Chapter 470: You Guys Really Only Talked About Mathematics?
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Controllable nuclear fusion wasn’t some kind of aircraft or cannon, nor was it an atomic missile. Even though it contained the words “nuclear fusion”, it wasn’t something that was classified.
Therefore, the location of the research unit didn’t have to be a secret.
The people involved also didn’t have to be classified.
Same with the communication.
This was just like the International Space Station program; these types of large projects often required more than just one country or organization to accomplish. The controllable nuclear fusion project was the same; competition always existed in ITER, but yet, cooperation would still be there.
If going to a meeting meant having to take multiple flights and rides, then this meeting probably wouldn’t happen.
When the Chinese Academy of Sciences wanted to research the tokamak, they set up shop around a beautiful island in Lu Yang city.
Lu Zhou felt like Jinling was pretty good; therefore, he drew a circle around the Purple Mountain in Jinling, which determined the project location.
The official documents would take a while to process. Before that, Lu Zhou planned on going back to his alma mater.
First of all, the building for the Jinling Institute of Computational Materials, which he spent a hundred million yuan on, was finally completed. Secondly, he still needed support from Jin Ling University for his controllable nuclear fusion plan and his vision of a Chinese version of the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study.
Manager Wang followed Lu Zhou to the hotel entrance and asked with a smile, “Professor Lu, are you not going to stay for a few more days?”
Lu Zhou smiled and said, “No, I’m not. Work is too busy, and I can’t take a break. I’ll see you soon.”
Manager Wang: “Take care.”
Lu Zhou nodded and walked toward his black government-issued car.
His suitcase was already in the car trunk; he didn’t have to worry about these things.
Wang Peng was sitting in the driver’s seat. When he saw Lu Zhou put on his seatbelt, he started the car.
“Where to?”
“Airport!”
…
At the administrative building at Jin Ling University…
Principal Xu was wearing a pair of glasses as he sat in front of his desk and meticulously handled his administrative duties.
Suddenly, he heard knocking sounds at the door.
Principal Xu put down his hand and cleared his throat.
“Come in.”
The door was pushed open, and someone unexpected stood in front of the doorway.
When Principal Xu saw Lu Zhou standing in front of the doorway, he was stunned. He put down the pen in his hand and smiled as he stood up from his office chair.
“Professor Lu? What brings you here? Please come in.”
Lu Zhou looked at the documents on Principal Xu’s desk. He then smiled politely and said, “The timing is a bit sudden as I just got off the plane. I didn’t interrupt your work, right?”
Principal Xu smiled and said, “Since a Nobel Prize laureate is visiting our school, obviously we have to welcome him with both arms open; how is this an interruption? However, your timing is quite sudden. Why didn’t you tell us beforehand? We didn’t prepare anything.”
“There’s no need for any preparation. I’m just here to see my alma mater, and there’s no need to make it so troublesome.” Lu Zhou smiled, and as he placed the pack of tea on the table, he said, “I brought some tea.”
Principal Xu said, “I can’t accept such a valuable gift. Take this to Old Tang or Old Lu.”
Lu Zhou smiled and said, “What do you mean valuable? It’s just two packs of tea. I also brought some for Professor Tang and Academician Lu, so please accept the gifts.”
After some small talk, the two sat down on the sofa.
Principal Xu told his assistant to make two cups of hot tea.
Lu Zhou spoke in a serious tone.
“I’ll probably leave Princeton and come back to China around next year. If it’s okay with you, Principal Xu, I’ll have to trouble you in the future.”
“What do you mean trouble?” Principal Xu smiled and said, “If you want to come back, I’m willing to let you take over the principal’s position.”
Lu Zhou quickly said, “There’s no need for that. I’m finding a research institute director, but let’s not make me manage a university.”
His research was already busy enough. If he really became a principal, he’d have to clone himself to handle all of the work.
Also, he was against using administrative power to eliminate talents.
Lu Zhou sipped some tea to moisten his throat. He then changed his demeanor and began to speak about serious matters.
“I just got back from Beijing; I met the president.”
Principal Xu suddenly looked stern; he put on a serious expression.
“What did you guys… Is it okay to ask?”
“Nothing secret. The documents will probably be released soon, so it’s fine talking about this in advance.”
Lu Zhou paused for a second before he said, “… Other than some technical things, we mainly talked about academia and the history of mathematics.”
Principal Xu: “History of mathematics?”
Lu Zhou nodded and said, “That’s right.”
Ever since the Renaissance, mathematicians had been a group that was extremely sensitive to the environment. The last century’s mathematicians mostly centered around Europe, and the French Bourbaki scholars and the German Göttingen scholars had had an equal share of academia influence and attainment. However, in less than a quarter of a century, the Göttingen scholars had almost been completely annihilated, and the Bourbaki scholars were also declining. The world center of mathematics had since moved from Europe to North America.
Lu Zhou explained, “Over the years at Princeton, I’ve learned quite a lot of things, whether it’s knowledge itself or the academic culture.
“After learning from history and real-life experiences, my biggest takeaway is that academic prosperity is inseparable from an open academic environment. Therefore, I told the old man that I plan on building a Chinese Institute for Advanced Study in Jinling for purely academic research. It was also to separate academia from bureaucratization and politics.”
When Principal Xu heard Lu Zhou’s words, he nodded.
He had a background in scientific research, so he was well aware of the impact of bureaucracy on scientific research efficiency.
He was a supporter of education reform, and he had made previous efforts on reforming the education system.
Even though he might not agree with some policies, but he fully supported Lu Zhou’s point of view.
Especially for Lu Zhou’s plan on building an institute in the style of Princeton Institute for Advanced Study in China. They had talked about this plan a long time ago, and he also showed support back then.
However, support was just support. To actually implement it might be a little difficult…
“I agree with you, but this is very difficult to implement; especially the depoliticization. With the situation in China right now, this is basically impossible…”
Lu Zhou: “The president agreed.”
Principal Xu’s eyes were wide open as he looked at Lu Zhou in disbelief.
Lu Zhou paused for a second and said, “He said that since it’s my research institute, I can do whatever I want. If I mess up, then its whatever, but if I succeed, I can expand in a limited range.”
This limited range obviously meant Jin Ling University.
Actually, Lu Zhou didn’t really care if he expanded or not.
He didn’t think of himself as an educator; he was only a scholar.
What he needed was a comfortable academic environment which would allow him to quietly engage in his own research.
He didn’t have any political demands nor was he interested in making them.
However, it seemed that Principal Xu simply didn’t believe in Lu Zhou’s words.
Especially at the high-level government official’s response; this was simply ridiculous for him.
Principal Xu couldn’t help but ask, “You guys really only talked about mathematics?”
“Of course it’s not just mathematics,” Lu Zhou smiled and said. He then continued, “Before that… we were talking about controllable nuclear fusion.”
