Chapter 145: Enrollment in Princeton
After saying goodbye to his mentor and getting an opportunity to participate in high-energy physics experiments at the European Atomic Energy Experimental Organization, Xu Chuan called home to report his safety and information and set off on a new journey.
As for the others, there was no need to say goodbye again.
Several good friends had already had dinner together and said goodbye in the middle of the month, so there was no need to do it again.
As for the luggage, he had already packed it and could take it away directly.
Starting from Jinling, taking the high-speed rail to Shanghai, and then taking an international flight to Philadelphia, after more than ten hours of flight, a Boeing passenger plane landed at Philadelphia Airport.
After the plane landed, Xu Chuan dragged the black suitcase out of the airport, hailed a taxi and went straight to Princeton.
Although he knew a lot of people in the United States, that was all in his previous life.
In this life, he only knew those mathematics professors at Princeton, oh, and Lin Feng, the mentor's disciple.
But it was not the first time I came to the United States, and it would not be good to bother others to come and pick them up, so I could just take a taxi.
What surprised Xu Chuan was that the taxi driver he stopped was a Chinese.
"Which province are you from, young man?"
Seeing Xu Chuan, the driver asked in fluent Chinese.
Xu Chuan asked curiously: "How do you know I'm Chinese? Maybe I'm Korean or from a small island country?"
The driver laughed: "Hey, if I can't tell the difference, I'll have lived in vain. Although both Koreans and Japanese were separated from our country, they have been separated for so long, and there must be some differences in appearance."
"It may not be much different in the eyes of white people, but the three East Asian countries can recognize each other casually, how can they make a mistake."
Xu Chuan smiled noncommittally at the driver's statement.
As the saying goes, the land and water nurture the people, and different regional environments nurture people with different temperaments. Even in China, there are obvious differences between northerners and southerners.
A person's temperament hides his life, education, and the environment he lives in. These things subtly influence the way a person behaves.
So when three Chinese, a small islander, and a Korean stand together, you can almost tell which country they are from at a glance.
However, it is said that it is difficult for Westerners to distinguish the three East Asian people with their eyes. In their eyes, Chinese, Koreans, and small islanders look almost exactly the same.
Xu Chuan didn't know why they couldn't tell them apart. Maybe it was because the pupil of the eye was missing a cell? That made them unable to distinguish the details?
Perhaps it was a rare opportunity to meet compatriots in a foreign country. On the way to Princeton, the driver seemed particularly excited and was quite talkative along the way. He talked about how to live safely in the United States where everyone carries a gun, the international situation, and the comparison of life in China and the United States.
From the driver's words, Xu Chuan could hear that he still missed his hometown, so he couldn't help asking.
"Why don't you choose to return to China?"
Hearing this question, the middle-aged driver was silent for a moment, sighed and shook his head, and said: "I can't go back."
Xu Chuan: "?"
"It's hard to go back..." The driver shook his head and continued: "On the one hand, my child grew up here and went to school here. He has become accustomed to the life here and can't even speak Chinese very well. After returning to China, his academic performance will definitely not keep up."
"On the other hand, I have also applied to return to China in recent years, but the application has been ignored and I have never received a reply."
Hearing this, Xu Chuan was silent for a moment.
After going abroad and immigrating, it is not so easy to go back.
More than an hour's drive passed quickly. The driver sent Xu Chuan all the way to the gate of Princeton University and handed him a business card before Xu Chuan got off the car.
"This is my contact number. You can call me at any time if you need a car."
Xu Chuan took the business card and put it in his pocket, smiling and nodded.
The driver reminded him that he might live in Princeton for at least two or three years, and there would be many places where he would need a car. He had to find time to get a driver's license and buy a car.
Anyway, getting a driver's license is easy for him, and the US driver's license test is much easier than in China.
For example, in New Jersey, there are about 40 traffic rules, and you can basically pass if you get less than 6 wrong questions, while in China, there are 100 questions, and the number of wrong questions cannot exceed 10.
Dragging his luggage, Xu Chuan walked on the campus of Princeton.
This is not the first time he has come to this campus. He is very familiar with it.
There is a saying: Schools with trains are not simple. There is Hogwarts in front and Princeton in the back.
Princeton is the real Hogwarts.
When it was founded, the United States was still under the colonial rule of the British Empire.
Therefore, various architectural styles have a strong British style, and the ancient Gothic architectural design is very exquisite, which makes students feel like they have mistakenly entered Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Coupled with the pure academic atmosphere here, it is very similar to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
If there is anything missing, it is probably the owl holding the admission invitation letter.
Dragging his suitcase, Xu Chuan came to the administrative building of Princeton University, ready to go through the admission procedures and enter this world-class college.
As of 2016, Princeton has been ranked first in the U.S. News rankings for seven consecutive years. 69 alumni and faculty members have won the Nobel Prize, ranking tenth in the world.
There are also 15 Fields Medal winners (third in the world) and 14 Turing Award winners (fourth in the world) who have worked or studied at Princeton University.
Among the Nobel Prize winners in physics, more than 20 are professors of this school.
More importantly, there is also the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study, an academic sanctuary for mathematics and physics.
This is the real goal of Xu Chuan's trip.
In Princeton, in addition to Princeton University, there is also the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study.
The two are next to each other.
In the common perception, the two are the same university, but in fact they are not.
Although the two have a deep connection, they are not actually the same institution, and the Princeton Institute is not part of Princeton University.
The Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton is a world-renowned theoretical research institution that brings together the best scholars in mathematics, physics, history, and social sciences to conduct the purest cutting-edge research.
But it is a research institution that is not subject to any teaching tasks, scientific research funds, or sponsor pressure.
It has the purest academic environment here. Scholars such as Einstein, von Neumann, Kurt Gödel, Robert Oppenheimer, and Yang Zhenning have worked and even retired at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.
It is these best people in the world who organize divergent knowledge systems and continuously improve unproven theories. They even walk back to the Princeton University campus in small steps to teach and answer questions for students, making it a holy place for mathematics and physics.
Xu Chuan hopes to use the capabilities of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton to break through and achieve his own mathematics, and then achieve a breakthrough in physics.
Following the corridor full of historical atmosphere, Xu Chuan found the office where he registered for admission in his memory.
After handing some prepared materials and the special invitation letter mailed to him by Professor Deligne to the staff, his admission procedures were successfully completed in less than two minutes.
"Is Princeton's admission procedure so simple?"
The extremely simple procedure made Xu Chuan a little curious. In his memory, the admission procedure was not complicated, but it was not so simple that it could be completed by just writing two names.
Hearing this, the staff sitting in front of the office smiled and said, "Your admission procedures and student status have already been registered by Professor Deligne. Now all you need to do is sign your name on the admission information."
Xu Chuan suddenly realized that Professor Deligne had given him a heads-up in advance, so even if it was not the admission time, there would be no problem with his admission procedures.
After completing the admission procedures, the staff handed Xu Chuan a set of materials including the freshman handbook and the admission handbook, and also handed him the student ID and dormitory key.
"This is the admission handbook, student ID and your dormitory key. The room is Room 306 on the third floor of Rockefeller Residential College. The specific location is marked in the freshman handbook. You can find it by following the map."
"In addition, Professor Deligne asked me to tell you that he asks you to go to his office after completing the admission procedures. The professor's office is in Room 401 of the McCauss Teaching Building."
"I wish you a happy study and life."
Xu Chuan nodded and said, "Thank you for your message."
After coming out of the administrative building, Xu Chuan stuffed his luggage into his dormitory and found Professor Deligne's office.
"Dongdong~"
After knocking on the door, a voice soon came from inside.
"Come in."
Xu Chuan pushed the door open and walked in. In the office, an old man with sparse hair that was completely gray was sitting at the table studying and calculating something.
"Professor Deligne." Xu Chuan greeted the old man in the office respectfully.
Hearing the voice, the old man stopped writing, turned around and looked over. When he saw Xu Chuan, a smile appeared on his face.
"You are here, Xu. Have you completed the admission procedures?"
Xu Chuan nodded and said, "It has been processed."
"Then welcome to Princeton. I hope you can spend a few happy years here and learn more knowledge." Deligne smiled and continued, "After entering Princeton, you need to choose a professor as your mentor. Do you have your favorite candidate?"
"Or, can you tell me about your next study and research direction? I may be able to give you a recommendation."
Xu Chuan asked, "Of course, but before that, I would like to ask, in addition to mathematics, can I design an interdisciplinary major to major in courses?"
Although many colleges and universities in the United States, such as Harvard and Yale, support double majors, it is regrettable that Princeton does not support it.
Princeton does not support double majors, and the bachelor's degree is limited to one department.
That is to say, you can only get a diploma from the Department of Mathematics or a diploma from the Department of Physics, and you cannot get diplomas from both subjects at the same time.
In fact, when he was in China, Nanjing University did not support double majors, but at that time, in order to grab him as the top scorer in the college entrance examination and double gold medal, Nanjing University made an exception and gave him the achievement of double majors.
But in Princeton, Xu Chuan didn't know, but it was highly likely that they would not make an exception for him, even if he had proved a world-class mathematical conjecture before entering the university.
Of course, he was not thinking about the double major degree from Princeton. He just wanted to obtain the right to major in both physics and mathematics, or the courses, so that he could make achievements in physics in the future, and apply for Princeton's resources and get in touch with more physics professors.