Free Web NovelChapter 660: Chapter 371: Increase Election of Academician in the Faculty_2
Many scholars work abroad due to poor research conditions or lack of recognition. Zhao Yi, on the other hand, received attention from the entire nation, consistently produced achievements, and was on the verge of being named an academician of the Science Academy. So, there was absolutely no reason for him to work abroad.
Still, regardless of the circumstances, Zhou Zhengbin hoped that Zhao Yi could increase his involvement with the School of Sciences.
...
Zhao Yi had no intentions of mentoring students, especially those from the School of Sciences...
What a joke!
If he were to mentor students in the future, he would choose to be a mentor in the College of Life Sciences. Mathematics and physics subjects require strong logical thinking. Despite his increasingly advanced intelligence attribute, his research still primarily relied on cause-effect thinking. How could he guide others to think?
This was a matter of capability.
Zhao Yi considered himself to be quite responsible; he didn’t want to ’lead students astray’.
Of course.
He was only just in his junior year, it was simply too early to consider such matters. He had four years of university life to enjoy and wanted to do just that. Even though he had many responsibilities, reducing his workload was key to maintaining a relaxed lifestyle, which took precedence over everything else.
Before delivering his academic report, Zhao Yi had another major task at hand: to participate in the second round of the Academician election review in the Department of Mathematical Physics at the Science Academy.
The Academician election required two rounds of evaluation. After getting through the second round vote, he could officially become an academician of the department.
The Academician election assembly for the Department of Mathematical Physics was held at the Jingbei Conference Center in the capital. Though he didn’t have to take an early flight south, the process still took up two whole days.
A week prior, many people had called him, urging Zhao Yi to ’hurry up’ and get there.
The urgency was mainly due to his research results on the ’Supersymmetry Problem’. Qiu Chengwen had spent half a month studying it, and there were still aspects he struggled to comprehend. This reflected the complexity in mathematical structure and logical difficulty associated with the ’Supersymmetry Problem’.
Zhao Yi decided to arrive a day early to be on the safe side and went straight to the conference center upon arrival.
The Jingbei Conference Center was a very important venue, often hosting some major domestic conferences. Inside the conference center was a hotel for guest attendees; the high-standard treatment they received was undoubtedly very special.
As soon as Zhao Yi entered the small conference hall for the discussions, he was immediately surrounded by several individuals, most of whom were retired academicians attending the assembly.
After the introductions, Chen Yongquan, who was courteously bending over in deference, immediately got to the point, "We are currently discussing your proof on supersymmetry, but there are a few minor issues."
"Here."
Chen Yongquan picked up a notebook from the table, in which the indiscernible points were written one by one, "Professor Zhao Yi, can you please explain these parts to us?"
Everyone in the room was watching Zhao Yi.
Zhao Yi hadn’t anticipated that his arrival would garner such immediate attention, with a circle of academicians eager to ask questions. With a wry smile, he proceeded to elaborate on each issue.
This was not an easy task.
Although each issue was separate, they all tied back to the overall framework. One small question would lead to a large amount of content for discussion. After explaining two to three issues for over an hour, Zhao Yi felt his mouth drying up. Fortunately, one of the staff members brought over a glass of water. The onlookers started feeling a bit embarrassed.
After he answered several questions and more than an hour had passed, everyone felt tired and overwhelmed, they decided to give it a rest.
Zhao Yi said with a wry smile, "If you’d like to know more, you’re welcome to attend my seminar."
"Definitely going!"
"Absolutely going!"
"Your research in particle energy mathematics is truly eye-opening! It feels like the future direction of theoretical physics!"
A few retired academicians gave him highly flattering remarks.
Chen Yongquan couldn’t help but complain, "It’s all because of Zhang Hongzhi. That fellow didn’t even dare to come!"
A few other people nodded in agreement.
"Zhang Hongzhi? Director Zhang? What happened?" Zhao Yi was somewhat puzzled.
"Don’t even mention it!"
A seemingly younger academician named Li, who was part of the physics department, complained, "I heard from Chen Yongquan that Zhang Hongzhi reviewed your paper. We went to him together, asking him to help clarify the parts we didn’t understand. Guess what? He didn’t understand our questions and brushed them off saying that he didn’t fully understand your findings."
"The whole department knows about it now." ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
"He didn’t review your paper at all, just filled it with empty words and praises and got it published. Look at what people are saying on the internet? He’s not even embarrassed!"
"This time he didn’t even dare to come to the Academician election for the Department of Mathematical Physics! As the head of the Physics department, he said he’s too busy, and cast an abstention vote in advance. Is this what a person with dignity does..."
Subsequently, several academics began pacing and criticizing Zhang Hongzhi.
Zhao Yi more or less understood what was going on.
He had noticed earlier when his paper was published that Zhang Hongzhi wrote the most flattering review among others, full of extensive praise but lacking substantial content.
So that’s how it is!
Zhang Hongzhi hadn’t reviewed his paper at all and instead wrote a bunch of comments. It was likely that, considering the high degree of difficulty, he simply didn’t want to study the paper thoroughly. However...
This was indeed inappropriate.
Normally, the reviewers would have the right to decline a review invitation or simply say they are too busy with other work, this wouldn’t pose any major issues. Perhaps Zhang Hongzhi felt that being his reviewer was a prestigious opportunity too good to be missed?
But then he didn’t want to take the time to investigate thoroughly?
"Alright then!"
Zhao Yi found it a bit funny. This incident didn’t affect him in any way, but given that his research was globally recognized, the reviews were also circulated around the world.
Although this might not seem like anything substantial, it could reflect poorly once everyone becomes aware of it.
The entire world could see that pile of empty, ostentatious praises that lacked substance. If they found out that Zhang Hongzhi hadn’t reviewed the paper in earnest...
"Could this be considered as digging one’s own grave?"
"It would have been better not to do the review at all!"
After giving it some thought, Zhao Yi concluded that this issue would not affect him. When he submitted the paper, he listed some top dogs from the fields of Mathematics and Physics as reviewers. They had the right to decline the invitation, and if Zhang Hongzhi was not serious about the review after accepting the invitation, he could only blame himself if any trouble ensued.
...
The following day was the Academician election assembly for voting.
The final stage of the academician election had a very packed schedule. Each step, from publicizing candidate profiles and holding conference committee meetings to approve qualifications, was rushed over within a week.
The department meeting was not just about electing the Academician. Electing the Academician was only one part of it. At each annual department meeting, they summarized their work for the year and award-winning academicians were invited to speak. However, the crux of the meeting was to determine the personnel list for the Academic Standing Committee for the following year and vote for the Academician election candidates.
Before the department meeting, the candidates for academics must also undergo a qualification review by the Academic Standing Committee.
This was an additional filter before the department meeting.
The Academic Standing Committee would conduct a face-to-face review of the candidates before the second round, which is the final Academician election vote. This can somewhat be considered as a ’job interview’, except there were many more interviewers. However, the internal review of the department is relatively straightforward – it’s a chance for face-to-face discussion and it also provides candidates a platform to showcase themselves. This way, the academicians who are unsure about voting can decide who to vote for.
Besides, the Academic Standing Committee has the right to revoke the qualification of a candidate for Academician beforehand.
This essentially serves as a ’preventive’ mechanism.
For example, if there are rumors that a candidate has participated in the election through unfair means, one must pay attention to these rumors and let the candidate clarify.
Furthermore, candidates with particularly poor reputations may be disqualified from the candidacy after the review.
So on and so forth.
Every single candidate participating in the Academician election in good faith, without any negative reputation, should successfully pass the review of the Academic Standing Committee. The only variable here is the quality of the performance during the review.
If they perform well, they might win some more votes for themselves.
Zhao Yi’s primary motive to attend the Academician election assembly was mainly to participate in the Academic Standing Committee’s election because he doesn’t need to participate in other stages personally.
