Chapter 1037 I’m not interested in money

After packing up the two sets of high-pressure and low-pressure turbine samples and sending them to the UK, Chang Haonan finally returned to Beijing, where he had been away for a long time.

In fact, the KJ-2000 project is at the most critical juncture.

Liang Shaoxiu had just completed the design of the overall plan, and the modification work of the Tu-214K had also entered the critical stage.

Half of the luggage compartment was converted into a fuel tank, the tail fin was installed, and the tail wing was raised. A piece of skin on the back of the aircraft was cut to prepare the bracket for fixing the disc-shaped radar cover...

Although Chang Haonan did not directly join this project, he should have continued to stay in Haojing because the internal equipment installation process also involved data link hardware.

But no way.

It is already mid-December.

The International Congress of Mathematicians is about to open.

Generally speaking, this meeting is usually held in the summer, that is, in July or August.

But on this timeline, the 2002 meeting was repeatedly postponed for various reasons.

The most important one is -

Many mathematicians, including Perelman and Chang Haonan, have schedule issues.

In theory, as the largest and most prestigious conference in the international mathematics community, it should not be postponed due to the absence of a few individuals.

But this time the situation is really an exception.

The main reason is that the work they did two years ago had such a huge impact.

It not only has a great influence in the public opinion circle, but also in the mathematics community.

It would have been fine if Perelman could not be contacted directly like in his previous life, but just before the meeting was scheduled to be held on August 8, the staff of the International Mathematical Union (IMU) received a reply from him saying that he could attend the meeting but would need some extra time to prepare his report.

Considering his importance, the IMU ultimately decided by one vote to postpone the meeting until the fall.

But when it comes to something like a landslide, it may be difficult to overcome the psychological barriers the first time.

But after the first time, it becomes much easier...

In the autumn, Chang Haonan was in Gaojing and really couldn't leave.

For the same reason, it was postponed to winter.

Finally, like a frog in boiling water, we made it to the end of the year.

IMU and the China Mathematical Society are really having a hard time.

If we wait any longer, it will be 2003.

You know, except for the two world wars, the tradition of holding the International Congress of Mathematicians every four years has never been broken.

Pushing it from summer to winter is still acceptable, but New Year's Eve...

Absolutely not.

We IMU also have dignity.

You two are indeed important, but you can't be more important than the two world wars, right?

In short, despite some bumps and bruises, the 24th International Congress of Mathematicians still opened in Beijing on December 12.

This is not only the first Mathematicians' Congress since the millennium and the new century, but also the first Mathematicians' Congress held in a developing country in history.

In addition, the Clay Mathematics Institute has long announced that it will award the $100 million Millennium Prize to two scholars, Perelman and Chang Haonan, at this conference.

These factors combined have led to this conference attracting attention from far beyond the mathematics community since its inception...

……

In fact, for Chang Haonan, attending a meeting with thousands of people is no big deal.

But this is indeed my first time to attend such a large-scale international conference.

The previous Conference on Numerical Algorithms and Computational Science that he organized was indeed somewhat behind the International Congress of Mathematicians in terms of scale, level and influence.

But speaking of nervousness...

That's not the case.

Chang Haonan was not originally a professional mathematician. Although he had heard of the names of the bigwigs who came to the conference, he had only heard of their names and had a general understanding of the extent of their achievements.

There is absolutely no such thing as a fan filter.

Instead, this kind of situation is the turn of Zhu Yada and others to worry about.

Although the backgrounds of well-known mathematics experts are generally traceable and they are relatively old, they do not seem to pose much of a threat.

But in such occasions, it is impossible to take too strict security measures.

In 2002, some forces with ulterior motives were trying to smear China.

This is the International Congress of Mathematicians.

If we have a guard post every three steps and a sentry every five steps, China's international image will be ruined.

We can only consider other solutions.

So, on the opening day, Chang Haonan was forced to get up early and enter the venue before the peak crowd when most people arrived.

Not surprisingly, there were almost no people inside the International Conference Center at this time.

Even the first three rows of seats specially prepared have not been arranged yet.

Chang Haonan had no choice but to find a relatively quiet and remote place to sit down for a while.

The organization process of the entire conference was kept strictly confidential. Even as a confirmed winner of the Millennium Prize and the most popular candidate for the Fields Medal, he was not aware of the specific arrangements.

Therefore, Chang Haonan prepared to seize the opportunity to catch up on some sleep so as not to collapse halfway through the meeting.

But just after I closed my eyes for a while, I heard a voice coming from not far away.

"Professor Chang."

Even with a Shanghai accent.

Someone called him, so he had no choice but to open his eyes and look in the direction of the voice.

It turned out to be an old man with kind eyes and silver hair.

Chang Haonan did a quick search in his memory and quickly found the name.

The visitor was the chairman of this conference, Academician Wu Wenjun.

He was also one of the two winners of the first National Highest Science and Technology Award in 2000.

The other person with him was Academician Yuan, who was researching hybrid rice.

This is enough to show how great his contribution is to the Chinese mathematics community and even the entire scientific community.

It is somewhat coincidental that Academician Wu’s main academic achievements are also concentrated in the field of topology.

Although as a scholar active in the 50s-70s, his specific research direction is very different from Chang Haonan's topology, but it does not hinder the recognition of the importance of the latter's results...

Therefore, after seeing Chang Haonan arrive at the venue early, he took the time to come and say hello.

"Hello, Academician Wu."

Chang Haonan stood up to greet him and shook hands with him:

"I'm so sorry. I came early, so I thought I'd rest a little longer..."

Both publicly and privately, he should have taken the initiative to go up to the stage and visit the other party, but he indeed did not notice it just now.

Fortunately, Academician Wu didn't care about these details and asked with a smile:

"Are you too excited last night and didn't get enough rest?"

Chang Haonan shook his head:

"I'm not really excited. I just came back from a business trip and I'm not used to the bed at home."

Academician Wu was stunned for a moment when he first heard his explanation, but then he realized:

"Yes... it's my fault. I forgot that you are not only engaged in mathematical theory research... you also hold other important positions..."

Wu Wenjun couldn't say that he knew Chang Haonan inside and out, but given his position, he still had some understanding of the latter's actual situation.

Anyway, it is a treasure that has been personally taken care of by the highest-level leaders and cannot be easily taken abroad.

As for what he had done besides mathematics... he didn't ask casually.

"I can't call myself an important official. I just contribute a little to the country..."

Chang Haonan had already seen other people who looked like scholars walking into the conference hall one after another. He knew that they would not be able to rest, so he simply followed Academician Wu and walked towards the center of the conference hall.

"The conference has specially arranged seats for you and Mr. Perelman. It's right here... Of course, you can sit on the other side if you want."

Academician Wu pointed to a seat on the edge of the third row in the middle and said.

Generally speaking, because all the participants of the International Congress of Mathematicians are respectable people, there is unlikely to be a fight over seating. Therefore, except for those who serve in IMO or members like Academician Wu who are responsible for conference organization, most people will not be directly assigned seats. They are just roughly divided into a few areas.

Situations like the one before us are indeed rare.

Looking at this arrangement which was obviously made for the convenience of entry and exit, Chang Haonan was a little amused:

"Does this have some kind of official meaning..."

"Nonsense...what are you going to decide?"

Academician Wu looked at him helplessly:

"It's because you two refused to go to France that the Clay Mathematics Institute couldn't even give out any money, and couldn't catch up with them to this conference to present you with the award..."

At this time, Chang Haonan remembered that there were far more than just a few traditional awards to be presented at this conference...

"I almost forgot about this..."

He scratched his head in embarrassment.

"forget?"

Even Academician Wu was a little overwhelmed by this explanation:

"That's five hundred thousand dollars. How can you just forget about it?"

"Hey..."

Without giving it a second thought, Chang Haonan gave an answer that had become a classic in his previous life:

“I’m not interested in money…”