"That is why computational biology has become increasingly important in recent years. Our school has also been increasing its investment in computational biology, and we particularly like recruiting undergraduates from the mathematics school to conduct research in that direction. Their logical thinking is stronger."
Dean Shu spoke at great length, and Chen Yuanguang inwardly mocked him. As expected, being able to talk was a prerequisite for becoming a leader.
"Yuanguang, I do not want to talk about empty promises. If you come to the School of Biology for a direct PhD, I'll talk to Levitt about jointly training you. In practice, you would do your PhD under him while carrying Jiang City University's name.
"I will not take first authorship or corresponding authorship on any papers you publish. If you can publish another Nature paper, I'll have you graduate with your doctorate within three years. If not, then at most four years.
"Counting this Nature paper, with two papers, I guarantee that you can obtain a Young Thousand Talents Program position and later become a Changjiang Scholar. If you do not publish another Nature paper afterward, then at the very least, you will get the Ten Thousand Talents Program and Chu Tian Scholar.
"If you accomplish even more, the terms can still be negotiated. I hope to train you into Jiang City University's leading figure in computational biology."
Dean Shu's offer was enormous. It amounted to the School of Biology only wanting the prestige, while Chen Yuanguang would actually be working with Levitt.
Naturally, it would also benefit them greatly. Simply building a closer relationship with a Nobel Prize winner and having a Nature paper list Jiang City University's School of Biology as the first affiliation was already more than profitable enough.
Chen Yuanguang shook his head. "Dean, thank you for your kindness, but those things are too far away from me. I am not considering matters that far into the future for now."
Chen Yuanguang knew very well how much influence an academician wielded. He believed Dean Shu could deliver on what he had promised, but the problem was that none of it held any appeal for him at present.
Dean Shu said, "This is something where you can see results within three to five years. That isn't far away."
Chen Yuanguang said helplessly, "Dean, the main issue is that I am not interested in biology. I still want to work on materials in the future."
Dean Shu stopped trying to persuade him. "All right. Geniuses always have their own personalities. We need to give geniuses time and room to exercise their freedom. Yuanguang, if you change your mind before graduating, you can come find me anytime."
Within the month after publishing in Nature, Chen Yuanguang received all kinds of grand offers at Jiang City University. Every one of them hoped he would stay at the university.
Only after he firmly stated his wishes did his life gradually calm down. Chen Yuanguang finished taking the TOEFL and GRE, then sent an email to Moungi Bawendi. He received Bawendi's reply that very day.
Chen Yuanguang even suspected that Levitt might have put in a word with Bawendi.
Bawendi arranged a time for a phone interview with him. After they talked for around two hours:
"Light, I'll be waiting for you in Boston. We talked about this earlier—you're a senior now, right? Do seniors have to write a graduation thesis?" Bawendi asked over the phone.
Chen Yuanguang's English name was Light, so the other man addressed him directly by that name.
"Yes," Chen Yuanguang said.
Bawendi asked, "Have you started writing your graduation thesis?"
Chen Yuanguang said, "Not yet. We start writing it next semester."
Bawendi said, "Okay, this is what I'm thinking. Your foundation is very solid, and you have a deep understanding of cutting-edge theories. There are only a few minor deviations in your understanding of certain theories, and those are easy to correct.
"You have already published in Nature, so your academic writing ability is certainly not a problem. Therefore, I think you can come directly to Boston, and we can start working.
"I am already looking forward to working with you. My thought is for you to come directly to MIT next semester. I'll supervise your graduation thesis. Don't waste another half year in Jiang City."
It wasn't that my understanding was flawed. Some existing theories were wrong, or at least needed patching.
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