From top student in college to scientific research powerhouse

Chapter 108 First Meeting with Fang Yongsheng, Revenge Must Be Taken No Later!
The Metamaterials Conference refers to the National Metamaterials Conference.

This is an academic and technical conference hosted by the Metamaterials Branch of the Materials Research Society of Tokyo University. It is held annually and has been held four times in a row.

The past four conferences have all been very successful, attracting thousands of scholars from all over the country.

A conference attended by thousands of scholars is certainly a grand event.

Among all the scholars attending the conference, some submitted papers to the conference review committee and will present technical research reports at the conference.

Most attendees simply come to see the progress in metamaterials research and exchange academic or technical ideas with scholars in the same field.

Some were invited to attend.

The Applied Electromagnetism Laboratory received an invitation letter—an institutional invitation letter that allowed three people to attend the conference together.

The conference organizers will cover meals and accommodation.

"An invitation letter normally allows only three people to go, but bringing one more is fine. It just means that one person's room and board cannot be covered."

"You can apply to go and take a look at the place yourself. The food and accommodation won't cost much, and the round-trip airfare will all be covered by the lab's funding."

Zhu Bingkun said generously.

The lab received the invitation because they developed a stable 'multilayer tinene thin film' material, verified the tinene thin film theory, and achieved '100% conductivity at room temperature'.

This is a major breakthrough in the field of olefin materials, which belong to the category of electromagnetic metamaterials.

However, they did not submit any papers to the conference organizers, so they would not give any presentations at the conference; they would just go and listen.

After the group discussed the matter, Zhang Minghao returned to his workspace.

Five minutes later, he returned to the main office and said to the three men with a strange expression, "No need for additional applications."

"why?"

Xue Kun was taken aback for a moment, then immediately asked, "You're not going?"

Zhu Bingkun and Chen Shuai also looked over.

Zhang Minghao said, "I also received a special invitation letter, which invited me to attend the conference and receive an award."

"Our STN series materials were selected as one of the 'Top Ten Advances in Basic Metamaterials Research' by the conference organizing committee."

The three researchers looked at each other and remained silent.

Zhu Bingkun asked, full of doubt, "Why didn't you notify the lab and invite me separately?"

"Perhaps because..."

Zhang Minghao hesitated for a moment, "Am I a doctoral student? Or am I supposed to go on stage to receive an award?"

"Uh--"

……

A week later, Zhang Minghao and his group of four flew to Shenzhen.

This year's Metamaterials Conference was organized by Qiguang Technology Co., Ltd., and the venue was a five-star hotel in Shenzhen.

Qiguang Technology is the company that caused a sensation more than a decade ago by showcasing its invisibility cloak technology at a technology exhibition. After years of development, they have become a listed company focused on metamaterials research and development.

When Zhang Minghao first heard that he was going to attend the conference, he just agreed with the mindset of having some fun.

Going to an unfamiliar city to attend an academic and technical exchange conference, with a leisurely attitude, even if you don't gain anything, it still counts as a trip.

But when I learned that the STN series materials were named one of the top ten advances in metamaterials of the year, my mood changed immediately.

Zhu Bingkun, Xue Kun, and Chen Shuai all had different feelings.

Although they won't be going on stage to receive the award, they still contributed to the research. Attending a grand academic conference and receiving an award along the way makes the trip worthwhile.

After getting off the plane, the group took a taxi from the airport straight to the venue.

The venue was a five-star hotel.

If we were to give it a higher rating, the hotel's size, environment, and service surpass even that of a five-star hotel, and the scholars attending the conference all felt good upon entering the hotel.

After entering the lobby, you will be led by a staff member to a side to sign in and receive your work badge.

Chen Shuai went to queue up to complete other formalities, while the rest of the people sat on the sofa and waited.

The hall was crowded with people, all of whom were scholars attending the conference. They sat for a while and ran into people they knew.

Someone recognized Zhu Bingkun and immediately greeted him, "Professor Zhu, congratulations!"

"I've heard that your research on the Zhang phenomenon won the first prize in natural sciences this year!"

"You already know, right?"

Zhu Bingkun immediately started chatting and exchanging pleasantries, and their conversation immediately attracted the attention of others around them.

Many people took the initiative to come over and get to know Zhu Bingkun.

Someone suddenly asked, "Professor Zhu, has Zhang Minghao arrived? He should be with you, right?"

Zhu Bingkun pointed to the sofa, where Zhang Minghao was lying lazily.

The next moment, the people around him immediately turned to Zhang Minghao.

Zhu Bingkun looked around and exchanged a glance with Xue Kun, who was sitting motionless on the sofa. He couldn't help but mutter, "Even if Zhang Minghao is more popular than me, is this really necessary?"

Xue Kun pointed to himself and shrugged, "Look at me, I didn't move an inch."

Zhang Minghao is indeed much more attractive; he is the first discoverer of the research, and thus the core figure in the study.

In addition to the Zhang phenomenon, he also made the greatest contributions to the research of STN series materials.

Nowadays, when people talk about the Applied Electromagnetism Laboratory, they no longer refer to "Zhu Bingkun's team," but rather "Zhang Minghao's team."

Zhu Bingkun was only the nominal 'person in charge'. A large group of people surrounded Zhang Minghao, all eager to introduce themselves.

Faced with the crowd's enthusiasm, Zhang Minghao could only stand up and exchange pleasantries.

Some people have mentioned the discovery of the Zhang phenomenon, which won the first prize in natural sciences and is the biggest news in academic circles recently.

However, as far as the award goes, the matter can be easily dismissed with a few words.

Some people have mentioned the STN series materials. The STN-01 has near-superconductivity at room temperature and a technology transfer fee of 100 million yuan. It can be said that it is the most successful case of metamaterial research and development in recent years.

After discussing the Zhang phenomenon's award and the STN series of materials, someone brought up another topic: "Professor Zhang, I am very interested in your 'Visual Perception Model' project."

"Initially, you researched the invisibility sphere, then applied for projects, and did you achieve any further results?"

"I heard from others that your new generation of invisibility spheres has been upgraded? And that they are completely invisible?"

Those around him, some who knew and some who didn't, all immediately looked at Zhang Minghao.

Zhang Minghao thought for a moment and nodded, "It's not that exaggerated, but the performance has improved."

He remained modest.

The new generation of invisible spheres can actually be considered as invisible.

But if he were to pique the interest of others, he would have to explain a lot. Moreover, one should be humble when discussing technology in a professional field, since it's not about project funding, but just a casual conversation.

Another group of people walked into the hotel lobby.

As soon as they entered the hall, they saw a lively scene on the sofa on the left, where it seemed that a large group of people were talking to one person.

"What's the situation over there?" the leader asked, pointing in that direction with an air of authority.

Someone went over to take a look and immediately came back and said, "Academician Fang, it's Zhang Minghao."

"Zhang Minghao?"

"Humph!"

The leader is Academician Fang Yongsheng.

Fang Yongsheng, in his early sixties, still looks young.

He gave a soft snort, his anger mixed with a hint of frustration.

The new project on 'visual light sensing model' bypassed the Department of High-Tech Science and Technology of the Ministry of Science and Technology, which also had some impact on him.

At a project discussion meeting at the High-Tech Division, he rejected the research and development prospects of the 'Visual Light Sensing Model' project, which resulted in the project being held back by four million yuan in funding. Somehow, this news got out.

Many people already know this.

Fang Yongsheng felt somewhat frustrated. He wasn't the only one who had disagreed at the meeting; Chen Beitong had also spoken up, and others had added their own comments.

The current rumors seem to suggest that he was the only one who acted as the 'bad guy'.

The fact that the new 'Visual Light Sensing Model' project was able to bypass the High Technology Corporation must mean that a big shot was involved; otherwise, it would have been impossible.

Fang Yongsheng began to worry that future projects might be targeted by the High-Tech Division.

He shook his head, ignored the situation on the left, and went to the side to clock in.

After exchanging pleasantries with everyone, Zhang Minghao, Zhu Bingkun, and Xue Kun went to the front desk to check in.

After all the formalities were completed, he turned around and found that the person behind him was staring at him. He didn't recognize the person, so he just smiled, nodded, and was about to leave.

Then I heard the other person say, "Zhang Minghao, your 'visual light sensing model' is amazing!"

"To what extent? I heard it can make you completely invisible?"

"If it were just a buildup of particulate materials, it shouldn't have this effect, right? Did you use other techniques?"

The other party asked several questions in a row.

Zhang Minghao stopped and looked over with some confusion, then politely asked, "Who are you?"

"Fang Yongsheng".

Someone nearby introduced him, saying, "This is Academician Fang Yongsheng from the Institute of Optical Materials."

"Academician Fang Yongsheng?"

Zhang Minghao felt the name sounded familiar, and after thinking about it carefully, he suddenly realized and said excitedly, "You are the legendary Academician Fang Yongsheng!"

He said this while grabbing Fang Yongsheng's hand.

Fang Yongsheng immediately beamed with joy, and then heard Zhang Minghao continue, "I've heard of you before!"

"You're amazing!"

"I heard that you only said a few words at the meeting and cut our budget by four million. You're amazing!"

"I can't even describe how I feel right now. If I had known that someone of your caliber was in line later, I should have let you go first."

After he finished speaking, he let go of his hands, walked away, and then turned around and gave Fang Yongsheng a big thumbs up.

"Humph!"

Fang Yongsheng watched Zhang Minghao's retreating figure, his anger practically radiating from his body.

After Zhang Minghao walked away, he turned back and glanced at Fang Yongsheng one last time. He gave him a thumbs-up again from a distance and said to Xue Kun beside him, "Professor Xue, did you see that? He really is a great academician, his aura is so strong!"

Xue Kun was speechless, unsure how to comment on Zhang Minghao's behavior. He could only say, "Your words are incoherent. Where is your strong aura?"

"The 'qi' in 'anger'!"

After a long pause, Xue Kun muttered, "...That's because you made me angry."

(End of this chapter)