In the Nature Chemistry editorial department, two technical editors were processing the new manuscripts.
After all, this was one of the top academic journals in the world. The number of manuscripts they received every day could be described as tens of thousands.
Although most of the manuscripts ended up in the recycle bin, there were still some outstanding theses.
At this moment, Kevin, who was checking the manuscripts, suddenly let out a soft exclamation.
"Unbelievable … Someone actually solved the lithium dendrites?!"
Kevin's voice immediately attracted the attention of his colleague.
Kerriman, who was sitting at the next table, stood up with a cup of coffee in his hand. He looked at the thesis on the screen and adjusted his glasses. He said, "This is incredible … If this is true, the battery industry will start a new technological revolution."
This was not an exaggeration.
Currently, the bottleneck of lithium batteries was the lithium dendrites problem. Whether it was a portable bomb or a high-performance battery, the question was who could solve the "silver fork" that pierced the diaphragm. Although it was only a small negative electrode material, it had a wide range of applications.
Of course, the premise was that it was true.
The two editors stared at the thesis for a long time, and no one could make up their mind.
There were no problems with the format of the thesis, and there were no obvious loopholes in the writing. The sensational research results were definitely worthy of being published in Nature. However, the problem was that this technology was a bit too "high-tech". Everyone was researching how to inhibit the growth of lithium dendrites, and this thesis solved this problem?
Therefore, the two editors hesitated.
Kerriman, who was standing behind Kevin, thought for a bit before he asked, "What do you think about this thesis?"
Kevin frowned and said, "I don't know. There's nothing wrong with the thesis itself. It's definitely a breakthrough in the field of lithium batteries, but … I can't guarantee the correctness of the thesis itself."
Kerriman said, "The author is from Princeton."
Kevin sighed and said, "I know, he's a mathematics professor, and he won the Crafoord Prize in Sweden not long ago. However, his only connection to materials science is a computational materials science thesis. "
Kerriman hesitated for a bit before he said, "With Professor Lu Zhou's academic reputation, I don't think he would make honest mistakes."
Kevin asked, "What's your opinion?"
"My opinion is that since there are no problems with the thesis itself and it meets our journal's requirements, we should leave this problem to the academic editors. If the experts think it's fine, I think it's fine too," Krieman said.
In any case, the journal would not take the blame.
"Then who do you think is more suitable?" Kevin asked.
"Professor Moungi G. Bawendi's research group from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology University has conducted in-depth research in the field of batteries. He is also an expert in batteries and is authoritative enough. I think it would be more appropriate to contact him." Kerriman paused for a second and said, "Also, he was also the reviewer for Professor Lu Zhou's previous computational materials science thesis. I think his opinion is very important."
Kevin thought about it and felt that there was no better way than this, so he nodded and said.
"Then … let's do as you say."
…
A week after the thesis was uploaded, there was good news from Nature. The thesis had passed the technical review and entered the peer review stage.
When Lu Zhou heard this news, he finally sighed in relief.
At least his thesis wasn't rejected like 90% of the other rejected theses, which were "not in line with the reader's interest" or "not innovative enough in the field".
Even though Nature wasn't his only choice, and there were many other organic chemistry journals that he could consider, Lu Zhou's goal was to promote this technology. In this regard, no journal's influence could compare to the two top journals that even amateurs paid attention to.
Now that the thesis was in the hands of the professionals, the rest would be a lot easier. He believed that his peers in this field would give his research a fair evaluation.
Time passed by quickly.
In the blink of an eye, it was July 15th.
At Lu Zhou's request, the three master's students arrived at the Princeton campus as scheduled.
The three new students were Vera Pulyuy from Berkeley, Qin Yue from China University, and Hadi Clive, who graduated from Columbia University.
Lu Zhou remembered Vera Pulyuy. She was the same as when he met her at Berkeley. She was a shy but strong girl.
Qin Yue was the same as he was during the interview. He wore a pair of square glasses and was very polite, but he wasn't good at expressing himself. However, Lu Zhou still recognized his talent and ability in mathematics. After all, he had already tested this during the interview.
As for the Brazilian guy named Hadi, his mathematics talent was inferior to Vera and Qin Yue. However, he was also a talent that stood out from the other ten resumes.
Lu Zhou had different requirements and training plans for each of them.
Honestly, there weren't many mentors as responsible as Lu Zhou.
Lu Zhou spent the entire afternoon helping the three students with their admission procedures and dormitories. He then called them into his office and began to arrange their work for the next month.
"Your talents and abilities are good, but honestly, you're still far from what I want you to do."
Lu Zhou paid close attention. When he said this, none of the three people expressed any objections. In fact, one of them was looking at him with admiration …
He coughed and cleared his throat before he continued.
"… Before September, I won't let you touch my research project. With your current level, even if you participate in my research project, you can only help me make a cup of coffee. However, I will give you study tasks. If any of you can pass my assessment by the end of August, then I will allow you to join my research project.
"This research project will accompany you for your entire master's career. I don't expect you to completely solve it, but your results must be worthy of being published in Annual Mathematics. Of course, I will research with you, but the main work will still be done by you. I will only provide guidance and ideas to solve some of the problems. "
Lu Zhou learned this trick from Lu Zhou, and he felt that he could use it as a reference.
However, if it was just a thesis, it would not be challenging. Therefore, Princeton had to use Princeton's standards.
During the interview, Lu Zhou reminded them that they should not expect to graduate from his master's program. He wanted them to live a fulfilling life.
Qin Yue asked nervously, "What if no one passes your assessment?"
If they passed the assessment, then they could participate in the research project. If they could not pass the assessment, then they would not even have a chance to graduate.
It was not easy to study abroad, so Lu Zhou was most concerned about practical problems.
Lu Zhou thought for a bit and said in a relaxed tone, "Then you'll have to learn while making coffee for other people until you pass my test. However, I think you should be more confident. I chose you as my student because I think you can complete my requirements. "
Compared to Qin Yue's caution, Hadi was overly confident. It seemed like he did not care about the assessment in a month. He raised his hand and asked, "Professor, can I ask what the research project is?"
However, Lu Zhou did not directly answer the question. Instead, he smiled.
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