From top student in college to scientific research powerhouse

Chapter 50 Participating in the University Science and Technology Achievements Exhibition!
The office was quiet for a moment.

Tan Yanming, Xu Peijun, and Wang Qingxin all looked at Zhang Minghao with complicated expressions.

Vice Principal Xu Peijun cleared his throat and set the tone, saying, "The Invisible Sphere is very good."

"This research has follow-up potential, and the university will definitely provide strong support!"

Zhang Minghao nodded in satisfaction.

Sun Wen's eyes were also full of anticipation. The school was providing strong support, which meant they would provide funding for the experiment?
Xu Peijun changed the subject and continued, "However, the funding for on-campus projects is not something I can decide on my own; it still needs to be discussed at the meeting."

"Of course, we saw the invisible ball, so the technology is definitely not a problem."

"Zhang Minghao, could you please introduce your research prospects? Academician Tan and Professor Wang are both here, so let's listen together; it's a kind of early review."

"Sit down and talk!"

Wang Qingxin pulled out a chair for him.

Zhang Minghao straightened his posture and said seriously, "As I just said, the goal of our research is to create 'stealth materials'."

"By studying the properties and combinations of various materials, we establish a model that maximizes the perception of blurred vision and calculates the materials..."

"We plan to use basic optical materials, and conduct research and design using conventional materials..."

"Avoiding metamaterials is also to simplify things and reduce funding requirements..."

Xu Peijun and Tan Yanming were both very satisfied with what they heard.

When metamaterials are involved, the required funding increases exponentially; when only conventional materials are used for research, the funding requirements are not too high.

Zhang Minghao continued, "The ultimate goal remains the manufacture of stealth materials."

"I hope the material can achieve such a property that, for example, if you apply it to an object, the object can become invisible to a certain extent."

Xu Peijun listened patiently, then asked, "How much funding do you estimate you'll need in the future?"

Zhang Minghao immediately looked at Sun Wen.

Sun Wen immediately stepped forward and said, "The preliminary experiments are complete, and we have entered the second step, which requires some slightly more expensive materials, such as gold nanoparticles."

"We plan to conduct a large number of high-precision optical experiments with various material combinations, and this data is very important for the research."

"Next step, the plan..."

She hesitated for a moment, then held up three fingers before glancing at Zhang Minghao.

Zhang Minghao held out his hand.

Sun Wen immediately changed her mind from 'three' to 'five', saying, "Five million will be enough for the next step!"

Xu Peijun, Tan Yanming, and even Wang Qingxin were all dumbfounded.

Next, five million?
The next step, wouldn't it be to exceed ten million?

Xu Peijun almost vomited blood upon hearing this; he had just thought it was a 'money-saving' project.

He immediately said, "Well... let's talk about the exhibition instead."

Tan Yanming said with a wry smile, "Five million is simply impossible. You should apply for the project instead."

"Alright, the results exhibition is about to begin. The Invisible Sphere will be showcased at the exhibition. Whether it is valued by enterprises, higher-level departments, or even the military, in short, we won't have to worry about funding."

Zhang Minghao and Sun Wen exchanged a glance and agreed that it made sense; it was indeed unlikely that the school or research institute would come up with such a large sum of money.

"Fine!"

"Let's attend the exhibition first, and talk about the rest after the exhibition ends..."

Seeing that Tan Yanming had persuaded Zhang Minghao, Xu Peijun immediately felt relieved. "The exhibition is important."

"Regardless of the outcome, I promise you here that the school will make a special exception for you..."

He gritted his teeth and said a number, "Eight hundred thousand!"

For the school's grant to the project, 800,000 is already a very high amount.

That's not something one person can decide.

The approval of each expenditure requires discussion in meetings and signatures from many departments.

Xu Peijun's promise of 800,000 yuan was already the limit.

Tan Yanming chimed in, "We have 200,000 in the institute, so we'll scrape together 1 million for you!"

"We must do our best at this exhibition!"

Sun Wen burst out laughing.

Although we didn't get five million in funding, one million would be pretty good.

Zhang Minghao pondered that research still needed to attract investment from well-funded departments, whether it was science foundations, enterprises, or the military; one couldn't rely on universities.

Therefore, exhibitions are indeed very important.

The school also attaches great importance to the exhibition, and the invisible ball, which may shine at the exhibition, has received special attention from the school.

The next day, the school allocated funds specifically for the manufacture of the 'super-large invisible sphere,' which was intended to be used at the National University Achievement Exhibition.

Wang Qingxin, deputy director of the Institute of Optics, is in full charge of the manufacturing process. "We want to create an invisible sphere with a diameter of more than 1.6 meters."

"The inside of the sphere is hollow, and the edges that come into contact with the invisible material are supported by a shaping material..." he stated his requirements.

Sun Wen's team was responsible for manufacturing the stealth material, while others were responsible for manufacturing the supporting structure and shaping the material.

With the support of the university's funding and the support of the institute's staff, the manufacturing of the super-large stealth sphere progressed very smoothly. In just two days, a super-large stealth sphere was erected in the institute's lobby.

The super-large invisible sphere has been completed, and the school has also sent a delegation to participate in the exhibition.

The full name of the exhibition is the "National Colleges and Universities Science and Technology Achievements Exhibition". Each session attracts hundreds of colleges and universities to participate and showcase their scientific and technological research and development achievements.

The purpose of holding the exhibition is to showcase the technological innovation capabilities of domestic universities, realize the transformation of university scientific and technological achievements, attract university-enterprise cooperation, and so on.

The exhibition also serves as a platform for the trading of research results from universities.

This year's event was held in Sunan City, Nanjiang Province. Zhang Minghao, Sun Wen, and Wang Qingxin arrived at the venue a day early.

After checking in and receiving their work badges, the group went to the advanced materials exhibition area and found the area allocated to Jiangzhou University by the organizers.

The Advanced Materials Exhibition Area is located on the right side of the second floor of the large convention and exhibition center.

Jiangzhou University's property is located in a corner of the right-hand area, totaling only a dozen square meters, like a small shop.

This is because Jiangzhou University only submitted one achievement for 'advanced materials': the invisible sphere.

One achievement, even if it occupies more than ten square meters, is not bad.

Sun Wen, Wang Qingxin, and Zhang Minghao were quite satisfied with the areas they were assigned.

The corner location makes it easy to install lighting and other facilities, and it is very advantageous for adjusting the brightness and direction of light.

The invisible ball is not truly invisible.

Although the line of sight can pass through the invisible sphere, the sphere has two direct weaknesses. Light has a transmittance when passing through the invisible sphere. The transmittance is less than 85% when facing the invisible sphere directly, but more than 95% on the sides.

Under sunlight, the difference in light transmittance is not obvious, but in an indoor exhibition hall, the visual difference caused by light transmittance is very obvious.

In addition, there's the outline of the invisible sphere.

This is determined by the scattering of light.

The design of the stealth sphere takes into account the issue of scattering control, but it is impossible to achieve 100% control. It can be seen very clearly at closer distances.

Both of these can be adjusted using the lights.

By adjusting the lights at various points to a suitable brightness according to the optical characteristics of the invisible sphere, the differences in light transmittance of the invisible sphere can be balanced.

Reducing the sharpness of external contours can also be achieved by increasing white light.

A group from Jiangzhou University are setting up the lighting.

Zhang Minghao installed several lights, adjusted their brightness, and even used instruments to test them.

After the setup was almost complete, he wandered around the exhibition area. As soon as he walked into the aisle, he noticed that the exhibition area of ​​Donggang University was right next to him.

The Donggang University exhibition area was much larger, occupying almost one-fifth of the advanced materials exhibition area.

This is also normal.

Donggang University's materials science program is among the best in Taiwan, and they have the Institute of Advanced and Intelligent Materials, a key national research institution.

Zhang Minghao wandered around out of curiosity, only to find that he didn't recognize any of the busy people inside.

He walked to the opposite side of the exhibition area, exchanged a glance with an elderly professor with gray hair, smiled at each other, nodded, and then went to look around other places.

The professor is Academician Tang Jie, Dean of the School of Materials Engineering and Director of the Institute of Advanced and Intelligent Materials at Donggang University.

This time, Academician Tang Jie personally led a large team of more than 20 people to participate in the exhibition. They prepared as many as 23 material research and development achievements, covering multiple fields such as aerospace, weaponry, shipbuilding, automobiles, chemicals and new energy.

In the advanced materials exhibition area, the Donggang University team was absolutely number one.

Their professionalism and research achievements, compared with those of other universities, are simply overwhelming, on a completely different level, almost cheating.

Tang Jie's team came with a very direct purpose—to win the top spot in the materials exhibition area, attract more media attention, and enhance the reputation of Donggang University's materials science program.

Of course, it would be best to also negotiate a few collaborations.

While the others were setting up their exhibition area, Tang Jie wandered around and found an exhibition area for Jiangzhou University in a corner, so he went to take a look.

At the entrance of Jiangzhou University's exhibition area, a poster as tall as a person was erected, displaying the name of the achievement—

"The Invisible Ball".

"Invisibility sphere? Optical invisibility material?" Tang Jie glanced inside and found that everyone there was a stranger.

He didn't care.

After looking at the poster a few more times, I suddenly saw a name I'd heard before.

"Zhang Minghao?"

"It shouldn't be just one person, right?"

“Zhang Minghao’s research and measurement of metal ceramics cannot possibly be related to optical materials.”

He shook his head, put his hands behind his back, and walked away.

(End of this chapter)