The Science Fiction World of Xueba

Since the Industrial Revolution, Western developed countries have held the academic discourse power in the field of natural science for a long time.

Especially the top journals in the West are even more outstanding.

After World War II, English became the common language in academia, and almost all influential scientific research results were published in English.

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

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

In the field of physics, there are "Modern Physical Review", "Physical Review Letters" and so on.

In the field of mathematics, there are four top journals headed by "Mathematics Annual" and so on.

Chemistry field...

...

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

In recent years, with the rapid development of Chinese science, 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, National Science Review has grown in influence year by year since its inception in 2014.

The impact factor has exceeded 20 from 8.0 when it was first published.

Even among the global comprehensive journals, it ranks among the top five.

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

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

The main purpose is to attract the international scientific community to pay more attention to China's research results and research activities, to promote academic exchanges, and to 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 does not conform to the current academic status in China.

On the one hand, the top journals in various disciplines in the academic world have their own circles.

If you have never published an article in a top journal, and none of your co-authors have published it, then your chances of being accepted in this journal are extremely small.

Unless the level of your article is far beyond the average level of the journal article.

However, how bad can the average quality of articles published in top journals be?

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

Therefore, there must be a certain degree of injustice to "outsiders". After all, publishing top journal articles has a direct impact on the evaluation of job titles, application for funding and other vital interests.

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

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

Through this journal, the discourse power of Chinese academic circles in the world will be enhanced.

And as a lucky person who can travel through the worlds of science fiction, Pang Xuelin knows very well that with the passage of time, he and his team will produce more and more achievements.

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

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

"Professor Pang, have you thought about the name of this journal?"

Cao Yuan asked 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"? The English name is ""..."

Li Changqing said: "I'm afraid not."

"Why?" Cao Yuan asked puzzled.

Li Changqing said: "I remember that the name "" was registered in advance by an academic journal in India."

"Huh? It's a bit difficult to choose."

The two names "Nature" and "Science" have been registered by the Americans and the British respectively. It is really troublesome to find another magazine name that can cover the entire scientific research system.

At this time, Pang Xuelin had a flash of inspiration and said, "It's called "Exploration", and the English name is "Research". What do you think of this name?"

"Hey, this is not bad."

Both Cao Yuan and Li Changqing's eyes lit up.

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

The name "Exploration" is similar to magazines such as "Nature" and "Science", and it will undoubtedly include the entire natural science system.

Pang Xuelin said with a smile: "That's it."

The three of them were talking when Pang Xuelin's cell phone rang suddenly.

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

Pang Xuelin hastily pressed the answer button, and Zuo Yiqiu's voice rang on the other end of the phone: "Professor Pang, a scholar who claims to be from MIT Wen Xiaogang came to visit you, he did not make an appointment, would you like to meet him? "

"Wen Xiaogang?"

Pang Xuelin was taken aback for a moment, and said, "Receive him well first, and I'll go see him right away."

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 looked at each other, and they both saw shock in each other's eyes.

In domestic academic circles, the name Wen Xiaogang is well-known.

Wen Xiaogang was admitted to the Physics Department of the University of Science and Technology of China in the late 1970s. In 1981, he passed the CUSPEA (Sino-US joint training physics graduate program) admissions examination with the first place in the country, and then went to Princeton University in the United States for further study. In 1987 Received a doctorate from Princeton University in 1991, and taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1991, successively serving as assistant professor, associate professor, and professor.

In 2002, he was elected as a fellow of the American Physical Society; in 2017, he won the Buckley Award issued by the American Physical Society. For independent contributions to how quantum mechanics affects many-body systems, introducing original interdisciplinary techniques, he was awarded the Dirac Prize by the International Center for Theoretical Physics.

Wen Xiaogang is mainly engaged in research on quantum Hall liquids, high-temperature superconductors, topological order/quantum order and new states of matter, and the origin of elementary particles. At MIT, he and Li Yada are considered to be banner figures in the field of condensed matter physics. figure.

"Why did this guy come here?" Li Changqing was a little surprised.

Pang Xuelin couldn't help being taken aback, Li Changqing's tone seemed familiar to Wen Xiaogang.

"Professor Changqing, do you know Wen Xiaogang?"

Li Changqing said with a smile: "He and I used to be classmates in the University of Science and Technology of China. I majored in physics as an undergraduate. I took the CUSPEA exam together with Wen Xiaogang. I didn't pass the exam, so the graduate student turned to chemistry. He was the first in our class. One is the best guy in our class. I haven’t seen him for more than ten years. The last time I saw him was when I went to MIT as a visiting scholar. Professor Pang, he made a surprise visit this time , I guess it is aimed at your paper on the theory of superconductors."

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

When the three of them came to Pang Xuelin's office, they saw a tall man with a slightly protruding 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 the others come in, Zuo Yiqiu got up first.

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

"Professor Wen, hello, I have admired your name for a long time."

Then, Li Changqing also greeted him, and said with a smile: "Old Wen, long time no see."

"You are, Li Changqing? Are you also in Qiantang Laboratory?"

Wen Xiaogang seemed a little surprised.

Li Changqing smiled and said, "I'm working under Professor Pang now."

The two exchanged pleasantries for a while, at this time, Pang Xuelin pointed to Cao Yuan again and said, "Professor Wen, this is Professor Cao Yuan, who also graduated from the University of Science and Technology of China."

Wen Xiaogang laughed and said, "How come I don't know Xiao Cao? When he was at MIT, he wanted to take the physics department, but he didn't get in. Later, he transferred to the electronic engineering department. , we meet here again."

"Professor Wen, hello!"

Cao Yuan also shook hands with Wen Xiaogang.

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 to disturb you this time. I couldn't find your contact information for a while, so I came to you directly. You should have guessed my Is your intention here?"

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

Wen Xiaogang nodded and said with a smile: "Professor Pang, you really have sharp eyesight. In fact, I mainly have a question to ask you when I come here this time."

"What's the problem, please tell me."

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

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

Only then did Wen Xiaogang realize that his question was too direct, and said, "Professor Pang, I'm sorry. I took the liberty of asking this question. It's like this. I have been immersed in the field of condensed matter physics for most of my life. I have also made some achievements. But I have never been able to understand the essential mechanism of superconductivity theory, let alone find a real room-temperature superconductor. My biggest wish in this life is to see a room-temperature superconductor one day It really appeared in front of me. If you really have a technical route to realize a new type of room temperature superconductor, I hope to join the team of Qiantang Laboratory. I don’t know if you welcome it?”

Pang Xuelin was slightly taken aback. 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 here, but there are two problems."

"what is the problem?"

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

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

Pang Xuelin and Li Changqing looked at each other, and said in surprise, "Professor Wen, have you made up your mind?"

Wen Xiaogang nodded and said, "I'm almost fifty-eight this year. It's said that leaves fall back to their roots, and leaves fall back to their roots. Before that, I considered some opinions from my children, plus my parents have passed away, and there are no people in my hometown, so I didn't I want to go back 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 with this, I welcome you to return to China and join Qiantang Lab."

Only then did Wen Xiaogang feel relieved, and said, "Okay, then I'll go back to the United States to go through the resignation procedures as soon as possible. As for the identity issue in China, I'll 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. I will definitely help you complete the nationality conversion procedures as soon as possible."

That night, Pang Xuelin hosted a banquet in honor of Wen Xiaogang in the small cafeteria inside the Qiantang Laboratory.

The next day, Pang Xuelin asked Li Changqing to arrange someone to take Wen Xiaogang around inside the Qiantang Laboratory.

This boss is well-known in the entire condensed matter physics community, and has taught at MIT for more than 30 years, and he can be said to be full of peaches and plums.

Wen Xiaogang's hypothesis is of great benefit to Qiantang Laboratory in attracting 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 tenure-track job at MIT and returned to China.

After the news came out, it aroused widespread concern in the academic circles.

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

During this period of time, in addition to regularly paying attention to the multi-walled carbon nanotube superconductor team and the dynamic APT technology being researched by Shi Yi, Pang Xuelin focused on the upcoming "Exploration" magazine for the rest of the time. .

According to Pang Xuelin's plan, the "Explorer" series of magazines will be comparable to the two old top magazines "Nature" and "Science" in the future.

In addition to the main journal Exploration, there will be subdivided journals such as Exploration Mathematics, Exploration Physics, Exploration Chemistry, and Exploration Biology in the future.

Just like "Nature", it covers dozens of disciplines and all fields.

Of course, in the short term, the main goal of "Explorer" will focus on the opinion work of the main journal.

Therefore, the first issue of "Explorer" magazine will undoubtedly be the top priority.

If this gun can be fired well, with Pang Xuelin's appeal, the future development of "Explorer" magazine will undoubtedly be on the fast track.

Therefore, it is far from enough to publish only one heavyweight paper on the mechanism of superconductivity in the first issue.

Only when there are two more similar papers can come out, that will be the time when "Explorer" magazine will make a sensation in the entire scientific community.

But the problem is? Where to start?

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