Chapter 1007: Chapter 503: The End? No! The Research Has Just Begun!_1
Capital Airport.
A civilian airliner bound for New York smoothly ascended into the sky.
Li Ning was on the plane, and he was to transfer at Kennedy to New York, then from New York to Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
The journey was destined to be extremely exhausting. While other passengers seized the opportunity to rest, Li Ning seemed full of energy, looking around as if searching for someone, or as if it was his first time on a plane.
A little Caucasian boy sitting across the aisle pointed at him and said to his father, "Daddy, look at him, is he like me? He’s naughtier than I am, always looking around. You said that’s impolite."
The Caucasian man hurriedly covered the boy’s mouth and gave Li Ning an apologetic smile.
Li Ning immediately felt embarrassed.
Children don’t lie, and the boy had openly expressed what other passengers were sensing; when Li Ning looked around, he could feel everyone casting annoyed glances at him.
He turned his head and said to the Caucasian man, "Don’t you know me? Don’t you recognize me? I mean... superconducting antigravity..."
"What?"
"Superconducting antigravity?"
"Antigravity?" the Caucasian man became excited, "Is it a sci-fi movie? You must be a writer! I’ve done a lot of research on Superman and have always been curious about how Superman can fly. How do you explain it in your work?"
"Well..."
Li Ning realized discussing superconducting antigravity was a huge mistake.
For the rest of the journey, he became much quieter, as no one recognized him and nobody knew about the issue of superconducting antigravity.
One day later.
Li Ning finally returned to Alabama and got off the plane in Tuscaloosa.
The journey had drained all his energy, and after leaving the airport, all he wanted was to go home and have a good sleep, no longer having the energy to think about superconductivity or antigravity.
The next morning, Li Ning got up wearily and went to the University of Alabama.
He had no worries about work.
Though it was a sudden trip to China, the treatment was completely different with results than without.
If he had returned empty-handed, he was almost certain to be dismissed by the school.
Now, the school welcomed his return. The dean of the School of Sciences, the head of the personnel department, and several professors all waited in the hall. When they saw him coming in, they began to clap their hands in welcome.
"Clap, clap, clap!"
The applause was enthusiastic.
"Welcome Professor Li’s triumphant return!"
"This is our Nobel laureate, our beloved Professor Li Ning, and for decades, our finest colleague!"
"Now, please Professor Li, deliver a speech!"
Surrounded by a group of smiling people, Li Ning said, "I’m very happy that my theory has been proven. But this is just the beginning. I believe there will be more discoveries in the future, as long as we continue to research in one direction, we will surely achieve results..."
He spoke briefly.
The people in the hall immediately continued to applaud as if to acknowledge what he had said.
When the welcome ceremony at the School of Sciences concluded, Li Ning went to the personnel department to continue his position, and then inquired about his course arrangements.
After finishing everything, he returned to his office.
At that moment, Li Ning felt a bit depressed to discover that, contrary to his expectations, nothing seemed to have changed.
He was still a full professor of physics at the University of Alabama, and there was no improvement in his work environment or treatment.
Of course, that was normal.
Li Ning was already a full professor, holding the highest research position at the school, so there was no way he could be promoted any further.
As for how much of a bonus the school would provide... ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
Impossible!
The branch of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa to which Li Ning belonged was a public research university.
The University of Alabama had some reputation, but its national ranking among M Country’s universities was not high, placing it well outside the top one hundred overall.
The University of Alabama’s strongest disciplines included Public Relations Management, followed by the Medical School which just managed to squeeze into the top ten, and the Law School ranked in the top fifty. The fields of Information, Communications, and Nursing were recognized by outsiders.
But all of this was unrelated to the School of Sciences.
The physics department at the University of Alabama was not even close to being ranked. The department had only a few professors, some of whom were part-time PhD students. Li Ning was the most outstanding among them.
When a school’s department lacks scale, talent, and achievements, naturally, its funding is limited. They were worried about even maintaining the physics laboratory equipment, let alone handing out hefty bonuses to professors.
...
Of course, the physics department at the University of Alabama could not ignore an active professor who achieved a world-class physics result.
In fact, before Li Ning returned to the school, the dean of the School of Sciences had already discussed with the head of human resources, and they unanimously agreed on one thing—
Li Ning could not be kept.
Li Ning had achieved the pinnacle of physical results. His theory of superconducting antigravity had been proven, and it was certain that he would receive international physics awards.
If it were just about winning an award, even the Nobel Prize wouldn’t necessarily affect the position of a full professor. The key was that Li Ning’s achievements were in the field of antigravity.
The international physics community knew that Stanford University delved the deepest into antigravity research. Stanford University invested more than one hundred million dollars each year into this research. Scientists who achieved results in related fields almost always chose Stanford University.
Even if they didn’t choose Stanford, they would accept the subsidies offered by Stanford University.