Chapter 84 The most awesome liberal arts student in history
Seeing Xu Chuan, the old man standing in position C walked over with a smile and stretched out his right hand.
"Classmate Xu Chuan, congratulations."
Xu Chuan shook hands politely, and the media photographer who was selected to come in clicked and kept the scene.
On the side, Rong Zhizhuan, the dean of the Institute of Science and Technology, smiled and explained: "This is our Mayor Jiang of Jinling."
Xu Chuan suddenly realized and greeted him respectfully: "Hello, Mayor Jiang."
Mr. Jiang smiled kindly and said, "You don't have to be so polite, classmate Xu Chuan. I heard that you caught a cold two days ago while studying scientific issues. Are you feeling better now?"
"It's better now. You were always worried."
Xu Chuan was a little embarrassed, but he didn't expect that he would alert the mayor even if he caught a cold.
"That's good, that's good. Scientific research is important, but the body of a scientist is more important. You must always pay attention to your body. The future belongs to you young people. The development of the country also depends on you. You must pay attention to your health. ”
Mr. Jiang patted Xu Chuan on the shoulder and continued: "In addition, on behalf of our Jinling City, I would like to say thank you for your contribution."
Xu Chuan said modestly: "I just proved a mathematical problem."
"Haha, Mr. Xu is so humble. This is a problem that has troubled the mathematics community for nearly 40 years. You have earned a dazzling honor for NTU and Jinling around the world."
Mr. Jiang smiled and praised a few words, and then said: "Adhering to education as the foundation, jointly composing the song of rejuvenating the country through talents, rejuvenating the country through science and education, is not only the strategic policy of our country, but also the focus of our educational work in Jinling City."
< br>
"Taking into account the situation of classmate Xu's family, our city held an emergency meeting and specially customized a material reward. After all, no matter how hard it is, we can't punish students, and no matter how poor we are, we can't deprive scientific research."
Hearing this, Xu Chuan's eyes lit up and he said, "I'm sorry to trouble Mayor Jiang and all the leaders."
Although he is not so short of money now, who wouldn't like it if he had money to take it? And from what I heard, the reward this time will probably not be small.
Mr. Jiang laughed and said: "This is nothing. The real hard work and trouble are you, the frontline scientific researchers. We just did what we should do."
He exchanged some boasts with the leaders from the city. Witnessed by CCTV, Mr. Jiang personally handed a large sample of a KT check worth 500,000 yuan to Xu Chuan. After taking a photo together, the city leaders left. , leaving him alone to be interviewed by CCTV.
After all, we are all busy people, and we don’t have much time to waste. It is enough to show up in front of the media to express the importance that the country and Jinling City attach to scientific research talents, and to expand Jinling’s influence.
As for interviews, although Xu Chuan doesn't like this kind of thing very much, he is not unfamiliar with it. After all, he has experienced a lot in his previous life.
And the face of Yang Ma still needs to be given. Although the person who comes is not a boss, she is still Yang Ma after all.
Of course, the one who stayed for the interview was the dean of the School of Mathematics at NTU. Although the focus was not on him, this was a good opportunity to expand the influence of NTU and the School of Mathematics at NTU.
After spending more than two hours being interviewed by Yang Ma, Xu Chuan walked out of the teaching building together with Rong Zhizhuan, dean of the School of Mathematics.
The reporters and media outside had dispersed. Rong Zhizhuan glanced at the sunset hanging on the horizon and said with a smile: "Classmate Xu Chuan, how about we go have dinner together? I'll treat you."
It was during meal time that someone was inviting a treat, and Xu Chuan naturally would not refuse. The two of them went to the second faculty canteen side by side.
"You have become famous this time. What are your plans in the future? Why don't you just come to the Mathematical Institute and concentrate on studying." Rong Zhizhuan asked with a smile.
"I think it's good like this now." Xu Chuan smiled and declined the dean's kindness. Physics is his root, and this will never change in his two lifetimes.
Hearing this, Rong Zhizhuan shook his head and said: "You are ambitious and ambitious. You don't want to give up on mathematics and physics. Are you ready to be the next Witten?"
Professor Witten is the only one who can be top-notch in physics and mathematics at the same time.
Mentioning Witten, Xu Chuan also laughed.
As his teacher at Princeton in his previous life, he knew it all too well.
He was rated as the sixth most influential figure after World War II by the American "Life" magazine. He has the highest H index among contemporary physicists. He has profound physical intuition and superb mathematical ability.
Proof of the positive energy theorem of general relativity, supersymmetry and Morse's theory, topological quantum field theory, superstring compactification, mirror symmetry, supersymmetric gauge field theory, conjectures on the existence of M theory, etc. These are all his contributions to physics. and mathematical contributions.
Any one of them is a result that an ordinary mathematician or physicist may not be able to produce after a lifetime of research.
He has won various awards such as the MacArthur Foundation, Fields Medal, Einstein Medal, Newton Medal, Lorenz Medal, Poincaré Medal, Crafford Mathematics Medal, and the National Medal of Science of the United States.
It can be said that among the top awards in physics, he is only short of the Nobel Prize in Physics, which is probably the most regrettable thing.
Compared with the geniuses in novels, Edward Witten is a truly ungrateful character.
Because in college, his major was history of liberal arts, which had nothing to do with physics and mathematics.
After graduating from his undergraduate degree, he joined the think tank running for president. At that time, he participated in the Democratic presidential campaign and spent about a year.
Then he felt that politics was too boring and too false, so after getting tired of the false political life, he went to the University of Wisconsin to study economics.
This time it was shorter. After only half a year of studying, he couldn't stand the simple boringness of economics. After that, he applied to Princeton University to major in applied mathematics.
After a brief stay in applied mathematics, he transferred to the physics department at Princeton. Completed master's and doctoral thesis in theoretical physics at Princeton.
But whether he was transferring schools, dropping out of school, changing majors, or engaging in campaign work, these detours did not slow him down.
At 28, he became a full professor at Princeton University, and two years later he won one of the first so-called genius grants awarded by the MacArthur Foundation.
In 1990, at the age of 38, he won the Fields Medal. He is the only "non-mathematical professional" to win the Fields Medal so far.
This 'twisting' or 'bright' life constitutes his immortal legend, and he is also known as 'the best liberal arts student in history'.
He learned a lot from Witten, whether it was mathematics or physics, and he benefited a lot.
As for the second Witten, he is not the second Witten, but the first Xu Chuan.
His achievements in his previous life had already surpassed those of his teacher, and he would only go further in this life.
(End of chapter)