In the fourth week of November, the day after Black Friday, the MRS Autumn Meeting was held as scheduled.

Because he was invited to participate in the meeting, Lu Zhou also enjoyed the treatment of a VIP, and after getting off the plane, he got on a special car for pick-up and arrived at the five-star hotel arranged by the organizer.

Generally speaking, MRS meetings last at least a week, with occasional delays up to the tenth day.

As for this time, things are a little different.

With the proper solution of the lithium dendrite problem, the papers on lithium battery-related concepts have shown a blowout growth during this period, and the number of papers linked to new energy such as photovoltaic materials has also increased to varying degrees.

Many research institutes that have already made presentations at the Spring Conference have even changed what they have reported before, and rushed a paper out to apply for an oral presentation, so that the organizers had to extend the conference time to 12 days.

As for Lu Zhou's briefing, it was scheduled for the next morning.

He had just arrived in Boston, and he didn't have any special arrangements for today, so he planned to walk around the neighborhood. By the way, I will listen to a few lectures and familiarize myself with the style of presentation here.

Putting his luggage beside the bed, Lu Zhou went to the bathroom to wash his face, and then went downstairs to the center of the venue not far from the hotel.

Even though he has participated in many report meetings, Lu Zhou, who saw the true face of the MRS autumn meeting, still couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

In terms of scale, the MRS conference is simply too big, and it is simply not on the same order of magnitude as the conference in the mathematical community.

Dozens of venues, hundreds of sessions, and thousands or even tens of thousands of conference participants.

At this time of the year, the hotels and guesthouses near the venue are extremely popular. Because most of the people attend the meeting at their own expense, or even just come to join in the fun, it is obviously impossible for the organizer to be responsible for the accommodation for this part of the people.

Formatively, the format of the MRS conference is not much different from that of the academic conferences held by the Federal Mathematical Society in Princeton.

Each session was divided into two parts: an oral presentation and a poster presentation.

The former is generally done by big bulls, and there are many high-quality papers and reports. This part is not only the essence of the report, but also the "battlefield" of strong universities such as MIT, Harvard, and Cornell.

Especially when it comes to some hot and cutting-edge areas, the discussion is often extraordinarily "heated", even if there is a physical altercation.

As for the latter, the threshold is relatively low, as long as the paper submitted to the conference is passable, even if you can't get the opportunity to give an oral presentation, you can usually get a poster booth on the corresponding topic.

However, it is precisely because of this that this piece is relatively mixed, with high-level but lack of opportunities, as well as legendary "PPT entrepreneurs". It may be that because of the low level of attention here, everyone is more enthusiastic when discussing issues, but in general it is quite restrained.

Lu Zhou, who passed through the center of the venue, looked around, and found that everyone was behaving very friendly so far, walking together in twos and threes, some taking pictures, some talking and laughing......

In short, it is not as exaggerated as Professor Chirick describes.

Seeing this scene, Lu Zhou was also relieved.

When he first got off the plane, he was still hesitant to buy a handy guy to defend himself, but now it seems that his considerations are purely superfluous.

However, for the sake of safety, he still brought the "watch" rewarded by the system with him.

Even if there is a high probability that it will not be used.

……

After wandering around the poster display area for a while, Lu Zhou happened to walk to the venue of the lithium battery topic.

As he passed by the first lecture hall, a presentation was underway.

Glancing at the academic poster posted at the door, he found that the content on it turned out to be the legendary lithium-air battery, and a look of interest suddenly appeared in his eyes.

Seeing that the report meeting didn't seem to have started for long, and the professor on the stage was still preparing a PPT, Lu Zhou walked into the lecture hall through the back door, found a place in the back row, and sat down, ready to listen to the lecture.

Strictly speaking, a series of lithium battery concepts, including lithium-air batteries, cannot be completely regarded as a topic in the field of materials.

But just like the concept of photovoltaics, when the main problem facing a big proposition is the material, it naturally becomes a proposition of materials science, even if it seems to be more like a new energy problem.

Soon, the report will begin.

Standing on the podium was a professor with neatly combed hair, about 50 years old.

Looking at the text introduction on the cover of the PPT, his name is Sarot and he is from Cornell University.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is an honor to stand here. As we all know, not long ago, Professor Lu Zhou from Princeton University published a paper on modified PDMS thin film materials in Nature Chemistry, which overcame the most critical problem in lithium battery technology! ”

"If it was the Spring Festival six months ago, you might scoff at the concept of lithium-air batteries. But now, we must admit that a new era has arrived! ”

Standing on the stage, Professor Sarot's eyebrows fluttered, and within a while, the whiteboard next to him was full of various chemical reaction formulas and all kinds of seemingly reliable data.

Some listened attentively, but others scoffed.

Sitting in the back row of the venue, Professor Krell of Columbia University crossed his arms and endured the question session, and finally couldn't help it, saying in a sarcastic tone.

"How do you solve the reaction between the lithium anode and nitrogen in the air? And water vapor? Even the cleaners in our lab know how lively lithium is. IMHO, it seems to me that what you are doing is not a battery, but a rocket. ”

He is making lithium-sulfur batteries, and lithium-sulfur batteries are also the mainstream of today's lithium battery research. Although there are many black spots in lithium-sulfur batteries, they seem to be at least more reliable than lithium-air.

Many people in the room burst out laughing, but Sarot didn't care.

I saw him clear his throat and continue.

"Professor Krell asks a good question, and it's often asked by interns in our lab, but that's not usually the case with full-fledged researchers. Because we're thinking about how to solve the problem, not just fuss all day like a layman. ”

Hearing the sarcasm in the words, the person who was laughing stopped laughing.

But the people who didn't laugh at the beginning laughed out loud.

Because there is a drama to watch.

Without giving Professor Krell a chance to refute, Professor Sarot gave him a defiant look and continued.

"We all know that Mr. Krell is engaged in lithium-sulfur batteries, but to be honest, I am also curious, how does he plan to solve the shuttle effect caused by the polysulfide intermediates dissolving into the electrolyte and diffusing through the separator from the positive electrode to the negative electrode? Under normal circumstances, even mentally retarded people know that they can't stick the positive and negative poles together. ”

Crelton was furious, and he was about to have a seizure.

But Sarot changed his mind and continued.

"I talked to Professor Lu Zhou at Princeton about this. Theoretically, it is not practical to separate pure oxygen from the air, but with a brilliant mathematical model, we can deduce many potential products that have the potential to help us achieve our goals. ”

After a pause, Sarot continued, in a tone full of incitement.

"I mean, if we can find a separator that can be used to screen oxygen molecules in a targeted manner, the problem of lithium-air batteries can be solved perfectly."

"And this is exactly what we are trying to solve!"

Lu Zhou: ???

When have I talked to him?!

As Professor Sarot's words fell, there was suddenly no one in the room to speak.

Many professors, including Professor Kreer, who are engaged in research in other directions, have thoughtful, even solemn expressions on their faces.

Several men in suits sitting in the back row were exchanging opinions in a whisper.

Judging from their faces, these people don't look like researchers, and from their conversations, Lu Zhou vaguely heard the key words "investment", "cost", and "feasibility".

At this point, he knew that he could not remain silent.

It's okay for someone to pretend to be with their own knowledge.

But some people cheat funds under their own banner, this can't be endured!

Coughing slightly, Lu Zhou stood up.

Seeing the one standing up, Professor Sarot suddenly didn't recognize who this Asian was, and couldn't help frowning.

"This gentleman, may I ask ...... you?"

"I am Lu Zhou," Lu Zhou coughed lightly, "I can testify, I didn't say it." ”

He's not done yet.

A shoe flew from the back row onto the lecture platform.

This was followed by gel pens and drinking glasses issued by the organizers, all of which were thrown in one go, and the entire lecture hall was in chaos.

"Liar, get out!"

"Go back with your PPT!"

Before Lu Zhou stood up, they were really almost frightened by the so-called "mathematical model" mentioned by Professor Sarot, and they even doubted their lives for half a minute.

It was precisely because of this half-minute suspicion that they were particularly annoyed and felt that they had been fooled!

Although Professor Sarot was a little embarrassed by the attack, it was clear that he was also a man who had seen the world. I saw that he quickly dodged the things he threw away, used the stack of speeches in his hand to protect his side face, and quickly slipped out of the lecture hall.

The staff of the organizer who arrived in time to hear the movement quickly stopped the angry group of researchers.

Judging from the helpless expressions of these staff, it is clear that this is not the first time that they have dealt with such a situation.

Sitting at the back of the lecture hall, Lu Zhou saw the riot from beginning to end, and couldn't help but be a little dumbfounded.

The style of painting in the industry......

Is it so tough?

Speaking of which, tomorrow it's time for him to take the stage.

Lu Zhou suddenly felt that he was panicking now......