Chapter 261: Being A Professor

Translator: Henyee Translations  Editor: Henyee Translations

Two editors in the editorial department of Nature Chemistry were working on the newly received manuscripts.

After all, this was one of the top journals in the world. Every manuscript they received had to undergo scrutinized review.

Although the majority of these theses would be heading for the garbage bin, some of them were excellent.

Suddenly, Kevin, who was reading the manuscripts, shouted.

“Unbelievable… Someone solved lithium dendrites?!”

Kevin’s voice caught the attention of his colleague.

Kerryman, who was holding a cup of coffee, stood up and walked next to Kevin’s computer. He looked at the screen and pushed his glasses as he said, “I can’t believe it… If this is real, the battery industry would undergo a technological revolution.”

This statement was not an exaggeration.

Right now, the technical bottleneck restricting lithium batteries was the problem of lithium dendrites. This was applicable in a portable bomb or a high-performance battery. The problem was who could solve the “silver fork” that pierced the diaphragm. Although it was only a small negative electrode material, its application was insanely broad.

Of course, the premise was that this thesis was true.

The two editors stared at this thesis for a long time, no one could make up their minds.

The format of the thesis didn’t have any problems, the writing also didn’t have any mistakes. This type of research experiment was definitely in-line with Nature submissions. But the problem was that this experiment was almost “too high tech”. Everyone was studying how to inhibit the growth of lithium dendrites, but this guy solved this problem completely?

Therefore, the two editors were hesitant.

Kerryman stood behind Kevin and asked, “What do you think about this?”

Kevin frowned and said, “I don’t know. The thesis itself doesn’t seem to have any problems. It’s definitely a breakthrough in the research of lithium batteries, but… I can’t make a definitive conclusion based on the thesis itself.”

Kerryman said, “The writer is from Princeton.”

Kevin sighed and said, “I know, he’s a mathematics professor. Not long ago he won the Crafoord Prize. However, I did some research and only found one material science thesis that he wrote.”

Kerryman paused for a second. He then said, “Professor Lu Zhou’s academic reputation is high, so I think he wouldn’t make any mistakes.”

Kevin asked, “Then your suggestion is?”

Kerryman said, “My suggestion is that if the thesis doesn’t have any problems, and it meets the requirements of our journal, then we should just throw it to the peer reviewers. If the experts think there’s no problem, then we should be fine.”

It was not like the journal was personally responsible.

Kevin said, “Then who do you think is appropriate?”

“MIT professor Moungi G Bawendi. He’s well versed in battery research. I think he’s a good choice,” said Kerryman. He paused for a second before he continued, “Since he reviewed Lu Zhou’s previous materials science thesis, I think his opinion is crucial.”

Kevin thought for a bit. He could not come up with a better idea.

“Then… We’ll just go with your suggestion.”

…

A week after the thesis submission, a piece of good news came from Nature. Lu Zhou’s thesis had passed the technical editor review and entered the peer review stage.

Lu Zhou was relieved to hear this news.

At least his thesis was not like 90% of people, where they were rejected for “not in line with reader’s interest”, or “not enough innovation”.

Although Nature was a good choice, there were many other organic chemistry journals that Lu Zhou could consider. However, Lu Zhou’s objective was to promote his new technology, so in this regard, there was no other journal that had the same level of impact as Nature.

Now that the thesis was in the hands of professionals, it should be a lot easier. Lu Zhou believed that his peers would give his thesis a fair evaluation.

Time quickly passed.

The 15th of July had finally arrived.

As per Lu Zhou’s request, his three master’s students arrived on Princeton grounds.

The three students were Vera Pulyuy from Berkeley, Qin Yue from China, and Hardy Clive from Columbia University.

Lu Zhou already had an impression of Vera, and she did not change much from when he met her in Berkeley. She was still small, but a strong girl.

Qin Yue was the same. He had a pair of square glasses and was very polite, but not very extroverted. However, Lu Zhou recognized his mathematics ability and talent because he had already tested his mathematics ability during the interview.

As for the Brazilian guy named Hardy, his mathematics ability was inferior to Hardy and Vera, but he was still talented.

Lu Zhou developed different requirements and training plans for each of them.

There were not many supervisors who were as responsible as him.

Lu Zhou spent the entire afternoon helping the three students sort out their accommodation and enrollment. Then he brought them to his office and started planning their work for next month.

“Your talents and abilities are good, but you guys are a long way from my requirements.”

Lu Zhou paid careful attention to them when he said this. None of the students expressed dissent. Someone even looked at him with worship.

He cleared his throat and continued, “… Before September, I won’t let you guys touch my research project. Because at your level, the most you can do for my project is to make me coffee. I’ll arrange learning tasks for you guys. If some of you can pass the August test, then I’ll allow you to join my research project…”

“… This research project will accompany you throughout your master’s studies. I’m not asking you to complete it, but you must show results. At least, your results must be worthy of Annual Mathematics. Of course, I’ll help and research with you guys, but the main work has to be done by you. I’ll only provide guidance and ideas.”

Lu Zhou learned this speech from Professor Lu.

However, Princeton had Princeton standards.

During the interview, Lu Zhou reminded them that he would not let them cruise through their master’s. Every day would be fulfilling.

Qin Yue asked, “What if someone doesn’t pass the test?”

You had to pass the test if you wanted to join the project. If you did not pass, it meant that you could not graduate?

Studying abroad was a rare opportunity, so Qin Yue naturally was concerned about this problem.

Lu Zhou said, “Then you would have to study and make coffee for me until you pass the test, but I think you should be more confident. The reason I chose you guys, is because I think you guys can meet my requirements.”

Compared to Qin Yue, Hardy was a little cocky. He was not even worried about the test. Instead, he asked, “Professor, what is the project about?”

Of course, Lu Zhou did not reveal the project directly. He only smiled.

“It’s related to hail.”

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