Top academic

Chapter 151: Frustrated Senior Brother Chen
To be honest, Chen Zhuoyang has not been doing well recently. He actually feels that he has oversimplified many things.

In a sense, colleges and universities are the most fertile ground for the development of factions.

The relationship between teachers and students, and the relationship between classmates, often form natural alliances.

As for why we need an alliance, two words: competition!

To outsiders, universities are ivory towers, but in fact the internal competition is no different from that in society.

There is no need to talk about the competition among universities.

The most significant difference between Chinese higher education and that in other countries is that the better the school, the cheaper the tuition.

The tuition fee for most undergraduate majors in 985 and Double First-Class Universities is only yuan, and even the tuition fee for second-tier universities is not much more expensive.

But the tuition fees of those third-tier colleges that you have never heard of are often between 15,000 and 30,000 yuan, and some colleges even charge 50,000 yuan or more per year.

As we all know, first-class schools are definitely many times better than third-tier schools in terms of faculty and hardware configuration, and these all require huge amounts of money to maintain, but the tuition is several times less than that of third-tier schools...

The widely acknowledged saying that cheap goods are not good is not only invalid when it comes to university educational resources, but is the exact opposite.

The funding gap is naturally filled by subsidies. After all, high-quality teaching resources cannot be created out of thin air.

But the annual funding for education and scientific research is limited. If your family gets more, his family will get less.

Therefore, most of the presidents of famous universities are academicians. Even if they are not academicians, you can find out how brilliant the resumes of these big guys were by checking their resumes.

In short, the principal must not only manage effectively internally, but also have a say externally, so that when the pie is divided, he or she will have the confidence to fight for a little more...

Similarly, after the external competition is over, there will also be competition among colleges within universities.

If you look carefully at the deans of the majors in various universities, you will find that most of them are not the most powerful ones in the college, or even among the most powerful ones. And generally speaking, they are middle-aged people in their thirties or forties.

why?
Because such a person is the most suitable. And the candidate is often the one recommended by the upper management and the internal staff after various discussions.

You should know that the resources of each secondary college under the school are allocated by the school. Middle-aged people in their thirties or forties may become vice-school-level leaders in the future if they work in the administrative position of dean for a few years.

In addition, the department itself is the school's advantageous major. If we train a vice-president-level leader, when the school allocates resources in the future, it will naturally lean towards the college that trained him.

This is also in line with the maximization of factional interests. Therefore, the advantaged colleges in universities are often very united internally, because everyone compromises with each other, which can make the pie bigger and maximize the benefits.

But the logic of some secondary colleges within the school that are not dominant is different.

This major may not have produced a school-level cadre in the past ten years or so, so naturally it does not have much say when resources are allocated within the school.

In addition, the professional strength is not advantageous, and the resources cannot compete with other advantageous departments with A grade or above. Therefore, they can only focus on internal fighting and fight for those few resources within the college.

Yes, the logic of competition within universities is actually not much different from that of the international community. The worse the department, the more serious the internal fighting. This is similar to the fact that the poorer the place, the more chaotic it is.

These are things that Chen Zhuoyang never experienced when he was at Yanbei University.

After all, the volunteer code of the School of Mathematics of Yanbei University is 001. It is one of the top majors of Yanbei University, and everyone is relatively united inside.

Not to mention anything else, there are only 42 mathematical academicians in the Chinese Academy of Mathematical Sciences, and Yanbei University alone accounts for seven of them.

But Jinzhou University is different. Since the School of Mathematics was separated from the School of Science, its development can only be described as unsatisfactory.

If you look at the internal professional ratings, you will see that there are many A-level subjects, most of which are concentrated in engineering. Mathematics is only rated B.

Of course, it doesn’t mean that B is very bad. At least it is ranked among the top 20%-30% in the country. But there is no way, who can blame other majors for being so good?
Among a bunch of A+/A/A-, a B is not very noticeable. Not to mention that none of Jinzhou University's double first-class disciplines have anything to do with mathematics.

So before the class even started, Chen Zhuoyang already felt that something was wrong.

For example, when new teachers were receiving induction training, he could clearly feel that the attitudes of several new colleagues towards him were lukewarm.

He had arrived early for today's meeting to arrange teaching for the new semester, intending to take an opportunity to report his work to Director Xu of the Teaching and Research Department.

He learned this from Qiao Yu.

As a newcomer, he plans to focus on teaching, so it is always a good idea to communicate more with the director of the teaching and research department.

Then he felt something was wrong again.

Director Xu, who had been quite enthusiastic towards him before, also became very strange in his attitude. It wasn't that he was directly irritated, but he could clearly feel that he had no patience, and the words he spoke to him became clichés.

It’s not that Chen Zhuoyang is sensitive. Anyone who can become a PhD in mathematics must have a decent IQ. People with a decent IQ are often more sensitive to changes in the attitudes of people around them.

Of course, some people think that people who are good at math are not that magical. In fact, many times when they come into contact with such people, they feel that they have low emotional intelligence, like a nerd who has become stupid because of reading too much... This is indeed possible.

But the more likely possibility is that the guy is arrogant, or that the damn guy does not regard the person he is communicating with as a fellow human being, especially when he feels that the person he is communicating with seems to be talking about extremely stupid topics.

In short, this has made Chen Zhuoyang feel very uncomfortable. This is probably why Qiao Yu can make Chen Zhuoyang impulsive just by drawing a big picture.

After all, in this era, thirty years old is just the beginning for a PhD. He is still young and needs to maintain his reputation.

Not to mention that since graduation and coming out of the Yanbei International Center for Mathematical Research, Chen Zhuoyang has clearly felt that he is actually still very outstanding.

Although his coming to Tianjin University this time must have been due to his tutor's favor, he still had to go through qualification review and assessment before officially joining the company.

Especially at the academic review interview and defense meeting, it can be said that his performance was definitely among the best.

Similarly, when he was giving a trial lecture on the course content, he was very well prepared. It can even be said that the moment he stood on the podium, Chen Zhuoyang was really passionate and even performed above his level.

This must have made him feel that he was really suitable for the podium. Whether it was the PPT of the teaching content or the teaching method, he felt that he could give himself more than 90 points.

And all of these were recorded and videotaped. He is not exaggerating, the Oxford returnees who participated in the interview and assessment with him did not perform as well as him in terms of professional theoretical literacy, academic expression, and logical thinking ability during the academic defense.

When answering questions, he kept saying "um, ah, and then, that is..." It made him feel uncomfortable.

The same was true when he was giving lectures. Chen Zhuoyang even doubted whether his competitor had made a lesson plan, as he clearly seemed unable to grasp the main points.

Just like that, the other party passed the review and became a new lecturer in the School of Mathematics just like him.

To be honest, this future colleague has become a source of confidence for Chen Zhuoyang. If someone of this caliber can be a lecturer at the School of Mathematics, Chen Zhuoyang feels that he will definitely have no problem doing so.

Even if the other person may just be not good at speaking, or may not be very good at teaching, but has strong scientific research capabilities, Chen Zhuoyang feels that since he is a lecturer rather than a researcher, the ability to express himself in lectures should at least be equally important as scientific research.

So he really couldn't understand why it seemed that this colleague seemed to get along well with everyone. He wanted to get along well with everyone, but everyone seemed to be on guard against him.

Just like in today's meeting, he saw several people constantly looking at their phones. So he took out his phone and took a look after feeling the vibration.

As a result, he was called out by the vice president who was speaking. What the hell is this?

Of course, it doesn’t matter if he complains in his heart, but since the vice president asked him to speak, he still had to speak.

Fortunately, although he was looking at his phone, he also heard what the vice president said just now. As a new teacher, he was just telling everyone about his plans for the new semester and where to start teaching.

This was obviously not a problem for Chen Zhuoyang, so he was naturally not afraid to speak.

And after going over it in his mind, he even planned to talk in depth about his ambitions in conjunction with the differential geometry he was going to teach.

"Hello, leaders and colleagues. First of all, I would like to thank President Zhang for giving me the opportunity to talk to you..."

"Ahem... Mr. Chen, there's no need to use those clichés. Be more pragmatic and just talk about work directly. Try to be brief."

As soon as Chen Zhuoyang began to speak, he was interrupted by Dean Zhang on the stage.

Chen Zhuoyang was stunned for a moment, and then he heard someone around him seem to laugh secretly.

I started to get a little angry, but when I saw the leaders sitting on the stage didn't say anything, I suppressed my anger.

"Okay, Dean Zhang. The course I'm in charge of in the new semester is differential geometry. According to the syllabus, students are mainly required to master space curves, first and second basic forms...

...In terms of course arrangement, I will follow the teaching arrangement that combines theory with practice, and formulate a series of open tasks and design exploratory topics in a targeted manner.

And through some physical phenomena and application cases, such as mirror reflection and surface modeling, let students study the application of differential geometry in combination with practical problems. My speech is over. "

Chen Zhuoyang finished his speech with an expressionless face.

If he is not allowed to thank, he will not thank.

My supervisor is also an academician, so it’s okay at Yanbei University, and I have to control my temper.

The main reason is that there is no other way. No matter who you pick out from his surroundings, Chen Zhuoyang feels that they are much better than him.

Even the new junior fellow student, Qiao Yu, who was only sixteen years old, was not discussed with mathematics directly. Any small achievement he made was a combination of punches.

But after coming here, he has seen the research results of other colleagues.

He admitted that there were indeed people who were stronger than him. For example, there were also those strong people in the school's Ten Thousand People Plan, but Chen Zhuoyang really felt that there were not many.

Moreover, in his opinion, the biggest difference between the School of Mathematics of Jinzhou University and Yanbei University is that they have little foundation in basic mathematics. This is also the reason why he thinks he can make great achievements.

Most of my colleagues are engaged in applied mathematics, and they particularly like to follow hot topics, which results in most of the papers they publish being published in more general journals.

Now he has the protection of his junior fellow apprentice, so it is hard to say who will achieve greater academic success in the future.

So even though he had a rough idea of ​​what was going on, he didn't intend to endure it any longer.

The only thing he couldn't understand was that he had never dealt with the vice president before, and today was the first time they met. Why did the other party seem to dislike him?

But thinking about it carefully, he didn't need to kowtow to someone who disliked him. He had already been recruited, and no matter how powerful this person was, he couldn't just send him back.

Not to mention that his own mentor is also a Top 0 academician. If they really fall out, Chen Zhuoyang doesn't think the other party will get away with it.

As for him, the worst that can happen is that he will just follow his junior fellow apprentice in the sect!

“As a new lecturer, Teacher Chen has some ideas, but how to implement them into the course, such as the actual effect of interactive teaching, the feasibility of challenge activities and the quality of results, still need to be explored.

In addition, Mr. Chen, I want to criticize you for being a new lecturer, and for showing a serious attitude at important teaching meetings.

You can’t relax your requirements just because you’ve been hired. You should pay more attention in the next meeting and not focus on your phone.”

After saying that, without giving Chen Zhuoyang a chance to refute, Dean Zhang continued to call on him: "Ji Taining, Teacher Ji, you can also speak."

"Okay, Dean Zhang..."

The meeting lasted for two hours. As soon as the meeting was announced to be over, Chen Zhuoyang stood up and walked out of the meeting room without paying attention to anyone.

Chen Zhuoyang was too lazy to pay attention to these people, nor was he too lazy to do the face-saving work. Anyway, his lesson plan was already ready, and he just had to teach the class step by step.

Even if there are any problems, they will be adjusted based on the feedback from students after teaching. During this period, he still plans to focus on Qiao Yu's project.

Now Chen Zhuoyang really feels that what Qiao Yu said is right. After all, he has to achieve good results in order to gain a foothold in college.

However, Chen Zhuoyang's action seemed a bit out of line in the eyes of some people.

"People born in the 1990s now really have their own personalities."

"Dean Zhang, Xiao Chen is a student of Academician Tian after all, and he is still very outstanding."

"The new teachers we recruited this time are all excellent, and none of them have the same bad temper as him. What's wrong with Tian Yanzhen's students? They haven't figured out their own problems yet, so how can they interfere with us? Last time..."

"Okay, Lao Zhang, some things should be said behind closed doors between one's back and another. Do you really want others to hear it? Make a big fuss and make a fool of yourself?"

"I'm worried that the temple in our School of Mathematics is too small to support such a big Buddha."

"..."

The discussion did not continue. The logic was probably that although everyone was on the same side, some people still thought the statement was stupid and did not want to continue the exchange.

But there is no way. If everyone can stay rational, there will be fewer contradictions in this world.

……

"Chen Zhuoyang, Teacher Chen." Chen Zhuoyang, who had just walked out of the administrative building, suddenly heard someone calling him from behind. He stopped, turned around, took a look, and forced a smile and asked, "Teacher Zhou, what's up?"

The teacher who called him was named Zhou Yang. He came to Jinzhou University three years earlier than him. He also graduated from Yanbei University, but he was a doctor in the School of Mathematics.

Although the Yanbei International Center for Mathematical Research is built on the basis of Yanbei University, the teaching resources on both sides are often interchangeable and even complementary.

However, the doctoral training methods of the Center for Mathematical Research and the School of Mathematics are somewhat different.

For example, the Mathematical Research Center focuses more on cutting-edge theoretical research in pure mathematics, and often provides doctoral students with some internationally collaborative theoretical research projects, but rarely touches on applied areas.

The Yanbei School of Mathematics covers a wider range, covering a more comprehensive range of mathematical fields, including pure mathematics, applied mathematics, statistics, computational mathematics, etc.

This is also the reason why Chen Zhuoyang often feels regretful when he arrives at the Mathematical Research Center.

If he does not do pure mathematics research, it would not be that difficult for him to switch to applied mathematics earlier and graduate with relatively good grades.

After all, the latter focuses more on computational methods, numerical analysis and modeling techniques. He has less talent for mathematical intuition. At least he doesn't need to do too much original thinking.

"It's almost time for dinner, let's go out for dinner together. I know a restaurant that serves some pretty good beef." Zhou Yang took the initiative.

Chen Zhuoyang hesitated for two seconds. He originally planned to go back to the dormitory first to organize the verification work of the past two days and send it to Qiao Yu first.

But in the end he nodded and replied with a smile: "Okay, thank you Teacher Zhou."

My junior fellow student’s project has just started, and he doesn’t mind spending some time for lunch.

After all, Chen Zhuoyang felt that it was still worth getting to know this teacher, as he could clearly feel that some of the college leaders were not comfortable with him and was still willing to invite him to dinner.

On the way to dinner, the two chatted about some random things, and soon the topic turned to today's events.

"Dean Zhang is in a bad mood today, but you don't have to take it to heart. Just do your job well."

"Teacher Zhou, did I offend Dean Zhang?"

"How could you possibly offend him when you first arrived? You're just unable to vent your anger on him." Zhou Yang smiled and said.

"Turning your anger out on others?" Chen Zhuoyang was a little surprised. He did not expect this answer.

Zhou Yang explained, "I heard that this is a student that Dean Zhang is very optimistic about. He received funding from CSC and went to the University of Leuven for his doctorate. He has always wanted to apply for the Qianqing Project with the support of our school. This is the third time this year. The result just came out two days ago, and he was rejected again."

Chen Zhuoyang suddenly understood the logic behind it and also knew why everyone's attitude had become so mellow in the past two days.

The Qianqing mentioned by Zhou Yang was a habitual name in the past, but in fact it has been changed to the Overseas Excellent Young Scholars Program. The National Natural Science Foundation of China is also responsible for the selection and implementation.

Generally, application materials are submitted at the beginning of the year and the results will be announced around September.

The most important thing is that this program generally only accepts three applications. If you fail three consecutive applications, there is basically no chance.

Coincidentally, my own supervisor, at least in the eyes of many outsiders, is qualified to decide whether applicants in the mathematics field can get the project.

"Dean Zhang is so narrow-minded? Besides, his student's application for Qianqing was not approved. What does it have to do with me? It can't be that my boss just reviewed it, right?" Chen Zhuoyang said speechlessly.

Zhou Yang patted Chen Zhuoyang on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Haha, there are people with even smaller temperaments! You will understand after you stay here for a long time. In our school, we can only say that those who are capable are truly capable, and those who just want to get by are really just getting by.

You will know after you attend a few classes, the professors who teach well are really good. I feel benefited a lot from listening to them, as for the poor ones, haha... In short, at least the teaching level of professors is very polarized.

But Dean Zhang has no choice. There are too many people wearing hats in our college now. The Yangtze River, Outstanding Young Scholars and Excellent Young Scholars have marginalized his department. He finally has a good student, but he just can't push him up.

As for the slogans shouted at the conference, such as developing the School of Mathematics to the top ten level within five years, just listen to them. This slogan was shouted five years ago. But to be fair, there has been some progress in recent years. "

Chen Zhuoyang could hear a hint of complaint in Zhou Yang's voice, but he just nodded and said with emotion: "Now that I think about it, it's still more comfortable to stay in Yanbei."

Knowing why he was targeted today actually made him feel better. At least it wasn't because he was born to be annoying.

"Haha, if I really ask you to go back to study for a doctorate, you will definitely not want to do it. Now we are here, this is the Twelve Vegetarian Restaurant. Their flaming beef cubes and mixed pig's face are delicious. You can try them later."

……

I had dinner with Brother Zhou, who had arrived earlier, for more than an hour. I drank a little wine, but not much.

Mainly chatting.

After all, everyone came from Yanbei, so they were naturally close. Chen Zhuoyang also learned a lot about some things in the academy from Zhou Yang.

For example, who left and who came to the college over the years, what achievements did the probability team have, and so on...

No matter what Zhou Yang was thinking, Chen Zhuoyang was still very grateful. At least he not only solved his doubts, but also gave him a deeper understanding of the working environment.

Seeing that they were almost done eating, when Chen Zhuoyang was about to say goodbye and go back to work, Zhou Yang asked, "By the way, your junior brother Qiao, has he started a big project recently?"

Chen Zhuoyang nodded and said in surprise: "You know everything?"

"It was discussed at the meeting, how could they not know about it. I heard that he voluntarily withdrew it. If it had really been approved, who knows what kind of rumors would spread. After all, your junior brother is only sixteen years old, right?" Zhou Yang said.

Chen Zhuoyang thought of Dean Zhang's attitude at today's meeting and nodded in agreement.

"Well, yes, but don't underestimate him. Let me put it this way, Qiao Yu changed my understanding of genius. Sometimes I feel that he is a little wronged to be my boss's student."

Chen Zhuoyang blurted out what was in his mind, and then suddenly felt that his words were a little inappropriate, so he quickly said, "I'm not saying that Director Tian is not qualified to teach Qiao Yu. Let's put it this way, Tao Xuanzhi is probably not qualified to teach Qiao Yu either."

The reason why Chen Zhuoyang brought up Tao Xuanzhi was because he just thought of the screenshot of the email that Qiao Yu sent to the group during the meeting.

The fact that this big boss had to find a middleman to express his desire to cooperate with Qiao Yu, but was ruthlessly rejected by his own junior fellow apprentice, is enough to explain everything.

"You think so highly of him? To be honest, were the papers he published in Ann.Math, as well as his doubts and supplements to the geometric Langlands conjecture, really done by him personally?" Zhou Yang asked curiously.

Chen Zhuoyang nodded and replied, "I know you may not believe it, but it was really him who did it. When I was still here, Qiao Yu lived downstairs from me. Really, I saw everything he did."

Zhou Yang immediately asked, "So how is your relationship with him?"

Chen Zhuoyang hesitated for a moment, then nodded and replied, "It's OK. We usually meet quite often and chat quite often."

"Then you must not lose contact. Communicate more with Qiao Yu in the future. If he is willing to take you with him when he has a project, your future development will be better than just teaching here."

Zhou Yang sighed.

Chen Zhuoyang smiled and nodded.

It seems that Brother Zhou only heard that Qiao Yu applied for a key project and then withdrew it, and he didn't know the members of the research team.

But this is normal.

It is normal for rumors to spread, but it is not normal if all the details are revealed.

However, today's experience and this meal also strengthened Chen Zhuoyang's determination to hold on to Qiao Yu.

Although my junior brother is only sixteen years old, in the world of mathematics, the strong are respected and it is not shameful to cling to the strong.

Thinking of this, Chen Zhuoyang suddenly wanted to go back and fight.

"Professor Zhou, why don't we stop here today? The semester is about to start, and I have to prepare for class. Dean Zhang is not happy with me now, so I must not let him catch any mistakes in class in the future."

"Okay, here we go then."

The meal was a great success for both the host and the guests.

……

At Yanbei University, Qiao Yu was sulking.

I sent an exciting message in the project group in the afternoon. I clearly asked the senior members of the research group to see the reply, but I waited for the whole afternoon and even went out for dinner, but no one replied in the evening.

Xue Song and Qiao Xi were fine, but even Senior Brother Chen didn't give a response, which showed that he didn't take him, the head of the research group, seriously.

Although he doesn't have much money, scientific research cannot be measured by money!

This is a project that even Fields Medal winners want to join.

Qiao Yu felt that this trend was not right. Just as he was thinking about how to let everyone know that he was angry and realized that he had made a mistake, WeChat finally sent a message.

Sent from Brother Chen.

"Junior brother, the work content for the past two days has been sent to you via email."

"How can you post it now? I made the request in the group this afternoon! Brother Chen, are you slacking off?"

"Oh, don't mention it. I saw the message in that group during the teaching meeting this afternoon. I was about to reply, but the vice president scolded me."

"No? Being scolded during a meeting? No way? Brother Chen, are you so shameless? Don't tell me it's just because you looked at your phone."

Qiao Yu didn't have time to be angry and asked curiously.

After all, Chen Zhuoyang is no longer a student, but a college teacher.

In his impression, Principal Zhang of the middle school always spoke to the good people in a friendly manner.

He couldn't imagine a scene where the dean of a secondary college didn't give face to his senior fellow student during a meeting.

……

"Oh, don't mention it. It's not all because of the phone."

As soon as Chen Zhuoyang sent the message, his cell phone rang.

Qiao Yu on the other side directly sent a WeChat video.

Then he clicked the answer button, and just as he saw Qiao Yu's face full of curiosity, the voice came over.

"Brother Chen, tell me, what's going on? Why would the dean scold you? It also makes my ordinary day happy."

Chen Zhuoyang smiled bitterly...

Fortunately, he was already accustomed to Qiao Yu's way of speaking, so he simply repeated the news that Zhou Yang had told him.

"…That's probably it. Maybe Dean Zhang felt that the tutor was interfering?"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk... is there such a thing? No, Brother Chen, you can't be too soft! If you are bullied, it means our teacher is bullied, and if our teacher is bullied, it means I am bullied!

I tell you, next time he talks about you, you should ask him directly what top journal papers his student has published. And by the way, ask him what top journal papers he has published as a teacher, and what qualifications he has to talk about you.

After hearing what Qiao Yu said, Chen Zhuoyang said helplessly: "No, there is no point in asking. I haven't published any top journal papers, little junior brother."

"Do you want to hear what you are saying? Senior Brother Chen! Um...did you put water next to you?"

"Hmm?" Chen Zhuoyang glanced at the water cup on the table next to him and nodded subconsciously.

"Take it and take a sip, quickly."

Chen Zhuoyang picked up the water cup without knowing why and took a sip.

“How about that, isn’t it? I want to tell you that publishing in a top journal in my research group is as easy as drinking water. Even the four top journals are not a big deal! But I have a request.”

Chen Zhuoyang took a deep breath and asked devoutly, "Junior brother, what is your request? Just tell me directly."

"It's also very simple. Next time I say in the group, when you receive a request for reply, you must reply quickly. Set a good example for the other two members. Is that okay?"

"This is absolutely no problem!"

There was no question mark this time, and Chen Zhuoyang answered in a sonorous and powerful manner.

(End of this chapter)