The Grandmother in the Siheyuan

Chapter 417 Small Gift

Liu Hua didn't come empty-handed to the LNG carrier's launching ceremony; he brought his own gift.

Although the events of July did not occur, it does not mean we can let our guard down. The Americans' desire to target us has never died down, and they may do something else at any time.

So before coming here, Liu Hua had set up an electronic positioning device that could use the ship and satellite signals from the sky to locate the ship's coordinates in the Pacific Ocean.

We still have quite a few observation satellites over the Pacific Ocean. Liu Hua has also reached an agreement with the aerospace department that the signals from these satellites can be used for positioning in emergencies.

However, LNG carriers have dedicated GPS signal receivers, so Liu Hua's satellite positioning device seems somewhat redundant.

"Engineer Liu, aren't you just gilding the lily? We have a more accurate GPS signal, we don't need yours."

Liu Hua countered, "If your ship is sailing perfectly well, and the Americans suddenly cut off your signal, what would you do?"

Why would someone suddenly cut off the signal?

"Because he's targeting you, because he's targeting me, because he's targeting our country." Liu Hua sneered, "In the vast ocean, you who have always relied on GPS signals suddenly lose their signal. What would you do then?"

"Let's just dock at the nearest port."

Liu Hua glanced at Da Congming: "They've already cut off your signal at sea, do you think they'll allow you to dock? They have thousands of military bases around the world, influencing hundreds of countries. If they want to target you, do you think they'll allow you to dock?"

The leader in charge of the shipbuilding industry nodded: "What Engineer Liu said makes perfect sense. Before our country has its own global positioning system, I think it would be good for our shipping ships to have such a thing. Anyway, it won't increase the cost by much."

It was Liu Hua's unintentional act of kindness that actually helped our country's shipping later on. The US failed to do it in July, but they actually tried again the following year. However, due to the mandatory regulations of relevant national departments, ocean-going cargo ships must be equipped with such satellite positioning devices, which saved our ships from disaster and allowed them to escape the US's obstruction.

After attending the launching ceremony, Liu Hua returned to school to check on the progress of the metal 3D printer and chip 3D printing.

On the way, Liu Hua, the school's vice principal, greeted him warmly: "Good morning, Academician Liu!"

"What academician?"

Liu Hua certainly knew what an academician was, but he didn't know when the selection of academicians began, and he was completely confused at the moment.

"Don't you know?"

Liu Hua shook his head: "I haven't paid much attention to these things."

"Truly a man of noble character." The vice-principal gave a thumbs-up and praised, "This year, the country's top scientific research institutions were reorganized. The former academicians are now collectively called academicians, representing the group of people with the highest qualifications in my country's scientific research."

Why didn't I receive a notification?

The vice-principal smiled and said, "You are already a confirmed academician of both the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering. However, the official selection process will not be announced until next month."

Liu Hua nodded: "Ah, this hasn't been announced yet, so we can't be sure, can we?"

“If others can’t do the certification, why can’t you? Just based on these two new materials, carbon fiber and graphene, you’re already a definite academician.” Liu Hua smiled: “This title is both an honor and a responsibility.”

"You see things clearly," the vice principal said admiringly. "Some people only see the honor and rack their brains to get that title. They don't have the qualifications or the achievements, and instead of working hard, they think about taking shortcuts."

The vice principal shook his head: "I think their future is uncertain."

Liu Hua didn't comment. He clicked to see that he was about to reach the Physics Department, while the vice-principal was going in another direction. The two would part ways at the fork in the road ahead.

The vice principal smiled and said, "You'd better make time for October. Don't be too busy. You'll have to attend the conference, and once it's officially announced, the school will hold a celebration for you. This is an honor for both you and the school."

In fact, just a few days later, the Chinese Academy of Engineering called a meeting with Liu Hua to discuss the selection of personnel for this project.

Liu Hua felt somewhat bewildered. He was the one being elected, so why was he being asked to discuss the selection of candidates?

When he arrived, he discovered that he wasn't the only one; there were dozens of people who had come up with a list. Those who agreed approved it, and those who disagreed had to give their reasons.

The competition was fierce, not only because of honor, but also because of the allocation of resources. Having more fellow students gave them more confidence, which in turn led to greater competition for research projects in the future.

Liu Hua mostly voted in favor, and for those he disagreed with, he didn't directly object but abstained. Overall, he felt that the election of the first academicians was very rigorous.

Finally, the relevant leader looked at Liu Hua and said, "Professor Liu, you don't seem to have any different opinions today?"

"I think the selection process was very rigorous. As for the number of abstentions, it's because I don't know this person very well, so I didn't dare to voice my opposition easily."

"Is there anything else you'd like to add?"

Liu Hua nodded: "I'd like to nominate two people. I think these two people are qualified to become academicians."

"Which two, please tell me?"

Liu Hua stood up and said, "The first one is Mr. Tu, who invented artemisinin."

“Artemisinin was not discovered by him alone; it was the collective wisdom of the group.” Some people disagreed, saying, “It is not enough to demonstrate her research ability alone. If she wants to become an academician, she still needs to continue to work hard.”

Surprisingly, many people agreed with this opinion. Liu Hua shook his head: "Many of you here are leaders of major projects. The success of any major project is not the result of collective wisdom. So why are you able to become academicians? The reason we elect academicians is to demonstrate the role of discipline leaders. Isn't Professor Tu's research on artemisinin enough to demonstrate her role as a leader?"

A leading biologist said, "However, the effect of artemisinin is not very obvious. In terms of antimalarial drugs, quinine and other drugs are equally effective, so I don't think artemisinin is a great success."

Liu Hua looked at him and said, “It seems you don’t know much about international current events. The malaria epidemic in Africa is rampant right now, and according to statistics from the World Health Organization, traditional antimalarial drugs invented in the West have shown significant drug resistance. At this time, malaria patients need a savior-like drug.”

Someone asked, "How do you know that artemisinin will definitely be effective against malaria in Africa without any verification?"

(End of this chapter)