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MIT.

James Simmons looked at the list of winners of the new Simmons Scholar Award selected by the foundation, and asked people around him about things from time to time.

This Chinese named Ning Chen is the young man who proved Qiu Chengtong's conjecture, right?

Yes, Mr. Simmons. Ning Chen previously published three consecutive papers in the Journal of the American Mathematical Society. These three papers completed the proof of the entire Qiu Chengtong conjecture.

I can't believe he's not yet twenty years old... What a rising mathematical genius!

Although this achievement alone cannot allow Ning Chen to compare with some great mathematicians, given time, Ning Chen will definitely be a strong contender for the Fields Medal, even enough to be compared with the greatest mathematicians in history. .

The Simons Scholar Award was founded by James Simons himself. Every year, three to four winners are selected among outstanding researchers in the fields of mathematics, physics, computers, etc.

The selection criteria for this award are very high, requiring the winners to achieve leading and innovative results in their own research fields, and these results also need to have a strong influence in the world.

It was by virtue of his three papers that successfully proved Qiu Chengtong's conjecture that Ning Chen stood out from many nominees and won one of the award spots.

As a mathematician, James Simons also paid special attention to scholars in the field of mathematics. Moreover, Ning Chen was so young and still had a lot of room for improvement.

Thinking of this, Simmons had the idea of ​​inviting Ning Chen to study at MIT.

Looking at universities around the world, MIT is definitely one of the best in mathematics majors.

…

What? Simmons Scholar Award?

That night, while checking his mailbox regularly, Ning Chen saw an unexpected email message.

Ning Chen subconsciously thought that this might be a scam email. After all, Ning Chen usually received some spam emails.

But next, Ning Chen confirmed the sending address of the email and found that the sender was the Simons Foundation.

Combined with the fact that the system had determined that his task was completed, Ning Chen knew that this was not a scam email.

Searching for information about the Simmons Scholar Award, Ning Chen learned more about this award.

Scholars who receive the Simons Scholar Award can enjoy five-year research funding totaling $500,000 from the Simons Foundation.

Calculated, this bonus once again set a new record for Ning Chen’s bonuses.

After the excitement, Ning Chen began to calmly think about this award.

If I'm going to receive the award, I have to go to the United States.

Ning Chen is relatively cautious about going abroad. After all, there are many uncertainties abroad, and because of Ning Chen's current achievements, Ning Chen is already considered a public figure.

Of course, so far, Ning Chen's identity is more of a scholar in the field of mathematics and has not involved much application research.

Even for the negative electrode material of silicon-based lithium batteries, the relevant information has not been made public because a confidentiality agreement has been signed with Piati.

After this analysis, Ning Chen also knew that it was relatively safe for him to go to the United States to receive the award.

The next day, Ning Chen informed the school about the incident.

After all, it was such a big deal like going abroad to receive an award. Ning Chen definitely had to seek the school's opinion before making a decision.

After the school learned of this situation, it first contacted the Simmons Foundation to confirm that Ning Chen had indeed won this year's Simmons Scholar Award.

This is a very important world-class academic award. Before this, few Chinese scholars could win such an award.

Since Ning Chen can receive such an honor, the school must hope that Ning Chen can go to receive the award on site.

However, because the award was to be received overseas, the school did not feel comfortable letting Ning Chen receive the award alone. Finally, after internal discussion, it was decided that Liu Xu would accompany Ning Chen to the award ceremony.

During his studies, Liu Xu had the experience of studying abroad in the United States and had a relatively good understanding of various American habits and culture.

With Liu Xu accompanying him, everyone will feel more at ease about Ning Chen going abroad to receive the award this time.

After confirming the itinerary for receiving the award, Ning Chen and Liu Xu began to handle various procedures such as visas for the United States.

In fact, with Ning Chen's current abilities, even if he went to the United States alone to receive the award, there wouldn't be any problems.

Ning Chen's current English level is very good and can fully communicate directly in English.

Of course, it would be better if someone can accompany you. If something unexpected happens, you can have someone to rely on.

On the day of departure, Ning Chen and Liu Xu went to the airport together and boarded the plane.

This journey will be relatively long, because there is no direct flight from Shengzhou to Boston. Ning Chen and Liu Xu need to transfer twice before they can finally reach Boston.

Along the way, Ning Chen and Liu Xu chatted from time to time to relieve the boring mood of the journey.

Although Ning Chen had met Liu Xu several times before and had dinner together, because Liu Xu was the dean of the college, Ning Chen still felt that there was some distance between them, and Ning Chen did not I will chat as relaxedly as I did with Xuzhou.

Through constant chatting, the relationship between Ning Chen and Liu Xu became much easier, which also allowed Ning Chen to understand Liu Xu better.

In fact, before becoming the dean, Liu Xu had always followed the scientific research route. He had published more than 30 papers in academic journals at home and abroad. He also wrote several textbooks for professional materials courses as the chief editor or co-editor. .

Even though Liu Xu no longer focuses on scientific research, Liu Xu's professional abilities are still there.

The exchanges along the way allowed Ning Chen to learn a lot of new professional knowledge and skills about materials science, which was an unexpected gain for Ning Chen.

More than 20 hours later, the plane finally arrived at Boston Logan International Airport.

People from the Simons Foundation had come to the airport in advance to pick them up. Ning Chen and Liu Xu took the car they picked up and arrived at a hotel near MIT.

On the way, Ning Chen observed the scenery outside the car window and gained some new understanding of the United States.

This is the first time Ning Chen has come to the United States in his two lifetimes.

Ning Chen's previous impressions of the United States came from the Internet, but when Ning Chen actually set foot on this land, he knew that the things on the Internet were still relatively one-sided.

There is no sweet air here, and of course there are no homeless people or various vicious incidents everywhere.

What impressed Ning Chen deeply was that this place seemed more spacious and sparsely populated.

Except in the most densely populated areas, traffic jams are relatively rare.

When they arrived at the hotel, with the help of the staff, Ning Chen and Liu Xu completed the check-in procedures.

The rooms prepared by the Simmons Foundation for Ning Chen and Liu Xu were great, even more luxurious than the room Ning Chen stayed in when he went to Shuimu University.

Due to the fatigue of the journey, Ning Chen and Liu Xu fell asleep on the bed shortly after returning to the room after lunch.

Both of them slept for a long time, and when they woke up again, it was already the next morning local time.

At this time, Ning Chen and Liu Xu had not completely overcome the time lag and were in a relatively chaotic state.

Fortunately, the award ceremony is scheduled for tomorrow night, so Ning Chen and Liu Xu still have enough time to make adjustments.

Liu Xu proposed to go shopping with Ning Chen. Ning Chen also felt that after finally coming here, he couldn't stay in the hotel all the time, so he agreed to Liu Xu's proposal.

The two of them went to relatively safe places, and because it was daytime, there was no chaos on the street.

Ning Chen, if you are in the United States, you should try not to go out at night. Nighttime is the peak period for various vicious cases. Of course, during the day, as long as you don't go to particularly remote places, there is no need to worry too much about safety issues. Liu Xu said .

There are still a lot of Chinese here. The two came to the nearby Chinatown, felt the strong cultural atmosphere, and had a Chinese meal here.

The next day, Ning Chen and Liu Xu did not choose to go out, but stayed in the hotel room, waiting for the award ceremony to begin.

The award ceremony was held in an auditorium at MIT. In the afternoon, the staff of the Simmons Foundation led Ning Chen and Liu Xu to the auditorium.