Chapter 308: Hot Pot Restaurant

Ever since the pieces of equipment had arrived, several professors from the life sciences department had been trying to get close to Lu Zhou by visiting the laboratory.

However, Lu Zhou was researching materials, and it didn’t involve biotechnology. Otherwise, just to justify their visits to the laboratory, the professors would send their students to work as researchers for Lu Zhou.

However, Lu Zhou didn’t mind their visits. After all, he previously took advantage of the resources from Jin Ling University and Princeton as well.

As long as they didn’t affect the progress of the experiment, the professors were welcomed to occasionally use the instrument.

However, Lu Zhou had a strict rule. Magnetic samples were banned, and so were high voltage experiments.

Also, interns were prohibited from operating any equipment.

These restrictions meant that the old professors could only use the equipment to scan images.

In addition to Qian Zhongming and Liu Bo, Lu Zhou also hired another researcher, Dr. Yang Xu.

Dr. Yang spent two years studying for his PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was experienced in using the instrument that Lu Zhou had bought, and he was knowledgeable in the field of nanomaterials.

Although he wasn’t a big name in the field of materials science, he was well-known enough for Lu Zhou.

Lu Zhou didn’t need big names; he only needed people to follow his research experiment step by step.

A week ago, Dr. Yang flew to Jin Ling city from MIT.

Lu Zhou met him at a hot pot restaurant near Jin Ling University.

Dr. Yang immediately shook Lu Zhou’s hand and spoke with a smile.

“Nice to meet you, Professor Lu!”

Yang Xu looked like a normal guy; he wore glasses and had no special features.

Lu Zhou smiled and said, “Nice to meet you, please sit down.”

Normally, Lu Zhou and his roommates would go to the fish restaurant, so it was his first time at this hot pot restaurant. However, Lu Zhou heard from a couple of old professors from the life sciences department that this place was good. Therefore, he decided to meet with Dr. Yang here instead.

Lu Zhou ordered a large plate of beef slices and watched the waiter as he turned the hot pot stove on. They chatted for a bit before arriving at the topic of research.

“The use of hollow carbon spheres and sulfur to form a composite material to solve the shuttle effect is a very promising direction. This is our main direction of research.

“The hollow carbon sphere has a large surface area, it can increase the sulfur loading and the utilization of sulfur in the electrochemical reaction. The small-sized nanopores can inhibit the diffusion of soluble polysulfide ions into the electrolyte.

“Your mission right now is to collect data on the surface area of the hollow carbon sphere, the effect of the pores on the sulfur loading, and the mass fraction of polysulfide in the electrolyte. After that, send all of the data to me.

“You’ve done similar research studies before, right?”

Yang Xu nodded his head.

“I did a similar study at MIT, so just send the requirements to my email. Oh yeah, which reagent do you plan on using?”

Lu Zhou thought for a bit before he replied, “Use a copolymer of polyaniline and polypyrrole for the precursor, and for the pores, use polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride.”

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While the two chatted, the hot pot began to boil, producing a strong scent.

There was nothing wrong with talking about chemistry. However, it was a bit unappetizing to talk about chemical products while eating.

The two then switched the topic of conversation.

“You just came back right, do you have a place to live?”

“I’m from Jinling, I have a house here,” Yang Xu replied. He then smiled and said, “I haven’t been back for a long time though, and there has been a lot of changes.”

Lu Zhou: “How long have you been overseas?”

Yang Xu: “Around five years. I have been living at MIT since my master’s.”

Lu Zhou: “Actually I have a question about your resume, but I forgot to ask it during our interview. I don’t know if it’s appropriate to ask the question now.”

Yang Xu smiled and said, “Go ahead, just don’t take my offer back.”

“Of course not, you’ll have to work for at least three years before I let you go,” Lu Zhou said. He then smiled as he continued, “With your resume, you can earn a lot more working in Silicon Valley, why did you come back?”

Yang Xu could easily get a US$100,000 per year job in Silicon Valley. However, he would struggle to even earn half of that in China.

Unless a researcher was invited to work in China by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, that researcher would earn a lot more working overseas.

Yang Xu heard this question and placed his chopsticks down; he had a depressed look on his face.

“A PhD has no value in Silicon Valley anymore. This is especially so in the field of engineering where the market is saturated. During my two years of PhD studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, I have been applying to jobs everywhere, but I couldn’t find a suitable position.”

Most researchers had to eat the crumbs left from big-name researchers.

Dr. Yang shrugged and said, “Plus my family is urging me to get married, so there’s no point for me to stay overseas. I’d rather just come back here.”

The biochemical materials industry was new.

People said that materials science was one of the three pillars of modern technology.

They also said that the 21st century was the century of biology.

However, the field of biology had yet to produce any titans.

Lu Zhou thought for a bit before asking, “Are you interested in teaching?”

Yang Xu: “I have thought about working as a lecturer at Jin Ling University. However, I heard that the lecturer positions at Jin Ling University were difficult to apply for. Maybe once my career is stable, I’ll apply for a position at Jinling Polytechnic.”

Lu Zhou smiled and said, “Don’t go to Jinling Polytechnic. If you want to work at Jin Ling University, I can help.”

Yang Xu’s eyes lit up as he said, “Really? Thank you so much!”

Including the end-of-year bonus and welfare from the provident fund, a lecturer could earn more than 100,000 yuan per year. The lecturer could also enjoy the academic resources of the university.

Working at Jin Ling University would provide a much better future than working at Jinling Polytechnic.

This faculty position was highly sought after. However, Lu Zhou only had to write a recommendation letter for Yang Xu to get in.

Lu Zhou was quite a compassionate boss to his researchers.