"Let go."
"I'm not letting go unless you promise not to leave!"
"…"
Lu Zhou looked at Professor Sarrot, who was hugging his leg. He thought, Is this guy really a professor at Cornell University?
If I were him, I wouldn't do something like this …
Woolf, on the other hand, had a dumbfounded look on his face. It took him a while to recover from his shock, and he hurried over to help his employer.
However, he was one step too late. Sarrot let go of his leg.
This was because Lu Zhou promised him that he would give him five minutes to give Sarrot a reason to choose Lu Zhou.
Professor Sarrot was driven by his desire to survive, so he didn't waste any time. After he sat down on the sofa, he immediately spoke.
"I'll sell my Sarrot Research Institute to you for US $5 million. I believe there is no research institute in Silicon Valley that is cheaper than mine. I don't want anything else, all the patents and research results are yours, as long as you let me stay on the research team. "
What he said was true. Selling the entire research institute for US $5 million was equivalent to selling the research institute's equipment as scrap metal.
For the same equipment, it was impossible to find a cheaper one even if one searched the second-hand equipment market. Also, the equipment bought from the second-hand market was quite unreliable. Especially for cutting-edge equipment, a small error could cause people to be unable to replicate the results.
Sarrot's heart was bleeding when he quoted this price.
Even if he sold it as a second-hand equipment, as long as he could find a suitable buyer, he could sell it for US $7 million.
However, this wasn't about the money.
However, Lu Zhou obviously wouldn't be convinced so easily. After all, the scene when the two first met was too shocking. He still had a deep impression of the leather shoe that flew onto the podium.
"Then watch you use my name to swindle people?"
Professor Sarrot argued with dissatisfaction, "What do you mean swindle people? Did I use research funds to buy myself a car or pick up girls? No! I spent all the money on my experiments! Everything I did was for science! If I didn't exaggerate, no one would pay for my research … "
Lu Zhou didn't take Sarrot's quibble to heart, but the offer of five million USD was far lower than what he had in mind. It was difficult for him to reject it.
To be honest, Sarrot was a professor at Cornell University, so he definitely had the ability.
In a place like Silicon Valley, a PhD who could operate an SEM electron microscope to collect images could be hired with an annual salary of 100,000 yuan. However, it would take some effort to find a person who could command a group of PhD students to do experiments and successfully complete a project.
After all, these people often had their own projects. Unless the conditions were irresistible, they would not be willing to work for others.
In the field of materials science, even though Sarrot wasn't a big name, he was still a small name. Although he liked to run his mouth, at least there was no obvious stain on his academic record.
If one had to use the standards of a Saint to judge him, it would be too much.
After weighing the pros and cons in his heart, Lu Zhou decided to give him a chance.
As for whether he could grasp it or not, that would depend on himself.
Lu Zhou paused for a second and slowly said, "I can give you a chance."
Sarrot had a happy expression on his face. He was about to speak, but Lu Zhou spoke first and said, "But I have to tell you, you only have one chance. If you want to stay in my research team, I hope you are honest enough. Don't try to fool me with 'honest mistakes'."
Without hesitation, Sarrot patted his chest and promised Lu Zhou, "In the name of God, I swear to you."
Lu Zhou said indifferently, "Unfortunately, I'm an atheist. I will use a contract to bind you."
Sarrot made a helpless expression and shrugged his shoulders, indicating that he didn't care.
Lu Zhou looked at Woolf and signaled him to take out the contract.
Woolf looked at Lu Zhou hesitantly. It was like he was asking, "Is this appropriate?"
However, seeing that his employer nodded, he didn't say anything else. He took out the contract from his briefcase and quickly wrote the amount and other information in the blank space.
Lu Zhou stood up from the sofa and looked at Sarrot as he said, "I'm sure you've already read the contract. The only thing that changed was the amount. Of course, you can take it and study it slowly. I'll walk around the research institute first. Call me when you're done. "
…
Sarrot was smart.
He knew very well what he needed, and he also knew what was truly important to a scholar.
The reason why they were big names was not because they were geniuses, but because they could always get research funding and people would always pay for their research.
In the field of materials science, almost all of the results were achieved by piling up money.
Without research funding, one couldn't even publish a Science thesis. If one couldn't publish a Science thesis, it meant that there were no results. If there were no results, no one would invest in him.
In a sense, the relationship between academic status and research funding was like a hen and an egg.
As long as he had the former, the latter wasn't a problem at all.
For this reason, when the last investor withdrew his investment, he gritted his teeth and borrowed a loan from the bank. He used his own money to buy the equipment in the research institute that was almost sold as junk due to the withdrawal of investment.
Because of this reason, he was willing to sell the research institute to Lu Zhou at a loss of US $5 million.
He didn't care if the research team was gone. Anyway, it would just rot in his hands.
He didn't care if the money was less. US $5 million was more than enough to pay off his bank loan.
Even though this meant that he would lose everything and would have to start all over again, he believed that his choice was correct.
Working with this big name meant that he didn't have to worry about funding at all. Even if Lu Zhou didn't have enough money, there would be a lot of companies willing to pay him to continue his research.
As long as he could produce results, as long as he had a place in the thesis, he would be willing to work for free.
Once the results came out, no one would care about his past. No one would care about his failures. He would become an authority in the field of battery materials at Cornell University, and his alma mater would be proud of his name …
His intuition told him that this day wouldn't be long. This investment was definitely worth it!
Sarrot didn't let Lu Zhou wait for too long. He read the contract from beginning to end and signed his name at the end.
In addition to the transfer contract for the research institute, there was also an employment agreement and a confidentiality agreement.
Lu Zhou hired him to be the head of the research institute with an annual salary of US $100,000. As for other benefits, it would depend on his performance.
After talking about the contract, it was time to talk about the research.
Lu Zhou told Woolf to go back first before he plugged the USB into his laptop. He then pulled up the molecular model that he had redrawn using Hyperchem software.
Looking at the spherical structure that appeared on the screen, Sarrot's eyes showed a look of interest.
"What is this?"
Lu Zhou: "You don't need to know what this is. Actually, other than using mathematical methods to deduce something interesting, I'm not sure of its value. I need you to help me complete some experiments according to my requirements and verify some of my speculations on computational materials. If you do as I ask, I'll let your name appear in the thesis. "
Lu Zhou clicked the mouse.
The graphics on the screen began to change. At the same time, he continued to explain.
He continued to explain, "I can't provide you with more information. I can only tell you that this is a graph obtained from a fullerene material and a carbon nanotube material through a topological transformation. In chemical terms, the two materials are recombined by π bonds to form a carbon nanosphere. "
Sarrot frowned and stared at the model for a second. He then said, "This sounds like a good project, but how do we fuse a fullerene material with a carbon nanotube?"
Actually, what he wanted to ask the most was what this thing could be used for, but Lu Zhou obviously didn't want to explain, so Sarrot kept his question to himself.
Lu Zhou looked at him like he was an idiot and said, "Good question. If I knew how to synthesize this thing, why would I need you?"
Sarrot smiled awkwardly. He also realized that he had asked a useless question.
Lu Zhou ignored him and said, "In a few days, someone from Star Sky Technology will contact you. As for the research, I'll contact you via email. Also, I'll regularly check on your research progress every month.
"Also, I'll be at the University of California, Berkeley. If you have any questions, you can call me or come find me. Do you have any questions? "
Sarrot immediately shook his head and said, "No."
Lu Zhou nodded.
Now that the contract had been signed and everything that needed to be explained had been explained, there was no need to continue staying here.
The research funding issue would be handled by Star Sky Technology and Professor Sarrot. The experimental project would start next month at the latest.
Lu Zhou copied the data to his computer and put away the USB. He was ready to leave.
However, at this moment, Sarrot suddenly thought of something and said.
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