Zhang Zhijian exchanged a glance with Sheng Xuening.
They certainly knew what Xu Dajiang and Xilin University of Technology were up to.
If it had been some other college dean playing this game on their turf, he'd probably have been kicked out already.
The frustrating part was that their institute had just rented a building from them.
Of course, renting that building was a secondary issue.
Engineers who had started planning designs based on Qiao Ze's paper ran into issues and consolidated them to send to Qiao Ze, who would come up with solutions in his spare time.
The key was that the majority of these solutions genuinely solved the problems.
Even if some needed further discussion by the engineers, they still provided everyone with inspiration and ideas.
All this was enough to prove that Qiao Ze had really thought through many details in advance to make his paper seem plausible.
Even if some of his thoughts weren't quite suitable for practical engineering, his coordination with experienced engineers in the project team significantly improved the project's efficiency.
This was the ability that both academicians currently valued the most.
If talent like Qiao Ze really went off to Princeton without care, it would indeed be troublesome.
It wasn't that they couldn't keep communicating, but it certainly wouldn't be as convenient as within the country.
This kind of application-oriented technology would likely be monitored through emails and phone calls.
What mattered most was that both academicians were thinking about whether they could somehow pull Qiao Ze into their institute in the future.
Once Qiao Ze left, it was uncertain whether he'd want to, or even be able to, come back for decades.
After all, Qiao Ze, who had only published a few papers in journals and merely demonstrated his talent in theoretical mathematics, was probably still free to come and go as he pleased.
But under the current circumstances, Qiao Ze was unfortunately linked to new lithography machines and large language models, which was not an easy matter to resolve.
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"Dean Xu, let's be frank. Do you want the two of us to root for Qiao Ze and help him become an evaluation expert? Is this the idea of your school, or is it Qiao Ze's own wish?"
Zhang Zhijian, tired of beating around the bush with Xu Dajiang, decided to bring the topic out into the open.
"The school's idea? No, Academician Zhang, you're giving us too much credit for our thinking. What good would pushing Qiao Ze into the spotlight so early do for the school?"
Xu Dajiang hurriedly explained sincerely.
Then, after thinking it over, he began to disclose his guess, "Simply put, our college's Professor Li Jiangao has applied for the Jieqing award this year, as both of you probably know. He's the one who would be Qiao Ze's future mentor."
This statement immediately enlightened the two academicians, and they instantly believed Xu Dajiang's words.
After all, the name Li Jiangao was well-recognized by the academicians.
The first time Qiao Ze met them, he struck a deal for them to find Li Jiangao a recommender in the future.
Could this be that kid's obsession?
Thus, the two academicians' gazes met again, and they both saw absurdity in each other's eyes.
Everything was in chaos.
Perhaps only in this era would you see a situation where a student is forcibly pushing their mentor upwards?
For a moment, one didn't know how to judge the situation.
In the end, it was Xu Dajiang who broke the silence first.
"Ah, but then again. Academician Sheng, let's set aside the hierarchy and speak from the heart, does Qiao Ze not have the qualifications to be a project reviewer? Introducing Group Theory into large language models, by enabling machines to understand causality to reduce machine learning's reliance on big data, and advancing AI development.
The Group Wisdom intelligent voice system currently used in the M60P was led by Qiao Ze. Just wait another couple of years for the technology to become widespread, and even winning the National Highest Science and Technology Award wouldn't be too much, right? Qiao Ze is not only a theoretical talent but also an applied talent, it's just up to him which direction he wants to develop in."
Sheng Xuening nodded and said, "Alright, Dean Xu, I understand your point. We'll also think of a way to help. However, Xilin University of Technology has to put in the effort as well, since Qiao Ze applied for the mathematics group. At most, we from the engineering academy can find some old friends to spread the word. You understand that, right?"
"Of course, of course. Actually, I was just hoping the Optoelectronics Institute would wave the flag and cheer. Well, it's getting late, and I won't interrupt your work any longer. I'll take my leave now."
Xu Dajiang said perceptively.
The academicians' willingness to see him was already a favor for Qiao Ze's sake.
The goal having been achieved, it was time to leave before he wore out his welcome.
"Alright then, Dean Xu, have a safe journey. We won't see you out."
"Oh, I don't deserve such an offer. Next time I'm at the school, dinner is on me."
"No need, but thank you."
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the academicians sent Xu Dajiang out of the private room and casually asked the waiter for more hot tea as they began to chat.
"This Mr. Xu is unscrupulous," Sheng Xuening commented as he sipped his tea.
"Isn't that obvious? He wants us to take the brunt of offending people," Zhang Zhijian laughed.
"Well, if done right, it's indeed a good thing. The kid is still young; a bit of immaturity is understandable," Sheng Xuening pondered and said.