"Professor, do you have something on your mind?" Junxin asked, shifting the topic from himself to Professor Quillen.

The smile on Professor Quillen's face narrowed, and he sighed and said, "It's a bit difficult to decide, about work!" ”

"I can be considered a good listener if it's convenient." Junxin said with a smile that after being in the United States for so long, he gradually found that when talking to other people, sometimes it may be better to lead the topic to the other person.

"It's not a big deal!" Professor Quillen shook his head and said, "Recently, the University of Oxford sent me an invitation to take up the Winffleet Professorship in Pure Mathematics at Madryn College, and I was hesitating! ”

"Why are you hesitant?" It is clear that the historical professor Quelen left the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1984 and went to Oxford, although it is normal for a professor to change positions, but to the point of an internationally renowned top mathematician like Quelen, in fact, their job changes are still very concerned.

Not to mention anything else, just talking about the influence of their own province, Professor Quelen, as a Fields Medal winner, is a well-known researcher of K theory in the world, and his appeal in this field is very strong, and his departure also means that the research efficiency of K theory in the United States will be rapidly reduced for a period of time. In addition, perhaps a large number of intermediate scholars on such issues will leave with him. That's why he's so cautious about his job changes.

"This school is where I graduated and where I grew up! Although I have been to many universities and research institutes, none of them can give me such a feeling, and to be honest, I am reluctant to leave this school! Professor Quillen said emotionally as he looked out the window.

"But now I have to leave here, Mit, has always been a paradise for engineering, even with the rapid development of the new computer science major, but engineering has always been the number one theme of this school, and that includes the idea of Lincoln National Laboratory. You know, I'm not a computer scientist, I'm not an applied math talent, I'm a theoretical math and pure math guy, and there's never really a place for me in Massachusetts! ”

In fact, he received an invitation from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom very early, but it was not until 1984 that he really agreed, and he really made a painful choice during this time. As Professor Quillen said, MIT has always been a paradise for engineering, and the purely mathematical study of theory here does not have a high status, even if he is a top mathematician who has won the highest award in mathematics.

"Professor, do you want to open a path of pure theoretical research in this engineering school in Massachusetts?" Junxin looked at Professor Quillen and suddenly asked.

"It used to be my dream, but now it seems to be my delusion!" Professor Quillen sighed, "Massachusetts has always been a Massachusetts, he hasn't changed, maybe there is no need for such a Massachusetts to change!" ”

Junxin was silent, he thought of the path he might want to take in the future. In fact, Mizuki University is a polytechnic university very close to Massachusetts, and it is not too much to say that it is even the Massachusetts of China. After the reorganization of the faculties, Mizuki University trains students in the same way as training engineers. In a sense, the reason why Junxin was able to obtain the highest free learning permission of Mizuki University is that Mizuki University does not have the methods and resources to cultivate theoretical scientists who think it is the top.

Of course, Junxin didn't know that for him, as a professor of the Department of Mathematics of Mizuki University, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and at least Professor Hu, who was at the national, provincial and ministerial level, pulled off all his faces and sent a request for help to the Chinese Academy of Sciences and BJ University, which had always been opposed to each other, asking them to open up their teaching resources to Junxin. Mizuki University is indeed not suitable for training a purely theoretical mathematician.

Although Junxin didn't know about these things, there is no doubt that Junxin realized this problem in the conversation with Professor Quelen, and he instantly thought of the problem that Professor Quelen faced when he returned to China, how to establish a pure theoretical research base in an engineering school.

Of course, for this matter, in fact, as early as the beginning, Junxin already had a vague understanding and made some instinctive arrangements. In the Mizuki Institute of Applied Mathematics proposed by Professor Yau Chengtong last year, Junxin had subconsciously chosen the only position in the institute for theoretical mathematics research when he was appointed as a researcher. Now that I think about it, this may be a big boost for my future. At least his starting point is much better than that of Professor Quillen, who has nothing to do on his own.

Junxin, who thought a lot for a while, looked at Professor Quelen, who seemed a little lonely, and shook his head helplessly and said, "Professor, I remember that Professor Michael Attia is also in the UK, right?" "During his academic visit at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, Professor Quelen's academic thinking was influenced by Professor Michael Attia, and then his achievements in Theory K, although it was discovered by Grothendieck.

"Hehe, indeed!" Professor Quillen had already collected his sadness and said with a faint smile, "It was Professor Atia who invited me to teach at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, and he strongly invited me to Oxford University to discuss the problems of topological algebra, you know, this is what interests me the most!" ”

Junxin smiled and said, "Professor, I think this is a very good result, Professor!" Professor Atia is your true peer, right? If you go to Oxford, you'll probably achieve more than you do in Massachusetts, won't you? ”

Professor Quillen looked at Junxin's sincere eyes, and finally smiled and nodded. In fact, it is not that no one persuaded him to go to Oxford University in the United Kingdom, including many relatives and friends of Professor Quillen, but the weight of these people in Professor Quillen's mind is far less than that of Junxin. At this time, after proving the four-dimensional Poincaré conjecture, in the eyes of Professor Quillen, there was only one coronation ceremony left to reach the pinnacle of mathematics. Even in his opinion, it doesn't matter whether there is this ceremony or not, Junxin's ability has completely proved that he is one of the top people in the mathematical world at the moment. For the advice given by peers in this position, Professor Quelen will still seriously consider it. And in fact, this is also the answer to the faint tendency in my mind.