Time passed day by day, and it was soon April.

With the arrival of spring break, the students who have been squeezed by heavy academic work for a semester finally ushered in a short period of liberation. During this less than two-week vacation, they can enjoy their lives without having to think about their studies.

Even the busy Princeton campus is dyed with a lot of lighthearted colors.

"I'm going to Fort Lauderdale, and if you have time, you can come with me." In the dining area on the first floor of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, Senior Brother Luo, who was sitting together for dinner, invited Lu Zhou.

The sea and beach are often preferred for spring break activities, and Fort Lauderdale is relatively affordable compared to Hawaii. Since 1934, it has been a mecca for spring break at American universities. At this time of year, it was so crowded that it was not only American college students, but also overseas tourists.

However, for Lu Zhou, this is an unfamiliar place name.

Lu Zhou hesitated for a moment and asked, "Where is Fort Lauderdale?" ”

"Venice in Florida, North America...... You don't even know where Fort Lauderdale is? How did you get through the year? Luo Wenxuan looked at Lu Zhou in disbelief.

Lu Zhou made a helpless expression.

"My PhD was only a few months long, and it ended before I had time to break my spring."

There was a subtle awkwardness in the atmosphere in an instant.

Luo Wenxuan coughed lightly: "Can we not mention the matter of the doctorate?" ”

Lu Zhou: "...... Uh, sorry. ”

He almost forgot that when he was an undergraduate, Brother Luo was studying for a doctorate from Edward Witten. Now that he has obtained his doctorate, Senior Brother Luo still hasn't graduated successfully......

It is indeed not good to bring up such a sad thing on this happy day.

However, Senior Brother Luo's psychological endurance is still quite strong, after all, in the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study, a place where the world's most talented brains are gathered, just being a genius enough without a strong heart can't stay.

After all, there is a gap between geniuses and geniuses.

Quickly adjusting his mood, Senior Brother Luo continued to return to the previous topic, and continued to talk eloquently on the topic of spring break.

"Spring break is glamorous. A good opportunity, or do you plan to be single for the rest of your life? If you don't know how to chase a pretty girl, I can teach you how to pick up a girl, it's actually quite easy. ”

Lu Zhou glanced at him in some surprise, but the focus was not on the skills of accosting, but on ......

"Are you going to change girlfriends?"

"Actually, it's already changed." Luo Wenxuan coughed lightly, his expression seemed to be a little reluctant to discuss this topic, "The reason for this is a bit complicated, don't ask." ”

Lu Zhou: "......"

If he's not mistaken, around February, at a party celebrating the Adams Prize in Chemistry, this guy was dangling in front of him with his girlfriend.

It's been less than two months, and I'm back single.

The speed of changing girlfriends is simply faster than the speed at which he can send papers.

"The rhythm of life here is like this, you have to learn to adapt," noticing Lu Zhou's speechless expression, Luo Wenxuan explained, "If you are often in contact with the circle of international students, you will find that this is actually a very ordinary thing." ”

"That's the problem," Lu Zhou said with a sigh as he folded the sandwich wrapper into a small stack and threw it on the plate, "I often feel out of place with you because I'm too disciplined. ”

As soon as he heard this, Luo Wenxuan was immediately unhappy.

"You say this as if I don't have any discipline."

Lu Zhou: "Isn't it? ”

Luo Wenxuan: "......"

……

Actually, Lu Zhou was still a little curious about what Senior Brother Luo said.

Is Fort Lauderdale really as youthful and pungent as it was in the movies?

If nothing else, he wouldn't mind going to take a look with Senior Brother Luo.

However, only if it's not busy......

On the first Saturday in April, Lu Zhou gave his students a week's break. After more than three months of intense study, they also need time to rest to adjust their state.

However, for Lu Zhou himself, he does not have this leisure.

On the first day of spring break, he hopped on a plane to San Francisco, on the West Coast, to attend the American Chemical Society's Symposium on Organic Chemistry.

There, he will take away his glory and leave behind a speech of about 60 minutes.

Although the scale of this conference is not as large as the MRS conference, the top conference in the field of materials science, its influence is not inferior, and it is also one of the top conferences in the field of organic synthesis.

After all, the influence of the American Chemical Society is much greater than that of the Materials Society. The former is not only a century older than the latter, but also has an influence on industry and even politics.

After several hours of flight, the plane landed at the airport in San Francisco.

Picking him up at the airport was Sarot, a once-down-and-out Cornell professor who now looked in good spirits.

Dressed in an ironed straight suit, with retro oily hair, the beard on his face has been shaved much cleaner, and he doesn't know how much better he was a few months ago.

It has to be said that the paper is the life of a scholar.

The weight of a "Science" was not enough to completely change the status quo, but it somewhat saved his position at Cornell University.

If he first sold the institute, he still had some hesitation in his heart, and often asked himself, "Is it really worth it?" "That's the question.

And now, he has no doubts about how wise the choice he made was in the first place.

"Welcome, my dear friend, and welcome to San Francisco!" With a smile on his face, Sarot stretched out his right hand from afar, "Congratulations, Roger Adams Award, you're one step closer to Stockholm." ”

Shaking hands with Sarot, Lu Zhou joked: "I've already been to Stockholm once." ”

"Then go again, this time it will be the Nobel Palace!" "I've heard from professors I know about it, and the award committee is debating whether to nominate modified PDMS materials. ”

Lu Zhou smiled and did not speak.

Sarot's optimism is as unreliable as his scientific intuition, especially when he doesn't blush when quoting something that no one else has ever said.

In addition, if the Nobel Prize is so easy to win, it will not be regarded as the crown of the scientific community.

Not to mention anything else, even the father of lithium-ion batteries, the legendary Mr. "Good Enough" (John · B· Goodenough), have been in line for more than thirty years, and they haven't been in line yet. It is still difficult to rely on the technology of lithium anode materials to take off this crown in one fell swoop.

However, Lu Zhou was not in a hurry.

He is still young and has a long career ahead of him.

Whether it is a modified PDMS material, an HCS-1 material, or the Adams Prize in Chemistry just around the corner, it is just the beginning for him......