From top student in college to scientific research powerhouse

Chapter 3 He's not lying to us, is he?

End of the meeting.

Xue Kun took Zhang Minghao downstairs.

After they left, a thin doctoral student scoffed and said, "He actually said there was a problem with our preliminary experiments?"

He is Liao Shuyan, a doctoral student supervised by Zhu Bingkun.

Another doctoral student chimed in, "They're really young, just over twenty, talking nonsense without knowing anything."

"If you're looking for problems, feel free to speak your mind."

Chen Shuai said casually, then asked Zhu Bingkun with a puzzled look, "The doctoral students that Xue Kun supervised were from Donggang University? Why is he saying he needs to participate in the project? A doctoral student from Donggang University can't possibly be involved, right?"

"I know this."

Zhu Bingkun smiled and said, "Xue Kun told me yesterday that he is coming here to pursue his doctorate."

"Transfer schools? The procedures must be complicated."

"They've been dismissed."

The people in the room were stunned for a moment.

PhD students, being expelled?

In her early twenties, she's definitely not over the age limit!

Zhu Bingkun explained, "I told you not to spread this around. It's because of an experimental paper."

"Donggang University believed that the data in the paper was fabricated, so they decided to expel the student directly, but Professor Xue had high hopes for this student."

"If you ask me, Donggang University still has a lot of talented people, including a physics PhD in his early twenties!"

He shook his head with a sigh.

After a brief discussion, the topic shifted to the preliminary experiments.

Everyone was confident in the preliminary experiments, but the experimental results had to be verified, and it was a fact that the subsequent verification and analysis results did not match.

Where is the problem?

Most people still believe that there are problems with the experiment to cultivate stanene.

Or the experiment was not conducted according to standards.

Or it could be a test.

After much discussion, no definite conclusion was reached.

Meanwhile, Xue Kun led Zhang Minghao to the office downstairs.

"sit."

Xue Kun pulled up a chair, plopped down in it, stretched his arms, and then sighed, "I've been busy all morning!"

"The experiment didn't go as expected, and we don't know where the problem lies!"

He suddenly asked, "You just said there was a problem with the preliminary experiment, do you have some thoughts on that?"

Zhang Minghao scratched the back of his head and laughed, "I heard the gist of it."

“In normal analysis, since the experimental predictions and results do not match, either there is a problem with the experiment itself, or there is a problem with the preliminary experiment or analysis.”

"The experiment itself has already been done in great detail, right? That can only be a preliminary experiment."

"You're right."

Xue Kun pursed his lips and thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "The preliminary experiments have been going on for a long time, and they are the biggest achievement since the project started. The entire team agrees with the results, including the experiments themselves and the analysis."

Zhang Minghao said earnestly, "No one wants to deny the results, but right is right and wrong is wrong. I think we should carefully study and sort it out from beginning to end, and maybe we can find the problems."

After saying that, he didn't continue.

He hasn't participated in the research yet, and his understanding of the experiment is limited to the general content. He doesn't know the specifics of the work, and even if he knew there was a problem with the experiment, he wouldn't be able to find it.

Xue Kun pondered for a moment, then stopped talking about the experiment and instead brought up the matter of enrolling in school.

If a doctoral student is expelled, it means they are forced to withdraw from their studies. If they then follow him to Jiangzhou University to pursue a doctorate, they will have to go through the normal enrollment process with other doctoral students.

"Enrollment is in March. I applied for two spots with the school. You can just complete the formalities then."

"Once you enroll, you'll be working on a new project with me: metamaterials. I don't need to explain much more to you. The difference in this research lies in its focus, mainly on thermoelectric materials and tinene."

Zhang Minghao listened; he had knowledge of both directions.

Thermoelectric materials, simply put, are materials that directly convert heat energy into electrical energy.

Stanene is a two-dimensional monolayer tin atom material, belonging to topological insulators. Its edges can achieve 100% conductivity at room temperature, and it is considered a potential material to replace graphene in the manufacture of electronic devices.

Xue Kun briefly introduced the stack of documents he took out of the drawer and handed them over, saying, "Take a look first and prepare in advance. They are all theoretical and mathematical foundations related to the project research."

"Two of them are research papers from abroad. Take a closer look at them, as well as the experimental calculation and analysis section. I hope you can understand this part more thoroughly."

He added after he finished speaking, "Professor Chen Shuai's group is specifically responsible for calculations."

"I hope that you and others can perform computational verification on their results, which would provide double assurance from the data."

Zhang Minghao took the documents, glanced at them, and nodded, saying, "Let me take a closer look."

"You just said there was a problem with the preliminary experiment."

Xue Kun chuckled and joked, "If you can discover data problems in the preliminary experiments through calculations, then you've provided clear proof."

He was just kidding.

Chen Shuai's team has strong work capabilities. In the part of calculating and analyzing the preliminary experimental data, they have done many verifications, making it almost impossible for them to make mistakes.

Zhang Minghao's math skills are not bad, but to say that he can find the problem through calculation is a bit of an exaggeration.

Zhang Minghao listened to what he said.

He thought it was feasible.

Based on the result of the 'preliminary experiment error', it is highly likely that there was a problem with the data calculation and analysis.

He didn't say anything more.

The atmosphere in the office fell silent for a moment. Xue Kun put away his smile and remained silent for a while before saying, "Let's not think about that experiment and paper issue for now. If the paper isn't removed from the website, then it isn't removed either."

“I asked this morning, and Donggang University will issue an announcement. Don’t keep thinking about it; once the public outcry dies down, no one will care anymore.” He was still a little worried.

The dismissal of doctoral students is just one example; there are also many negative comments online.

This is what it means to be cyberbullied.

On the one hand, he was constantly subjected to cyberbullying, and on the other hand, he was publicly expelled from Donggang University.

Zhang Minghao is only in his early twenties. He has a smooth and successful doctoral program without experiencing any major setbacks, so his psychological resilience is uncertain.

The worry in Xue Kun's eyes was evident.

Zhang Minghao listened attentively and said sincerely, "Thank you, Teacher Xue. Don't worry, I've thought it all through."

"Anyway, I can still pursue my doctorate under your guidance, so there's nothing to worry about!"

He said this with a carefree laugh.

Xue Kun smiled and said, "It's good that you're alright. Seeing how you are, I'm not worried anymore."

"By the way, are you facing any financial pressures? There won't be any dorm accommodations here for the time being, so you'll have to rent a place outside. Feel free to come to me if you encounter any problems."

He was referring to money.

Zhang Minghao understood. He stood up and patted his pockets. "I eat little and spend little. I don't have much money in my pocket, but it's enough."

Xue Kun nodded. "That's good. After you enroll, you can help me share the teaching burden. Teaching students is my weakness!"

Zhang Minghao patted his chest and said, "No problem, leave it to me!"

Xue Kun dislikes teaching.

However, if Zhang Minghao helps share the teaching workload, he will receive an additional teaching allowance.

That's considered being considerate.

……

After talking with Xue Kun, Zhang Minghao left the applied electromagnetic laboratory and the first thing he did was find a place to stay.

Since you can't stay in a youth hostel for a long time, it's more reliable to rent a room outside.

Despite being short of money, he still started looking for roommates.

I visited several places in the morning and at noon, but the rent was either too expensive, the environment was too dirty, or the roommates were unbearable.

At 5 p.m., he went to another place, located in the faculty apartment complex on the east side of the university. He called and was told it was a three-bedroom apartment, with the other two living rooms occupied by female students.

The sub-landlord was also one of the girls.

There might be some awkwardness in living with one man and two women, but if they just want a place to sleep, it's not a problem.

The door opened, and both girls were inside.

One girl had fair skin and a slightly plump figure, with her hair sticking up in a ponytail, making her look like an urban white-collar worker; the other girl was shorter, wore square-framed glasses, and dressed in cropped pants and a short-sleeved shirt, looking very trendy.

"Is that you? A physics graduate student?"

The girl in capri pants was pulling the door shut. She looked the person at the door up and down and asked a question.

"Yes."

Zhang Minghao nodded, feeling the gazes of the two women, as if he were going through a job interview.

He chuckled and said, "I have a master's degree from Donggang University. I'll be here in March to pursue my doctorate in physics, specializing in electromagnetism."

"You said on the phone that you're looking for students studying at Jiangzhou University, preferably graduate students. I haven't enrolled yet, but I'll be soon, so I should meet the requirements, right? Or are you only looking for female students?"

The two women looked at each other.

The voluptuous woman said, "Both men and women are fine."

Zhang Minghao nodded and continued, "Then I meet the requirements. Can I go in and take a look? I don't know if the house meets my expectations."

The girl in capri pants sensed something was off and was momentarily at a loss, then looked at the voluptuous girl.

The voluptuous woman said, "Come in!"

Zhang Minghao entered the room and looked around. The house was a standard three-bedroom, one-living room apartment. The small room next to the door was only about eight square meters, with a single bed and a wardrobe inside.

The room was a bit small, but it was clean and hygienic enough, and there was barely enough space to fit a small table next to the bed.

Considering the rent and environment, it's already quite good.

"good."

Zhang Minghao nodded in satisfaction and said, "It's a bit small, but it's quite clean."

As he gave his comments, he also asked, "What about you guys? What do you all do? I need to know my future roommates, so let's introduce ourselves."

The two women exchanged a glance and then introduced themselves to each other.

The voluptuous woman is named Li Li, 27 years old, a doctoral student in law; the woman in capri pants is named Yu Minxia, ​​25 years old, a doctoral student in mathematics.

Having understood the situation, Zhang Minghao nodded in satisfaction and continued, "Is it about right? I'm fairly satisfied with the house. What about you? Do you have any questions?"

The two women looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Okay then, do you have a rental agreement? Is the rent a deposit of one month's rent plus three months' rent in advance, or is it paid upfront?"

"Can we move anytime?"

"By the way, are there any unspoken agreements, like no bringing your boyfriend or girlfriend back? If we're sharing an apartment, we need to discuss that beforehand to avoid any awkwardness..."

"besides……"

Zhang Minghao raised a whole bunch of questions.

Li Li and Yu Minxia kept answering, and only after watching their 'future roommates' leave did they finally come to their senses and exchange a glance.

"Shouldn't we be the ones interviewing a male roommate? It feels like we're the ones being interviewed."

"Why did you agree so quickly? Oh right, he said he wanted to pursue a PhD in physics? A PhD?"

"He's not very old, is he? He seems to be in his early twenties. At that age, he's already pursuing a doctorate?"

"Are you kidding us?"

(End of this chapter)