Chapter 254: Chapter 112 Professor Frank, Would You Like to be a Reviewer? _4

“You’re wrong again, Professor Dugen. Actually, this is his second paper completed independently. His first paper was published in the Journal of Number Theory, wherein at the age of fifteen, he summarized a method for solving a type of cubic Diophantine equation.”

“This…well, I’m even more intrigued by your student. Maybe we could invite him to Princeton for an exchange if there’s a chance.”

“Of course, but he’s still too young. Maybe in two or three years?”

“Agreed, well then, I won’t keep you from resting, Professor Tian. It’s been a pleasure talking with you, goodbye.”

“Goodbye.”

…

After hanging up, Lott Degen pondered for a moment, then took out his phone and called Zhang Shuwen.

Admittedly, the introduction from Tian Yanzhen piqued his curiosity about Qiao Yu, and he was eager to discuss this young prodigy face to face with Zhang Shuwen.

The call was quickly connected.

“Hello, Professor Zhang, do you have a moment?”

“Not at the moment, it’s my office hours, ending in twenty-five minutes.”

This indeed meant no free time, as office hours indicated being available in the office for academic discussions. It is a mandatory weekly task for professors teaching at Princeton University.

During this period, professors must stay in their office, waiting for students to approach them with academic issues, course content, research methods, or even life guidance… and discuss any such matters.

Professors being too busy sometimes have teaching assistants substitute for them in classes, and it is common for schools to permit TAs to handle some teaching duties, especially discussion classes and tutoring sessions.

But during office hours, professors must personally be in the office; otherwise, they would certainly face student complaints.

After all, Princeton is a private university with high tuition fees, so if students feel that they’re not getting the help they deserve as regulated, they would be dissatisfied.

“Alright then, how about having lunch together?”

“Yes, okay, but is there something in particular?”

“I’d like to discuss a person with you, or rather a very talented new star in Huaxia mathematics.”

“Are you referring to Qiao Yu? How do you know him?”

“Haha, it seems we agree on this, let’s talk over lunch. How about at Laurea? It’s been a while since I’ve had Italian food.”

“Sure, Dean Dugen.”

After hanging up, Lott Degen eagerly began arranging for Princeton’s supercomputer center to verify the formulas provided in Qiao Yu’s paper.

Even though there’s a report from Yanbei University’s supercomputer center attached to the paper, wasn’t the paper authored by Yanbei University?

This report could save a lot of time for secondary verification; for example, there’s no need to rewrite the program, just check it once thoroughly, and if there’s no issue, proceed to use it directly.

After making the arrangements, he also sent an email to Robert Green.

Then he logged into Princeton’s literature system and found Qiao Yu’s paper published in the Journal of Number Theory, downloaded and printed it.

This series of actions were essentially a standard background check for a new author as the editor in charge of the paper, based entirely on the rigor of academic research.

As for the second author of the paper, Lott Degen directly ignored it.

The paper clearly explained the contribution levels of both authors. Frankly, being listed as a second author when just providing some inspiration as an independent researcher seemed a bit far-fetched…

But there’s always some leniency for unknown child prodigies.

After doing all this, Lott Degen glanced at the time, and it was almost half-past eleven, so he casually picked up the printed paper and set off for the appointment.

Although there’s no strong tradition for having a full meal at noon, the Laurea restaurant at the campus’ entrance was quite good and perfect for a treat now and then. Most importantly, although it was an Italian restaurant, it had a French restaurant style—slow service.

Often this isn’t considered an advantage, but it’s different when you need to have a discussion.

And at noon, it’s less crowded, no reservation needed.

…

When Lott Degen arrived at the restaurant, Zhang Shuwen had already arrived.

After greeting each other, they sat down at the table. Without any small talk, Lott Degen handed over the paper to Zhang Shuwen: “Once you look at this paper, you’ll understand why I wanted to talk to you about Qiao Yu. For me, this is a rare surprise in recent years.”

“To be honest, even though Professor Tian vouches academically for this child, it is still hard for me to believe that a sixteen-year-old completed this paper independently.”

Zhang Shuwen took the paper from Lott Degen, glanced at it, and exclaimed in amazement: “He actually managed to work out this problem? How long has it been?”

“Yes, not only did he solve it, but the conclusion is exemplary. It seems you indeed attended his project seminars. I suddenly want to know when he confirmed the proposition, but I still suggest you finish reading the introduction. I’m willing to retain that anticipation for a while longer.”

Lott Degen said with anticipation.

Zhang Shuwen gave Lott Degen a glance, then continued to peruse the paper.

Clearly, upon seeing the universal formula, Zhang Shuwen once again showed a surprised expression. Like Degen had thought, this professor quickly started flipping through the content based on the table of contents, skipping the majority of the proof material at the beginning and directly turning to the proof process of the geometric constraint invariants for a more detailed read.