From small town academic to chief scientist

Chapter 156 The highest prize in geometry—the Veblen Prize in Geometry

Zhou Yi walked out of the room and was going to sit in the office he hadn't been to for a long time.

By the way, I would like to ask which university the Veblen Geometry Prize is held at.

This is an award from the Federal Mathematical Society, and it should be impossible to hold it in Daxia.

There are many factors involved.

Very few Bactrian nationals have won the Veblen Geometry Prize.

All of them were obtained by Qiu's disciples.

For example, Academician Tian, ​​and those from the University of Science and Technology of China.

Then there is the current Zhouyi.

Zhou Yi won this award and had nothing to do with Qiu.

Not long after, Zhou Yi came to the office and saw Xiao Wanyi still reading the documents carefully. He felt that it was not easy to disturb, so he left silently and prepared to find Qiu.

After a while, Zhou Yi found Qiu.

"I was just about to find you, but I didn't expect you to come to me on your own initiative. Let me guess, old man, why you are looking for me."

Qiu took the lead and said,

"It's definitely not a matter of graduation. As for some opinions and tools, I'll give you all I can. It's Bill's conjecture!"

Zhou Yi looked embarrassed. He had only published the paper for a day or two. He didn't expect it to be spread so widely.

Zhou Yi nodded and said:

"Yes, Teacher Qiu. Bill's conjecture has been proved by me. I have full confidence. Now it just needs to be reviewed by peers before it can be published in a magazine. I want to do it at the Veblen Geometry Prize Conference. A report to speed up the process and where will the award ceremony be held."

I have to get the prize for sure.

Just look at Academician Tian Zhen’s status in the domestic mathematics community after winning the Veblen Geometry Prize.

Qiu Chengtong said:

"This old guy Milno forced the Federation Society to change the venue and hold it at Princeton University. It will be held in less than ten days. I have already handled all the visa and other issues for you. There will also be some of my old colleagues there. The students will pick you up."

Zhouyi said:

"Thank you, Teacher Qiu, for taking the trouble."

Qiu Chengtong said with a smile:

"Haha, don't bother. I'm very happy that you can achieve these achievements. The flight the day after tomorrow, please pay attention to the time and your new mathematical tools. If there are no problems, you can continue to dig deeper. You may have unexpected gains. .”

Zhou Yi nodded and said:

"Okay, thank you teacher for your guidance."

Then an assistant gave Zhou Yi all the things he needed. Zhou Yi returned to his dormitory with a lot of things, and then packed up the preparation items.

Getting ready to go abroad again.

The next day, Zhou Yi was not idle. After making a PPT, he continued to study Zhou's analytical method.

This tool may be able to attack other number theory conjectures.

As for whether the ABC conjecture can be eliminated, it is still unclear.

But if you dig deeper, you will definitely gain a lot.

As time went by, Shuimu University released a message on its official website that Zhou Yi would go to Princeton University to receive the award.

The highest award in the field of mathematical geometry and topology, the Veblen Prize,

By the way, I am doing a proof report on Bill's conjecture.

This news was immediately made public in mathematics circles, and many people engaged in analytic number theory were preparing to go to Princeton to witness history.

Most domestic and foreign people will go there. Conjectures that are more difficult than Fermat's Last Theorem, conjectures with a reward of one million magnesium gold, no matter which one they are, they are full of gimmicks.

If it is really proven by Zhouyi, Zhouyi will undoubtedly be recorded in the history of mathematics again.

As for the self-media, they also started blowing the news immediately.

"Shock! The 19-year-old boy is the youngest winner of the Veblen Geometry Prize in history. 》

"Is Qiu Chengtong's school going to win the highest prize of the Geometry Award?" 》

"Breaking Bad!" The mathematical conjecture with a million-magnesium gold reward may have been won by the genius mathematician Zhou Yi! 》

As for the various comments on the Internet, there are all kinds.

【Book of Changes? He is just a reserve soldier in the United States. I think he will be like the golden generation of Peking University and will not return to China. 】

[So what if you win the award? It’s not a Fields Medal. If you follow the Chinese to learn knowledge, do you dare to say that you’re not a reserve soldier in the United States? 】

【A strong young man makes a country strong, and the gods of Zhou are upupup. 】

[Zhou Shen didn’t even advertise. I haven’t seen Zhou Shen interact with me for a long time. Woohoo, please come back and interact. Even if you advertise, I’m willing. 】

[God Zhou, it’s time to draw a lottery and revise the paper! 】

[Are you so happy about the award from the Chinese people? 】

[The Seven Millennium Problems have not been proven, and Zhouyi will never be recognized by me. 】

As for Chongqing University, they have already pulled up the banner.

"Warm congratulations to our school alumnus Zhou Yi for winning the Veblen Prize, the highest award in geometry. 》

The teachers and students of Chongqing University have long been accustomed to this.

Before Zhou Yi left, he basically contracted a lot of banners, but what they never expected was that,

After Zhou Yi left, he could still make such a big noise.

In dormitory 404, Zhang Yuan looked at the flood of news about Zhouyi on the Internet.

He couldn't help but sigh and said:

"Yang Shuai, tell me, will I have the chance to study for a doctorate under Zhou Yi in the future?"

Yang Shuai put down the keyboard in his hand and started thinking. After a while, he said seriously:

"One thing to say is that there is a real chance. Although it takes 7, 8, or 9 years for others to study for a Ph.D., Zhou Yi is different. I am sure that Zhou Yi will graduate early and set a new record.

We are only juniors now, and it takes two years to graduate, plus three years of graduate school, which means that maybe after Zhou Yi becomes a professor, we haven't even graduated yet. "

Zhang Yuan:...

These words are so shocking.

At this time, Zhou Yi had arrived in the Magnesium Kingdom.

It was fun to go to Princeton. Zhou Yi first took a train to a railway terminal, and then needed to take a special train into the town of Princeton.

As for the student Qiu mentioned, his name is a middle-aged man named Tan Mingming, who is an associate professor at Princeton. He is a handsome middle-aged man.

Tan Mingming said:

"Zhou Shen, I have admired you for a long time! You are too fierce, please accept my knee."

Zhouyi:...

"Your proof of Beer's conjecture made it impossible for people who study analytic number theory in this world to sleep at all. I heard, just heard, from a classmate at Oxford University that Wiles read your paper all night. "

Tan Mingming's words were filled with exclamation.

That was Wiles who proved Fermat's big conjecture.

Zhouyi:...

"Wiles probably won't read my paper, but his apprentice Anna Cariani might."

"No, he will definitely look, and maybe he's already here."

Tan Mingming said seriously.

Zhouyi:...

This senior brother is really enthusiastic.

"Actually, not many people came to Princeton before. There have been more people on the train these days. Most of them are students from other schools. They all come to witness history. If you really prove it, you will probably be in the Magnesium Country. One name."

Tan Mingming's tone and eyes were full of envy.

"Well,"

Zhou Yi didn't know what to say. This man was much older than him. Why did he look a little unreliable?

As the train moved forward, Zhou Yi finally arrived at Princeton.

Tan Mingming said:

"Junior brother, we are checking into the Nassau Hotel. Before that, we must first pass through part of the Princeton campus."

Although Zhou Yi was still holding his luggage, he kept looking at the buildings and scenery of Princeton University.

The buildings on this university campus are more in the classical style. The gray-white stones have a heavy sense of history, but they are not depressing. This is Zhou Yi's idea.

The Nassau Hotel is right behind Princeton University, only a street or two away, which is very convenient.

The setting of the hotel is very simple, and the colors inside are dark and elegant, making people feel far away from glitz.

On the walls of this hotel, there are many photos of big guys, basically all of them are characters from math textbooks.

Tan Mingming said to Zhou Yi:

"This is a photo of Professor Deligne and Professor Milnor. Grand Slam winners of the three medals in mathematics (Fields Medal, Abel Prize, and Wolf Medal), two of the people who stand at the pinnacle of mathematics. .

As for their achievements, I believe you also know it, so I won’t say more. The conference will start in about three days. I will take you to see the location of the conference. If you have anything to do in the past few days, feel free to tell Mingming. "

Tan Mingming said very enthusiastically.

The boss on the wall is a boss, and the Zhou Yi in front of him is also a boss. If nothing else, Zhou Yi will also win a Grand Slam.

And he is the youngest winner in history.

If you don’t lick him before he gets the prize, is it possible that you have to wait until he gets the prize before licking again?

By then, I’m afraid there will be no place for me, Tan Mingming.

Zhou Yi nodded and said:

"Well, okay, thank you, senior brother."

The third prize winner in mathematics. As far as Zhou Yi knows, there seem to be only six people in this world.

The other four are Gregory Margulies, John Griggs Thompson and the youngest Fields Medal winner Jean-Pierre Serre, as well as the proof of Fermat's conjecture, Andrew Wiles.

It’s hard to say who is stronger among the six, but Deligne has the Crawford Award.

But there are only two winners of the Fields Medal, Wolf Medal and Cradford Medal, one is Deligne and the other is Qiu Chengtong.

Therefore, among the comments of some of the big guys in the comment area of ​​Douyin Bihu and C Station, there is only one real grand slam, and that is Professor Pierre Deligne.

After Zhou Yi memorized the route, he began to think about whether to visit Professor Milnuo. Professor Milnuo also gave him a lot of help.

Zhou Yi also asked about some mathematical ideas over the phone.

Zhou Yi decided to pay a visit and said:

"Senior brother, take me to visit Professor Milnor?"

"Now? Don't you want to eat first?"

Tan Mingming said in surprise.

"Need not,"

Zhou Yi said.

"Okay, come with me."

Tan Mingming said.

Not long after, Zhou Yi came to a courtyard.

"Wait for me here, I'll go talk to Professor Milnor."

Not long after, Tan Mingming came out. Besides Tan Mingming, there was also an old man with white hair.

"Hey, Mr. Zhou? I'm Milno."

Milno introduced it very familiarly.

Zhou Yi walked up and said respectfully:

"Hello, Professor Mirro, I am Zhou Yi. Thank you for your help before."

Milno directly gave Zhou Yi a bear hug, completely unable to tell that this was an old man in his nineties.

"Congratulations, you have solved another world-class conjecture and will receive one million magnesium gold."

Milno was very enthusiastic and pulled Zhou Yi into the house.

Zhou Yi said with some surprise:

"Have you read the paper too?"

"Look, people who study analytic number theory at Princeton are very optimistic about your paper, especially the new mathematical tools in it, which are very novel. I think it can be expanded on this basis, but they haven't seen it yet. Very understanding."

Zhou Yi raised his brows. He was worthy of being the winner of the third prize. He was really sharp. He could see through his own analysis method and expand it a second time.

The key is still analytic number theory, which is not what he is good at.

It is true that no Grand Slam winner can save fuel, Qiu also said so.

These old guys are very discerning.

After Zhou Yi communicated with Milno for a long time, he came to his room under the leadership of Tan Mingming.

After bidding farewell to this enthusiastic senior brother, Zhou Yicai lay on the bed and digested some new things he had gained with Milno.

Sure enough, you still need to communicate more with outsiders to get something useful.

Relying on the system alone, unless you get a sudden inspiration every time, or directly draw a way to prove a world-class conjecture,

Otherwise, communication is essential.

Maybe things that others can't use for the time being are sharp swords for you, and mathematical tools that you can't use for the time being are their sharp weapons in other people's hands.

Time passed day by day, Zhou Yi also went to visit Professor Milnor, and through Professor Milnor's guidance, he met Professor Deligne.

Zhou Yi was amazed by his extensive knowledge.

Every mathematics master has extremely broad insights.

The time finally came to the day before the award ceremony. Zhou Yi was not only a little excited, but also a little nervous.

I remember the last time I spoke in front of the world's top mathematicians, it was at the International Congress of Mathematicians.

This time, I am afraid that all the big guys in analytic number theory in the world will come here.

The next morning, the largest lecture hall at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton was packed with people.

In addition to the mathematicians who were invited to attend the conference, there were also many uninvited mathematics professors and students.

Most of these students came with their masters.

Some are students from this university, and some come at their own expense.

Although these people did not receive a specific award time, it did not prevent them from coming early.

Some didn't even go back for one night.

Those who arrived late could only watch in aisles and corridors. As for the walls, they were already occupied.

There are many media outlets under the big podium, including local reporters from Magnesia and European reporters. Of course, there are also many official reporters from Daxia.

As for reporters from other countries and media, they were also crowded.

Bill's conjecture, which contains millions of magnesium and is said to be more difficult than Fermat's last theorem, has enough gimmicks to drive these media and reporters crazy.

They even wrote two drafts, one for Zhouyi's success and one for Zhouyi's failure.

At the end of the meeting, coupled with a few classic remarks from Zhou Yi and pictures, it was a piece of news with a lot of traffic.

The report will start at 10 o'clock, and enough time will be left for the big guys present to ask questions.

More than twenty days have passed since the paper was published, and those who can understand it have already understood it.

For those who don’t understand, it may take half a year to a year.

After this report, according to Professor Milnor, Wiles will organize a review team of 6-8 people to conduct independent review at the same time based on the minutes of the Weekly Report.

Finally, all review comments are summarized and the final decision is given.

It can be said that whether Zhou Yi can win the award depends on whether Zhou Yi can clearly explain his original tool analysis method.

Zhou Yi was sitting in front of him at the moment, constantly replaying his proof process in his mind. Although the system detected it correctly,

But the person I am facing is the most intelligent person in the world questioning me.

If the explanation is unclear, it will not be recognized by the world's mathematical community.

Tan Mingming sat next to Zhou Yi because of Zhou Yi. Tan Mingming joked:

"After today, if nothing else happens, junior brother, you will become famous in China or Europe. It will be even more famous than your solution to Hilbert's 18th question."

Zhou Yi smiled slightly, it was indeed what Senior Brother Tan Mingming said.

Solving Hilbert's 18th question only made the mathematical community aware of the existence of Zhouyi and that there is a rising star of mathematics in Daxia who is the scheduled winner of the 2026 Fields Medal.

But it does not mean that everyone in the world knows Zhouyi.

That is millions of dollars in gold. Countless people value this prize more than some trivial academic achievements that are difficult for them to understand.

With this bonus, you can live a very free and comfortable life in this life.

Not long after, Zhou Yi saw a familiar person walking onto the podium.

It was IMU President Carlos E. Kenig, and Zhou Yi wondered that it was him.

It was also him at the last ICM conference.

Before the conference started, Tan Mingming on the side said:

"It seems that Carlos specifically applied to be the host tonight. Carlos is a professor at the University of Chicago."

Zhou Yi nodded and said:

"Thank you, senior brother, for clarifying my doubts."

After a while, Carlos smiled and said:

"Hey guys, we meet again. It seems like the last time we met was the last time."

When everyone heard Carlos speak, they fell silent instantly.

“The last International Congress of Mathematicians was very exciting. The only regret was that we could not award the young Zhou Yi a medal to prove his contribution. However, Mr. Qiu beat him to it and awarded him the ICCM Gold Medal in Mathematics;

But tonight, we are proud to tell you that we can award the Oswald Veblen Prize (Veblen Geometry Prize), the highest award in the field of geometry, to this young genius who has just turned 19.

Let us congratulate Zhou Yi! "

Suddenly, the entire audience burst into applause, and many people cast envious glances.

At the age of 19, he has already achieved so many mathematical achievements, which is the envy of many PhDs and masters in the audience, and even many mathematics professors.

As for jealousy, jealousy will only envy someone who is a little better than you, but not much better; but you will not be jealous of someone who far widens the gap between them.

And this man was younger than most of them here.

Not surprisingly, in the next few decades, he will prove more conjectures in the mathematical world, and even propose more important conjectures from Zhou Yi.

It is more valuable to propose important conjectures than to prove some big conjectures.

These conjectures are what illuminate the path forward for mathematics.

Only with more conjectures will we discover more branches and theories of mathematics.

At Carlos's signal, Zhou Yi walked up to the big podium, took the medal, and said politely:

"Thanks."

"Haha, you deserve this. This is the second time I have awarded him an award. Guys, are you envious?"

Carlos said very happily.

I envy you, I envy you for taking advantage of other people’s traffic, you old guy.

Carlos continued:

“Whether it is the proof of the unification of ‘lattice-type’ Newton’s problems in 5-, 6-, and 7-dimensional spaces or the birth of Newton’s Zhouyi theorem,

Whether it was the birth of Kepler's Zhouyi theorem or the complete solution of Hilbert's 18th question, he deserves it.

The birth of Zhou's geometry has opened up a new branch for our big family of mathematics. Although it is still very immature, if someone explores it, they will definitely gain great rewards.

Today’s protagonist, don’t you think so? "

Carlos changed the topic and said to Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi's favor suddenly increased greatly. He praised Zhou's geometry and advertised Zhou's geometry, which was more effective than praising Zhou Yi himself.

Zhou Yi's current task has not been completed yet, and no one has even contributed, which makes Zhou Yi very depressed.

There is no free labor, which makes people feel very sad.

Zhou Yi said very modestly:

"Thank you, Senior Carlos, for your praise. Zhou's geometry is worthy of everyone's exploration, especially for those Ph.D.s who are determined to achieve success in classical geometry.

Thank you all for your recognition, and thank you to those who have helped me. Thank you. "

There are quite a few PhD students in mathematics in the audience, so we seize the opportunity to advertise.

At this time Carlos said:

“Actually, this award is just a foreplay to warm up the atmosphere. Today’s focus is on the report on the proof of Bill’s conjecture.

Guys, have you been waiting for this for a long time? "

Everyone present eagerly hoped to move on to the next step quickly, but this damn Carlos said again:

"In this report, Zhou Yi will introduce his new mathematical tool, Zhou's analytical method. If it succeeds, our genius Zhou Yi will not only gain millions of magnesium gold, but we will also gain a new mathematical tool. This Tools may play an important role in analytic number theory."

Looking at Carlos, who looks like a master of ceremonies, it is hard to imagine that he is the winner of many mathematics awards.

He is also the world's top mathematician, using theories and tools to widely apply harmonic analysis to various fields of partial differential equations.

"Young genius, are you ready? You know, if you fail, you may become a joke to the whole world, not just to mathematicians, but also to the people of Europe.

It's not too late to give up now. "

Carlos' tone instantly became heavy, obviously wanting to scare Zhou Yi.

At the same time, many big guys in the audience also looked at Zhou Yi very curiously.

How should this young man choose? He is only 19 years old. Does he have the psychological pressure to bear the consequences of failure?

Think about it, when they are 19 years old, they may still be studying for a master's degree or a doctorate?

Wiles looked at Zhou Yi attentively. He was 70% sure that the paper was correct.

The remaining 30% depends on his explanation.

Zhou Yi said very sonorously and forcefully:

"Of course I'm prepared, I can answer all your questions!"

"Okay, the rest of the stage will be left to you. We look forward to your success!"

Carlos said,

"Of course, even if it fails, it is still a great attempt. Michael Atiyah has already achieved enough success and is still studying mathematics tirelessly. As Zhou Yi is a leader in mathematics of the younger generation, we may be able to give him enough tolerance. "

It can be seen that Carlos likes Zhou Yi very much, and even gave Zhou Yi vaccinations.

Zhou Yi glanced at Carlos gratefully and said three grams of oil in a word that only he could hear.

Then the entire podium is the stage of Zhouyi.

All eyes were focused on Zhouyi.

At this moment, countless people held their breath, no one whispered to each other, no one made any sound, and you could hear a pin drop.

Zhou Yi slowly walked to the center, and then said to the top mathematicians in analytic number theory and media reporters from all over the audience:

"Hello everyone, I am Zhou Yi from Daxia. Next, I will give you a mathematical report on Beer's theorem."

PS: I don’t know if I can get 1,000 votes for double monthly votes tomorrow. Judging from the current results, it’s basically impossible. . . So the resourceful author is booking a monthly pass for next month! Thumbs up for my wit! (free word count)

Trivia: John Milnor spent many years at Princeton before eventually going to Stony Brook University. He had already become famous when he left. Here he was writing science fiction novels and it was an imaginary world, so he changed it a bit.

But it is also reasonable to say that Milnor is a Princetonian.

The author's logic is self-consistent! So don’t complain about this, humble.

Written on September 27, 2022.

Also, there will be no updates tonight. From now on, there will be one update, either 4,000 words, 6,000 words, 8,000 or 1W. Anyway, at least 4,000 words. I’m going to give you a bunch of high-quality products. I beg you all to order them all, and I’m going to kowtow!