Training the Heavens

Chapter 339 Library

Zhang Xingjiu's first class was arranged in the auditorium, where he first gave a speech to all the teachers and students in the school. The speech was very sensational. Not only did Peking University students rush in to listen to the lecture, but even teachers and students from other schools rushed there after hearing the news. There were also many reporters holding cameras and trying to enter.

This is a speech by a world-class scholar. Students from Aurora University can only listen to it regularly. Students from other schools can only wait for Zhang Xingjiu to come. In recent years, Zhang Xingjiu has mainly been active in the Jiangnan region and rarely comes to the north. Now that he is finally here, everyone who wants to listen has come.

Nowadays, except for Aurora University and a small number of universities that have introduced teachers from Aurora University, the physics foundation of other schools is relatively weak. The physics courses in most schools are mainly of engineering and industrial nature. General physics, as a basic subject, is offered quite widely, but other courses, such as theoretical physics, applied physics, modern physics and experimental physics, are somewhat lagging behind.

Zhang Xingjiu first talked about the history of the development of physics, and then talked about the current situation of physics research in China. He told these students very frankly that the most important thing for domestic physics at present is to learn existing physics knowledge, and subjects that are more closely related to industry should be given priority, and pure theoretical physics research can be slowed down a bit.

After all, China is a latecomer with a very weak foundation. We must first improve our foundation and let more people understand modern physics knowledge so as to meet the needs of national industrialization development. Once the foundation is solid, it will not be too late to conduct theoretical research.

This is a more pragmatic strategy, and many teachers, especially those who have studied abroad, have expressed their approval. However, those young students are full of vigor and vitality, and are not very aware of the huge gap between China and foreign countries in the field of science, and are somewhat indignant. However, this is not a bad thing. This mentality may motivate them to study harder.

After the speech, Zhang Xingjiu officially started teaching. He personally taught college physics classes to students in the Department of Physics, teaching them basic physics knowledge. He also taught more in-depth content to senior students, with at least three classes every day.

After teaching the students, he also had to teach the teachers. He was not only a physics teacher, but also the dean of the science department at Peking University, responsible for the daily management of all science majors. This meant he had to standardize textbooks, train teachers, and develop more scientific teaching plans.
After that, he has to take care of his own research and keep abreast of cutting-edge scientific achievements. He is busy all day long. Fortunately, he has a good physique. If it were someone else, they would really not be able to bear it.

Zhang Xingjiu divided the physics courses into three levels: elementary physics is studied in preparatory courses, general physics is taught in the first and second years of undergraduate studies, and specialized physics is taught in the third and fourth years of undergraduate studies.

The general physics course is divided into two sections, 1 and 2. General physics 1 includes physical properties, thermodynamics, and acoustics; general physics 2 includes magnetism and optics, and both are taught by selected excellent teachers.

Among them, the one who teaches them General Physics 1 is Wu Youxun, who is only years old. He is currently a senior at Aurora University and plans to study abroad next year. He is currently teaching students while doing research with Zhang Xingjiu.

The professor of General Physics 2 is Ye Qisun, a young teacher at Aurora University. Ye Qisun was born into a scholarly family in Shanghai. He was smart and studious since childhood. He was successfully admitted to the Department of Physics of Aurora University. After graduating from undergraduate school, he was recommended by Zhang Xingjiu to study for a doctorate at the University of Chicago in the United States. After returning from his studies, he returned to Aurora University to teach. Now he is still teaching while following Zhang Xingjiu to do cutting-edge research.

In the original history, both of them were academicians of the Academia Sinica during the Republic of China era, members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and were also among the founders of modern Chinese physics. Having them teach preparatory students now would be an overkill. Specialized physics courses included mathematical physics, thermodynamics and the theory of microscopic motion, optical physics, applied electricity, direct and alternating current, electrical oscillations, electron theory, X-ray and radiation theory, mass theory, and relativity. Some of these were taught by Zhang Xingjiu himself, some by outstanding former Peking University faculty, and still others by Aurora University faculty such as Wu Youxun and Ye Qisun.

At the beginning, the original physics teacher at Peking University was a little dissatisfied. After all, he had studied physics for so many years and even studied abroad. Even if he was not as good as Zhang Xingjiu, how could he be better than these young guys?
As a result, after the lectures started, they immediately realized the gap and gradually stopped talking. Some of them who were quite motivated would rush to attend the lectures of Zhang Xingjiu, Ye Qisun and others as long as they had no classes. They felt they benefited a lot from every class.

The Department of Mathematics and the Department of Chemistry also underwent reforms similar to the Department of Physics. Zhang Xingjiu himself was a great mathematician, and his achievements in chemistry were currently world-class. Aurora University also attracted talented mathematicians such as Xiong Qinglai and Chen Jiangong. Now, Su Buqing, who was only fifteen years old, was about to graduate from college, and the Department of Chemistry also had overseas PhDs like Hou Debang.

With these people helping with teaching, the teaching quality of Peking University's science majors has been greatly improved. In just a few months, it has become a leader among universities in Beijing and even in the surrounding areas. Every time a lecture is given, many students from other schools come to listen.

Mathematics is fine, but physics and chemistry both require experiments. If you want to do experiments, you have to build a special laboratory and purchase equipment and consumables. Originally, Peking University only had one laboratory that also served as an instrument storage room.

Under the leadership of Zhang Xingjiu, Peking University's physics and chemistry experiments were greatly strengthened. In just a few months, they were expanded to include five general physics and specialized physics laboratories, three optics laboratories, one electro-vibration and applied electronics laboratory, and one radiation physics and X-ray laboratory, as well as five chemistry laboratories, which could basically meet the needs of students and even teachers at all levels.

Relying on funding from the Ministry of Education certainly cannot meet the needs of building a laboratory, so a large part of it was donated by Zhang Xingjiu himself. Now the former teachers at Peking University were completely convinced. His level was originally higher than theirs, and he had contributed so much money to the school. Who would have the nerve to disobey him?

The first semester ended quickly. Zhang Xingjiu took advantage of the summer vacation to return to Shanghai to reunite with his family. He also set the work priorities for the next semester for the laboratory he stayed in, and then returned to Beijing to preside over the enrollment matters of Aurora University.

When the second semester started, Zhang Xingjiu's work became much easier. At least he no longer had to train the teachers personally. Ye Qisun, Hou Debang, Xiong Qinglai and others took over this responsibility. Zhang Xingjiu only needed to teach students and guide experiments.

That day, Zhang Xingjiu went straight to the school library after class as usual. As soon as he walked into the second reading room where foreign newspapers were available, he saw a special young man.

(End of this chapter)