I just want to be a quiet scholar

Chapter 209 Familiarity with the Environment and Systems

Shen Qi paced the campus of Pudong University, walking very slowly, observing every grass and tree, passing pedestrians, and flying birds.

Puda covers an area of ​​2.4 square kilometers, which is just a little bigger than half of Yan's.

Although the enrollment scale has expanded in recent years, the total number of undergraduates + postgraduates + doctoral students in the General University does not exceed 8000.

Regardless of the area or the number of students compared to other colleges, Pudong University is regarded as a "pocket university".

However, this pocket university attracts the best students from all over the world, and there must be something unique about it.

Ranking No.1 in the United States is the golden signboard of the General University.

The ratio of professors (non-ordinary lecturers) to students is 1:5.9, which is rare in the United States and rare in the world.

With fewer students and more professors, students can receive a better education, and professors have the time and energy to tutor students one-on-one.

What's more, there are many winners of Nobel Prize, Phil Prize and MacArthur Scholar Award among these professors.

Walking downhill along Nassau Street, stands the Flint Library, the soul of Princeton, with a collection of 800 million books.

The core of a university is her library. Shen Qi stood at the entrance of the Flintstone Library for 1 minute and saluted, which is respect for knowledge.

Moving on, Shen Qi saw the retro buildings with Gothic dome towers and ancient Greek cloister columns. ivy.

Princeton is a beautiful university, and the entire campus complex shows an ancient, solemn cultural atmosphere and historical atmosphere.

It is not the bustling and bustling Boston where Harvard and MIT are located, but it is a dream place for many students to study.

Shen Qi arrived at the Graduate Residential College, and he booked an apartment before coming to Pudong University.

It's clean, tidy, and bright. Shen Qi likes this apartment, and his favorite furniture is an old bookcase with a sense of time, although the cabinet is empty.

Shen Qi will take three, five or more years to fill the bookcase. Of course, he hopes to return to China after completing his studies as soon as possible. His concern is in the motherland.

Shen Qi spent half a month with jet lag and familiarized himself with the environment on the campus of Pudong University.

Everyone seems to be knowledgeable and talkative at this deeply academic research university.

For example, Jack, the administrator of the Graduate Residential College, is a white uncle.

"Hey, Shen, you are a rich man." Jack said to Shen Qi.

"No, I'm not a rich man." Shen Qi shook his head, he was already familiar with Jack, and he would chat with Jack every day when he first arrived, and further familiarize himself with every detail of PKU.

"But you don't have a girlfriend or family, but you live in an apartment," Jack said.

Pudong University has five residential colleges for undergraduates and one residential college for graduate students. Generally, there are two types of rooms, double/multi-person suites, or apartments.

The accommodation fee for the apartment is twice that of the suite. Shen Qi's tuition and accommodation fees in the first year are not cheap, amounting to US$5.

The scholarship given by the U.S. government is exactly $5. What Shen Qi wants is a quiet private space.

"I like to live in an apartment." Shen Qi said, and asked again, "Jack, today is September 9st, the fall admission day for graduate students. How should I enroll?"

"Who is your mentor?" Jack asked.

Shen Qi: "Professor Alan Mueller of the Department of Mathematics."

"Then you go to Professor Alan Mueller." Jack said of course.

"No entrance ceremony?"

"not at all."

"Well, thank you Jack, I know what to do."

Shen Qi walked towards the office building of the Department of Mathematics. There were no counselors in this university. When Shen Qi encountered a question he did not understand, he asked Jack, the administrator of the residential college, and Jack could often give reliable answers.

Luther Hall, here is the office building of the Department of Mathematics, a neo-Gothic building.

Before he came to Pudong University, Shen Qi was in awe of Luther Hall. A little old man who came out of this building could be a famous figure in the mathematics world.

In recent years, although the titans of the Princeton Mathematics Department have retired and returned to China, there are still double-digit Philippine Prize winners teaching and doing research here.

Half a month after coming to Princeton, Shen Qi passed by Luther Hall more than once, and saw three Philippine Award winners with his own eyes.

Although he has met the Philippine Prize winner, Shen Qi has not met his mentor, Professor Mueller.

Today, in an office in Luther Hall, Shen Qi finally had the first official meeting with his mentor.

"Hello, Professor Mueller, I'm Shen Qi, nice to meet you." Shen Qi saw Mueller's photo on the Internet. The real person is similar to the photo, a thin old German man with white hair.

"Good morning, Shen, sign." This was the first sentence Mueller said after seeing Shen Qi, and he handed Shen Qi a piece of paper.

Signing as soon as we meet, what's the rule?
Shen Qi took the blank paper and carefully reviewed it. This was the "Princeton Honor Code Guarantee".

The honor code guarantee reads: "I promise to never commit plagiarism or other ethical violations of all written assignments, examinations, research projects, and academic papers while in school."

Then there's the signature bar.

With the Princeton motto in Latin.

Beginning in 1893, every new student at Princeton University has to sign a Princeton Honor Code Guarantee to make a written guarantee of his integrity.

Because of the existence of the "Honor Rules", there are no invigilators in the various examinations of the University, and it depends on the self-discipline and consciousness of the students.

Despite unproctored exams, there are few students who cheat.

Once caught, the school will impose extremely severe penalties on students who cheat, plagiarize or violate other ethics, up to and including expulsion.

Shen Qi signed the guarantee and handed it to Professor Mueller. This was the end of the freshman admissions process.

"Edward is not recruiting graduate students this year. The graduate department has arranged for you to be my student. Would you like to, Shen?" Mueller asked.

Edward Muller's mouth is Edward Witten, the most authoritative expert in mathematical physics in the world today, and a winner of the Fields Medal.

Edward Witten was born in physics and accidentally won the Fields Medal. This is his personal profile.

Shen Qi's one-way choice on the application documents was Wei Teng, and he wanted to be a student of Wei Teng.

Unfortunately, Mr. Witten did not recruit graduate students this year, so Shen Qi became Mr. Muller's student.

Thousands of miles have come, what can you do if you don't want to?
"Dear Professor Mueller, your name is well-known in the mathematics world. I am very willing to be your student and spend a pleasant few years with you." Shen Qi said.

To integrate into a new environment, the first thing to do is to keep a low profile.

Shen Qi didn't have a friend in the United States, so he needed to be on the lookout and act according to circumstances.

It is not easy to install B unless it is a last resort, because Shen Qi does not understand how the system of installing B in general works, and what is the difference between it and China?
It takes time to get familiar with it, experience it, and feel it with your heart.

"Which direction does your Depth choose?" Mueller went straight to the topic.

There are 18 research directions in the graduate department of the Department of Mathematics of Pudong University. No mathematician can be proficient in all 18 research directions, and is proficient in more than two considered talents.

After the newly admitted graduate students and their supervisors discuss, they choose one of the 18 directions as their Depth.

Depth can be understood as the main attack direction. In this main attack research direction, you must be profound, otherwise you will not be able to graduate.

"I chose Mathematical Physics as the main attack direction." Shen Qi had already decided on his Depth, of course, this also had to be combined with the professional research direction of his mentor.

If the tutor is not proficient in mathematical physics, you can choose Depth for nothing.

Professor Muller has profound research strength in the fields of mathematical physics, number theory, algebraic geometry, group theory, etc., and has made outstanding research results... This is written on the official website of the Department of Mathematics, Pudong University. Shen Qilai did his homework before.Therefore, this old German is still a mathematician, but the biggest award he won is the "German Science Progress Award", an award that is commended in Germany.

(End of this chapter)