Since the Industrial Revolution, developed countries in the West have long held the right to speak in the field of natural sciences.

In particular, the top journals in the West are even more unbeatable.

After the end of World War II, English became the lingua franca of the academic world, and almost all influential scientific research results were published in English.

Needless to say, the two top journals of Nature and Science, many of their sub-journals have super-first-class standards in various sub-fields.

In addition, in the field of biomedicine, there are journals such as Cell, The Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine, etc.

In the field of physics, there are "Modern Physical Review", "Physical Review Letters", etc.

In the field of mathematics, there are four top journals led by the Annals of Mathematics and so on.

...... in the field of chemistry

……

Top academic journals in various fields are basically in the hands of Western countries.

In recent years, with the rapid development of science in China, several influential academic journals have gradually emerged in China.

Among them, the most well-known is the National Science Review, sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

As China's first English-language review journal, the National Science Review has been growing in influence year by year since its inception in 2014.

The impact factor has exceeded 20 from 8.0 at the time of its inception.

Even among the world's comprehensive journals, it is a top five existence.

The only regret is that due to the problem of Western academic discourse, this journal mainly publishes representative scientific research results in various disciplines in China, and rarely publishes papers by foreign scholars.

Moreover, the purpose of this journal itself is to be based in China and face the world.

The main purpose is to attract more attention from the international scientific community to China's research results and research activities, promote academic exchanges, and increase the visibility and influence of China's important research achievements in the international scientific community.

In Pang Xuelin's view, today's journal ecology is not in line with the current academic status in China.

On the one hand, the top journals in each discipline in the academic world have their own circles.

If you've never published an article from a top journal and none of your collaborators have published it, the chances of you being accepted in this journal are extremely small.

Unless your article is of a level that is well above the average for articles in that journal.

However, how bad can the average quality of an article be published in a top journal?

The academic world is a bit like the rivers and lakes in martial arts, a loose organization similar to the gate valve republic, and articles in top journals are one of the core interests of the organization.

Therefore, there must be a certain degree of injustice for "outsiders", after all, publishing articles in top journals has a direct impact on the vital interests such as evaluation of professional titles and application for funds.

Therefore, as a leading figure in China's academic community, Pang Xuelin needs a top-level platform that can serve Chinese scholars.

That's why he wanted to start a brand new journal.

Through this journal, the global discourse of Chinese academia will be enhanced.

And as a lucky person who can shuttle through the major science fiction worlds, Pang Xuelin knows very well that as time goes by, he and his team will make more and more achievements.

Sooner or later, Qiantang Laboratory, Jiangcheng Institute for Advanced Study, Jiangcheng University, Westlake University, etc., will become the holy places of global scientific research.

Therefore, even for the sake of his own team, Pang Xuelin must come up with an academic journal comparable to "Nature" and "Science".

"Professor Pang, have you decided on the name of this journal?"

Cao Yuan said curiously.

Pang Xuelin laughed and said, "Not yet, do you have any good suggestions?" ”

Cao Yuan pondered for a moment and said, "How about calling it "Discovery"?" English name: "Discovery" ......"

Li Changqing said: "I'm afraid not. ”

"Why?" Cao Yuan was puzzled.

Li Changqing said: "I remember the name Discovery, which was pre-registered by an academic journal in India. ”

"Huh? It's a bit hard to choose. ”

The names Nature and Science have already been registered in the United States and the United Kingdom, respectively, and it is a bit of a problem to find a journal name that can encompass the entire scientific research system.

At this time, Pang Xuelin had a flash of inspiration in his mind and said: "It's called "Exploration", the English name is "Research" Exploration, what do you think of this name?" ”

"Hey, that's good."

Cao Yuan and Li Changqing's eyes were bright.

Since the ignorance of mankind, all scientific discoveries have originated from the exploration of the natural world.

The name "Exploration" is similar to that of journals such as Nature and Science, and will undoubtedly encompass the entire system of natural sciences.

Pang Xuelin said with a smile: "Then it's decided." ”

The three of them were talking, and Pang Xuelin's mobile phone rang suddenly.

Pang Xuelin was slightly stunned, took out his mobile phone, and the caller ID was Zuo Yiqiu.

Pang Xuelin hurriedly pressed the answer button, and Zuo Yiqiu's voice rang on the other end of the phone: "Professor Pang, a scholar claiming to be from MIT Wen Xiaogang came to visit you, he didn't make an appointment, do you want to meet him?" ”

"Wen Xiaogang?"

Pang Xuelin was slightly stunned and said, "You receive him well first, and I'll go over to see him immediately." ”

Li Changqing looked at Pang Xuelin curiously and asked, "Professor Pang, what's wrong?" ”

Pang Xuelin said: "Wen Xiaogang is here. ”

Cao Yuan and Li Changqing glanced at each other, and they both saw a look of shock in each other's eyes.

In the domestic academic community, the name Wen Xiaogang is not widely known.

Wen Xiaogang was admitted to the Department of Physics of the University of Science and Technology of China at the end of the 70s of the last century, and passed the CUSPEA (Sino-US Joint Physics Graduate Program) admission examination with the first place in the country in 1981, and then went to Princeton University for further study, obtained a doctorate degree from Princeton University in 1987, and taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1991, successively serving as assistant professor, associate professor and professor.

In 2002, he was elected a fellow of the American Physical Society. In 2017, he was awarded the Buckley Prize by the American Physical Society, and in the same year, he was selected into the "2017 List of 50 Chinese Overseas Students", and in 2018, he was elected as an academician of the National Academy of Sciences.

Wen Xiaogang is mainly engaged in the research of quantum Hall liquids, high-temperature superconductors, topological sequences/quantum sequences, new states of matter, and the origin of elementary particles.

"What's wrong with this guy?" Li Changqing was a little surprised.

Pang Xuelin couldn't help but be stunned, Li Changqing's tone looked quite familiar with Wen Xiaogang.

"Professor Changqing, do you know Wen Xiaogang?"

Li Changqing said with a smile: "He and I used to be classmates at the University of Science and Technology of China, I majored in physics in my undergraduate degree, and I took the CUSPEA exam with Wen Xiaogang that year, but I didn't get in, and I transferred to chemistry as a graduate student." He was the number one guy in our class and the best guy in our class. I haven't seen him for more than a decade, and the last time I saw him was when I was a visiting scholar at MIT. Professor Pang, I guess he came to visit this time because of your paper on superconductor theory. ”

Pang Xuelin nodded with a smile and said, "No matter why he came, anyway, let's go and have a look first." ”

When the three of them came to Pang Xuelin's office, they saw a tall man with a slightly convex head, who had been waiting in the reception room next to the office for a long time.

There was a steaming cup of coffee in front of him, and Zuo Yiqiu was talking to him.

"Professor Pang."

Seeing Pang Xuelin and them coming in, Zuo Yiqiu took the lead in getting up.

At this time, Wen Xiaogang also got up, shook hands with Pang Xuelin and said with a smile: "Professor Pang, hello, I am Wen Xiaogang." ”

"Hello, Professor Wen, I have admired the name for a long time."

Then, Li Changqing also greeted him and said with a smile: "Lao Wen, I haven't seen you for a long time." ”

"Are you, Li Changqing? Are you also in Qiantang Lab? ”

Wen Xiaogang seemed a little surprised.

Li Changqing smiled: "I'm working under Professor Pang now." ”

The two exchanged pleasantries for a while, and at this time, Pang Xuelin pointed at Cao Yuan and said, "Professor Wen, this is Professor Cao Yuan, and he is also a graduate of the University of Science and Technology of China." ”

Wen Xiaogang laughed and said, "How could I not know Xiao Cao? When he was at MIT, he wanted to take the physics department, but he didn't get in, and then he transferred to the electrical engineering department. ”

"Hello, Professor Wen!"

Cao Yuan also shook hands with Wen Xiaogang and said.

Afterwards, the four of them sat down on the sofa in the reception room, and Zuo Yiqiu served them fragrant coffee.

At this time, Wen Xiaogang said: "Professor Pang, I'm sorry, I took the liberty to visit you this time, and I couldn't find your contact information for a while, so I came directly to find you." You must have guessed what I was trying to do, right? ”

Pang Xuelin said: "Professor Wen, you should have come for my paper, right?" ”

Wen Xiaogang nodded and said with a smile: "Professor Pang, you are really as wise as a torch, in fact, I have a question for you this time." ”

"What's the problem, please say."

Wen Xiaogang pondered for a moment and said, "You should have a preliminary technical route for room temperature superconductors, right?" ”

Pang Xuelin was slightly stunned, looked at Wen Xiaogang with a smile and said, "Professor Wen, I'm sorry, I can't tell you this directly." ”

Wen Xiaogang realized that his question was a little too direct, and said, "Professor Pang, I'm sorry. This question is my presumption. Yes, I've been immersed in condensed matter physics for most of my life, although I've achieved some things. However, I have never been able to understand the essential mechanism of superconductivity theory, let alone find a real room-temperature superconductor. My greatest wish in life is to see one day when room-temperature superconductors actually appear in front of me. If you really have the technical roadmap to realize a new type of room-temperature superconductor, I would like to join the team of Qiantang Laboratory. I don't know if you're welcome? ”

Pang Xuelin was slightly stunned. A little surprised, he didn't expect Wen Xiaogang to recommend himself.

Pang Xuelin pondered for a moment and said, "Professor Wen, I personally welcome you to come over, but there are two problems in it. ”

"What's the problem?"

"First, if you want to join our team, you have to give up your tenure at MIT and go back to China full-time. Second, this project is a state secret project, and your nationality is also a big issue......"

Wen Xiaogang was silent, and after a long while, he said, "What if I apply for a change of nationality now?" ”

Pang Xuelin and Li Changqing glanced at each other and said with some surprise: "Professor Wen, have you made up your mind?" ”

Wen Xiaogang nodded and said, "I'm almost fifty-eight this year. It is said that the leaves fall to the roots, and the leaves fall to the roots. I had taken into account some of my children's opinions, and my parents had passed away, and there was no one in my hometown, so I had no intention of returning to China. But this time, I don't want to miss this superconducting feast in the scientific community. ”

Pang Xuelin laughed and said, "Okay, if you have no problems in this regard, I welcome you to return to China and join the Qiantang Laboratory." ”

Wen Xiaogang's heart relaxed and said, "Okay, then I'll go back to the United States as soon as possible to go through the resignation procedures, as for the identity problem in China, then it will trouble Professor Pang." ”

Pang Xuelin said with a smile: "Don't worry, you can come back, it's too late for the country to welcome you, and I will definitely help you complete the nationality conversion procedures as soon as possible." ”

That night, Pang Xuelin hosted a banquet in the small canteen inside the Qiantang Laboratory to entertain Wen Xiaogang.

The next day, Pang Xuelin asked Li Changqing to arrange for someone to take Wen Xiaogang to visit the inside of the Qiantang laboratory.

This big guy is a well-known existence in the entire condensed matter physics community, and he has taught at MIT for more than 30 years.

Wen Xiaogang's assumption is of great benefit to the Qiantang Laboratory to attract top scholars in the field of condensed matter physics.

Three days later, Wen Xiaogang left Jiangcheng by plane and returned to the United States.

A month later, Wen Xiaogang gave up his tenured teaching position at MIT and returned to China.

After the news came out, it aroused widespread attention in the academic community.

But for Pang Xuelin, these are just some trivial things.

During this time, in addition to regularly paying attention to the multi-walled carbon nanotube superconductor team and the dynamic APT technology that Shi Yi is researching, Pang Xuelin focused on the upcoming publication of the journal "Exploration".

According to Pang Xuelin's plan, the "Exploration" series of magazines will compete with the two old top magazines of "Nature" and "Science" in the future.

In addition to the main journal of "Exploration", there will be various sub-journals such as "Exploration Mathematics", "Exploration Physics", "Exploration Chemistry", and "Exploration Biology" in the future.

Just like Nature, it covers dozens of disciplines, all aspects of the field.

In the short term, of course, Exploration's main goal will be to focus on the main journal's perception work.

Therefore, the inaugural issue of "Exploration" magazine will undoubtedly be the top priority.

If this cannon can be played well, with Pang Xuelin's appeal, the development of "Exploration" magazine will undoubtedly be on the fast track in the future.

Therefore, it is not enough for the inaugural issue to publish only a heavyweight paper on the mechanism of superconductivity.

Only when there are two more similar papers can there be that Discovery magazine will make a splash in the scientific community.

But the question is? Where do you start?

Pang Xuelin sat in the office, bowed his head and pondered, and after a while, he picked up the pen and wrote the word mathematics on the manuscript paper.