I was a top student in America.

Chapter 118 Letter of Recommendation (Please Subscribe)

The next morning, Li Ao, who had only slept for a little over four hours, was woken up precisely by his biological clock.

The fatigue of the night was swept away, and I felt like I had inexhaustible energy.

"Deep sleep is indeed useful."

Feeling light and refreshed, Li Ao muttered to himself.

Without disturbing his grandmother who was still resting, he quietly pushed open the door, got on his bicycle, and headed straight for the University of Chicago.

Studying in the university library not only makes it easier to access various materials, but the quiet academic atmosphere also helps him concentrate better.

For him, this was something he thoroughly enjoyed.

After a quick breakfast, he planned to go to the mathematics department to borrow some books from David on partial differential equations, Sobolev spaces, and harmonic analysis.

After studying and working through problems for a period of time, he has mastered complex analysis and ordinary differential equations and can apply them flexibly.

In the next stage, the basic mathematical theories are limited to functional analysis and partial differential equations. After that, the focus shifts to highly specialized or interdisciplinary fields.

Typically, senior undergraduate or graduate students only need to choose one or two directions to explore in depth.

However, when he was familiarizing himself with numerical calculations, he started with finite difference and the day before yesterday he keenly noticed the phenomenon of local energy concentration at irregular boundaries, which is very similar to the boundary layer and regularity estimation in partial differential equations. This made him very interested in this direction.

In addition, variational methods and harmonic analysis were also included in his study plan.

Ordinary people are limited by their energy and time, and can only specialize in one or two areas.

However, with numerous entries to his name, he naturally wanted to expand on them as comprehensively as possible.

Especially as his mathematical skills continue to improve, the increase in his intellectual attributes that can be gained by simply learning existing mathematical theories is significantly less than before.

This means he's still quite a distance from unlocking the next intelligence term.

Faced with this bottleneck, he had two paths: either find a topic, try to derive more new conclusions, and create new mathematical tools and analytical methods, just like he had done with the analytical problems of convex functions before;

The only alternative is to compensate by absorbing a massive amount of higher-level mathematical knowledge.

After weighing the options, and given that he had not yet chosen a suitable research topic, he temporarily opted for the latter.

However, just as he approached Eckhart House and before he could even go inside, he unexpectedly received a phone call from Professor Jensen himself.

After hanging up the phone, he temporarily put aside his plan to find David and went straight to the mathematics department office.

This was already Li Ao's umpteenth time here, and he seemed more familiar and relaxed than on his first few visits.

He went up the stairs and saw that the office door was half open. He raised his hand and tapped it twice with his knuckles before pushing the door open and entering.

"Professor Jensen, you wanted to see me?" Seeing that there was no one else in the room, he stopped in front of his desk and greeted him politely.

Jason had clearly been waiting for him. Upon seeing Li Ao appear, he immediately stood up from his seat and greeted him warmly, "Leo, you're here! Please have a seat."

Li Ao was not reserved at all, and upon hearing this, he sat down on the chair next to him in a very natural and generous manner.

Jason didn't keep him in suspense. After sitting down next to him, he went straight to the point: "The main reason I called you here today is to find out how you've been doing with your project at the University of Chicago lately, and how your math course is going."

"Participating in Professor Ludi's project has indeed benefited me greatly," Li Ao replied truthfully after a moment's thought.

He briefly reported on his experience participating in the Department of Energy project for the first time and gave an update on his current progress in several core mathematics courses.

In fact, Jansen had already heard from David about Li Ao's outstanding performance in the physics department's project group, especially that he was very likely to get a first-author paper in a top journal in computational physics and a co-author paper in Physical Review Letters.

But while he was pleased, Jason also heard some rumors.

It's said that Carlson is lobbying Princeton's admissions committee in an attempt to poach students from the University of Chicago.

Philip, an old friend, is also pushing for a tuition reduction program for low-income students at UIUC, attempting to lure Li Ao with various tuition subsidies.

Is this okay?

He was the one who first discovered Li Ao's mathematical talent, and naturally he was determined to keep this promising student at the University of Chicago.

Even if we do eventually collaborate with the physics department on interdisciplinary training programs, we absolutely cannot let Princeton and UIUC steal the opportunity halfway through.

This kid might just become the University of Chicago's own Gauss or Newton someday.

After figuring out Li Ao's current learning progress, Jansen pondered for a moment and immediately made his next plan.

"David mentioned to me that you have a very solid understanding of mathematical analysis and ordinary differential equations, and you are making rapid progress."

Jason looked at him and said, "Why don't you start doing independent reading lessons with me from the fall semester?"

(Course) Let's start with partial differential equations and harmonic analysis.

"Once the undergraduate application season officially begins, I'll personally write you a letter of recommendation to help you apply for a scholarship at the University of Chicago. What do you think?"

Li Ao was somewhat surprised to hear this. He hadn't expected that the next stage of his studies would be finalized so quickly, and that he would naturally receive a letter of recommendation.

In the American higher education system, the so-called "independent reading course" refers to a one-on-one collaboration between students and professors to conduct in-depth literature reading and academic discussions on a specific topic.

This is a highly customized training model that requires a significant amount of time and energy from the mentors.

But this was indeed an extremely efficient and suitable learning path for him, so he naturally wouldn't refuse this valuable resource that was offered to him.

He immediately nodded in agreement: "Thank you, Professor Jensen. I will follow your instructions."

"Then it's settled. If you encounter any problems in your research in the future, just come to me." Upon receiving the affirmative reply, Jason's eyes were full of smiles.

He even started to think about whether he should take a stroll around the physics department later and catch up with Rudy.

With these thoughts swirling in his mind, he gave Li Ao a few more detailed instructions.

Before leaving, he personally escorted Li Ao to the door and specially invited him to attend the research group's internal dinner next week.

With the recommendation letter sorted out, Li Ao's days became increasingly fulfilling.

In addition to studying functional analysis and partial differential equations step by step, he also began preparing his university application materials and planning his specific research direction.

Time flew by and it was already the end of August.

Thanks to Li Ao's contributions, Wyndham High School received a substantial grant from the Chicago Public Schools System (CPS).

Principal Smith reciprocated the favor by applying for a special scholarship of three thousand US dollars for Li Ao, which was disbursed in full at the beginning of the semester.

The school also held a small award ceremony, which was quite grand and full of ceremony.

After receiving the money, Li Ao went to IKEA to buy some new furniture for apartment 306, replacing the original plastic table and chairs, as well as the broken aluminum pot with peeling paint.

I bought my grandma a few new clothes, and saved the rest as a fund for her future university tuition.

After the start of the school year, the most important event for American high schools soon arrives – Homecoming.

This traditional campus event, designed to welcome alumni back to their alma mater and greet new students, is a highlight of every fall for universities and high schools.

In previous years, Wyndham High School was often rushed due to funding shortages.

This year is quite different. Mrs. Paterson has allocated a large sum of special funds, determined to make a good impression and enhance campus cohesion and community spirit.

With ample funding, the entire campus was transformed and filled with a festive atmosphere.

The bulletin boards and corridors were also covered with posters for dances, sporting events and themed costume weeks produced by the student council.