Super God-Level Top Student

Upon hearing what Chen Yuanzhi said, Zheng Luhua laughed and spoke, "You've forgotten that this is Xu's specialty. He specialized in partial differential equations back in the day."

"No, no, no, President Zheng, don't joke about this, I can't, I really can't!" Xu Dajiang's head shook like a tambourine.

What sort of joke was this?

To have him give guidance to Qiao Ze?

Even though Xu Dajiang did not yet know how much knowledge Qiao Ze had accumulated in partial differential equations, the fact that he could directly choose his own topic indicated that he had some understanding.

Qiao Ze had also mentioned that he had taught himself group representation theory, and just by casually watching some videos online, he was able to spot a small mistake made by a professor from Yanbei University.

Not to mention, he hadn't spent much effort on research in these years. Should he proactively offer help to Qiao Ze only to be questioned in return?

He really couldn't afford to lose that face.

"Then who do you think has the capability to assist Qiao Ze?" Zheng Luhua asked.

"Find a few doctoral and graduate students to help Qiao Ze check his papers and lessen his workload. If we really talk about it, the big shots in pure mathematics research within Huaxia are all nestled up in the Capital." Xu Dajiang said very frankly.

"Hah, are you thinking of sending help or are you cunningly trying to insert a few people to help you supervise your students?"

Chen Yuanzhi glared at Xu Dajiang.

Xu Dajiang spread his hands and said, "What can I do? When it comes to financial mathematics, applied mathematics, you might still find a supervisor to lend a hand, to inspire a bit. But when it comes to pure theoretical mathematics, let me tell you the truth, the usefulness of a supervisor is really limited. Not to mention this topic was chosen by Qiao Ze himself.

Non-Abelian gauge fields are defined in physics as a class of special charges and the fields produced by these charges. Most importantly, these charges and fields can't be represented by real numbers, only by matrices. And the multiplication of matrices isn't commutative, so from this, you can understand how complex the subject is, right?"

As he spoke, Xu Dajiang suddenly slapped his forehead and exclaimed, "Oh, I just remembered Qiao Ze mentioned today that he self-studied all the mathematics that could help him understand physics, right? If that's the case, is it possible that he chose this topic in order to ultimately solve the Yang-Mills Equation? Is he trying to prove the existence of the mass gap?"

"The one among the seven Millennium Prize Problems offered by the Clay Institute?" Chen Yuanzhi asked.

Although he was not in mathematics research, the fame of these seven problems was such that he had heard of them.

"Exactly! But it shouldn't be, right? Nowadays, there aren't many people doing pure mathematics research on this problem, most are physicists trying to find results through computer simulations and experiments. To derive it from pure mathematics is really too hard.

Plus, solving this problem in mathematics, its biggest significance lies in developing a new path integral, and no one knows what this is right now, a new tool? A new technique? If Qiao Ze really could solve it, then he could indeed establish his own school in the future."

Xu Dajiang spread his hands, concluding, "But if Qiao Ze really wants to work on this topic, probably no one can guide him much. However, that being said, the likelihood is not great."

"You even compared Qiao Ze with Gauss today. Gauss is considered the founding ancestor of a school within your mathematical community, right? I remember that among his students there was Riemann, and later Hilbert built upon Riemann's work to make some achievements; it seems Gauss is the progenitor of the Gottingen School.

Maybe in the future Qiao Ze could also start a Xilin School," Zheng Luhua said with a smile.

Xu Dajiang blinked his eyes.

The thought of such a good development was indeed quite delightful.

"Alright, we've strayed too far now, even a Xilin School has come into the picture. Even if it really happens, that would be after we're gone, for the next generation to categorize. Xu Dajiang, you don't have to perform this act in front of me, there's no need. Researching pure number theory is good too, at least it doesn't cost much money. The proper attitude is still required.

Once the project is approved, apply for a VIP pass to a supercomputer for Qiao Ze, so he can use it at any time. Let's leave it at that for now. On second thought, what Yanbei University said is not wrong, giving this child a quiet environment to progress slowly is best."

After he finished speaking, Chen Yuanzhi glared at Xu Dajiang and said, "Especially you, stop always thinking about making a mess of things. If you have any thoughts, report them through the proper channels in the future!"

"Oh, why not spend some money to cool off the trending topics?"

"Enough! Don't act smart after taking advantage! Let's leave it at that for today, go back and rest early."

...

After leaving Lu Xiuxiu's home, Li Jiangao went directly to the research group.

It was still early, and he planned to read two papers.

Really, a month ago, he never would have imagined that after successfully being promoted to associate professor, his biggest pressure would come from a kid who was dead set on becoming his student.

The belief that drove him to work hard turned out to be, "I can't let my students lose face, can I?"

Sometimes he found it ludicrous, but it was undeniably real.

Going upstairs, Li Jiangao saw Tan Jingrong sitting at the conference table through the half-open door, one hand propping up his head, the other holding a pen, papers laid out in front of him, his face etched with worry.

"Ahem..."

Li Jiangao cleared his throat, and Tan Jingrong immediately turned his head toward the door, then stood up, "Advisor, have you returned?"

"Yes... Are you reviewing papers? How's it going? Any findings?" Li Jiangao asked.

"Uh, I only started this afternoon, Qiao Ze is really making this difficult," Tan Jingrong replied honestly.

"Is that so? It looks like you lack motivation, huh? By the way, Qiao Ze mentioned in the car today that he would give you a few topics to choose from. If you do well, being the first author on a second-tier SCI publication is certainly not a problem. I think, you shouldn't be too greedy.

Digest those two papers from Qiao Ze thoroughly, then spend the next year and a half working on the topics Qiao Ze is giving you. Write two papers, one to submit for building your credentials, and the other as your graduation thesis. How does that sound? Do you feel motivated now?" Li Jiangao said smilingly.

"Really?" Tan Jingrong was indeed excited.

Being able to publish in a second-tier SCI journal during his masters was already a significant achievement.

Think about it - how many Ph.D. students at the school were delayed because they were stuck on publishing an SCI paper.

To outsiders, being a Ph.D. candidate seems prestigious. But only Ph.D. students themselves know the hardships of a Ph.D., especially in science and engineering. While classmates are earning money, they are still studying; while classmates are getting into civil service, they are in the lab fighting for a paper. What's scarier is that a Ph.D.

doesn't guarantee graduation.

Xilin University of Technology enforced a seven-year time limit for doctorates. That is to say, if a Ph.D. student couldn't graduate within seven years, they could only get a completion certificate. However, within two years of completing, they could re-defend their thesis and, if successful, receive their Ph.D. degree. Even then, not everyone could smoothly obtain their Ph.D.

Just imagine the pressure of not obtaining a degree after seven or eight years of effort.

Being able to publish a paper as the first author in a second-tier SCI journal basically meant one could graduate with a Ph.D. at Xi Gong University.

You can imagine how happy Tan Jingrong was at that moment, but when his gaze fell back on the paper in front of him, his expression fell again.

"Okay, stop summarizing. Go familiarize yourself with Qiao Ze's papers," Li Jiangao waved his hand and said.

In truth, he also knew making Tan Jingrong read those papers now was indeed asking a bit much.

"Thank you, boss."

Tan Jingrong's spirits were instantly lifted. He was about to leave when something suddenly occurred to him, and he said somewhat awkwardly: "Right, boss, Zuo Jie talked to me yesterday. He said he's facing difficulties again with his graduation thesis topic. He's too embarrassed to come to you directly and asked me to see if there's another chance for him to join our group?"

Upon hearing this, Li Jiangao was taken aback and then stared at Tan Jingrong for a moment, saying: "You haven't mentioned this to Qiao Ze, have you?"

Tan Jingrong hurriedly shook his head, "No."

"Don't mention it in the future either. Do you know how many people are eyeing our group? If Qiao Ze gives the nod, do you believe the dean would immediately stuff a bunch of Ph.D. students in here? Things are set in stone now, it's too late for anyone to suggest picking the fruits of our labor! Why didn't he think to join earlier?"

Tan Jingrong nodded quickly in agreement.

Li Jiangao looked at the earnest Tan Jingrong and sighed, saying: "Besides, do you think Zuo Jie's temperament suits this place? Don't think that because Qiao Ze doesn't like to talk much, he's easy to get along with. He can't stand flaws in people, and do you think Zuo Jie can sneak his little tricks past Qiao Ze's eyes?"

"Some people, if they don't say anything, it doesn't mean they don't know; it means they don't want to bother. If Zuo Jie comes here and irritates Qiao Ze, not to mention getting any benefits, I'm afraid his future paths could be blocked! Tell Zuo Jie that... well, never mind, let me find time to talk to him myself. You just take care of yourself. Understand?"

"Understood, boss!"

"Good, now get back to work."