Chapter 359: Hoffman Prize
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
A week after the report at a Humboldt University auditorium.
Lu Zhou was dressed in formal attire as he stood in front of the podium just like last time. He adjusted his breathing pattern and felt as if his heart were about to jump out of his chest.
Precisely speaking, a prize-giving podium.
On the screen behind him, there was a list of his chemistry research achievements.
Klaus Mullen, the president of the German Chemical Society, started the speech in a calm voice.
“… From the modified PDMS film to the hollow carbon spheres that inhibit the diffusion of polysulfide compounds, from the imperfect HCS-1 material to the HCS-2 material that completely solved the bottleneck of the lithium-sulfur battery industry. Not to mention the Theoretical Model of the Electrochemical Interface Structure.
“He has done something meaningful for our world and civilization through his own knowledge.
“Very few scholars can achieve such great results at this age.
“Now that the Theoretical Model of the Electrochemical Interface Structure is completed, it will allow us to achieve even greater results. I believe that this will become a cornerstone for our future theories.”
Professor Klaus Mullen paused for a second before he announced the German Chemical Society’s decision.
“The German Chemical Society has decided to reward Lu Zhou the great Hoffman Prize to thank him for his contribution to the theoretical chemistry community.
“Please give him a round of applause.”
Thunderous applause filled the venue.
Professor Ertl was sitting in the crowd, and he gave Lu Zhou a thumbs up.
Sitting next to him was Faltings; he looked bored and couldn’t help but yawn.
However, the arrogant German man still clapped his hands.
The theoretical model contained a certain amount of mathematical beauty.
This was the reason for his applause.
Faltings reluctantly admitted that mathematical part in the theory was sophisticated.
On stage.
The medal and certificates were handed to Lu Zhou as the old man smiled and reach out his hand.
“Congratulations, Professor Lu Zhou.”
The Hoffman Prize was established by the German Chemical Society in 1902. The rules were that any scholar who could make an outstanding contribution to the field of chemistry could win this medal regardless of nationality.
The prize money wasn’t a lot; it was only €10,000.
Lu Zhou was the first Chinese scholar to receive this honor; he was also the youngest.
The meaning behind the honor was even more significant due to these two factors.
Holding the medal and certificate, Lu Zhou shook Professor Mullen’s hand as he expressed his grat.i.tude.
“Thank you.”
Professor Mullen smiled and replied, “You’re welcome, you deserve this honor.”
The award ceremony came to an end.
However, the German Chemical Society hadn’t finished celebrating yet.
It was a tradition in the academic community to host a party after an award ceremony.
At night, at The Westin Grand Berlin hotel, the German Chemical Society held a banquet for Lu Zhou; all of the members of the society were invited.
In addition to celebrating the Hoffman Prize, the purpose of this party was also to provide a place for scholars to network and communicate.
As the winner of the Hoffman Prize, Lu Zhou was undoubtedly the center of attention.
Many people gave him their congratulations.
Professor Mullen was chatting with Lu Zhou, and he said, “… China is a beautiful country, I have been there many times. I’ve been to Shanghai Jiao Tong University the most as the library there gave me a lasting impression. It was packed full of people from opening to close. In my opinion, a nation that loves academia and knowledge is worthy of respect.”
Any outstanding scholar had many ident.i.ties. Other than the president of the German Chemical Society, Professor Mullen was also the dean of the German Academy of Sciences and the director of the Max Planck Inst.i.tute for Polymer Research. He was also an honorary professor of Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
He spoke in a sincere manner.
Lu Zhou smiled and said, “I’m glad to hear that. If you want, you can come to visit Jin Ling University. I promise you it’s a beautiful place.”
“Haha, please take me there.”
Professor Mullen smiled as he added, “Any place that can cultivate a scholar of your caliber is worth visiting.”
Lu Zhou toasted with Mullen. “For sure.”
Although he wasn’t sure if Professor Mullen could find any inspiration from Jin Ling University’s education model, communicating with foreign universities was always a good experience.
As a handsome alumnus, Lu Zhou felt like he should contribute something for Jin Ling University.
…
Lu Zhou drank quite a bit of alcohol at the party. Although he had a decent alcohol tolerance, he couldn’t drink anymore.
Lu Zhou took a taxi and returned to the Pegnitz Hotel. The first thing he did was to take a hot bath in the bathroom.
Once he got rid of the alcohol smell on his body, he felt a lot more comfortable.
Lu Zhou threw his clothes into the laundry and lay down in bed. He looked at the blank ceiling and played with the medal in his hand.
He suddenly felt a little lonely, so he took out his phone and spoke.
“Xiao Ai, I’m a little dizzy now, I’m going to sleep soon. I feel like I forgot about something, do you know what it is?”
Xiao Ai thought for a bit.
A line of words appeared on the screen.
Xiao Ai: [Master, I know, you forgot to celebrate with your fans!]
Lu Zhou: …?
What?
I think…
It’s right.
Lu Zhou smiled with a drunken look on his face.
This…
Isn’t good.
Although the Hoffman Prize wasn’t as popular as the Crafoord Prize, and the German Chemical Society wasn’t as strong as the American Chemical Society, the Hoffman Prize was still popular in the chemistry community.
After all, this award wasn’t given every year.
Due to the rarity of this medal, it had even more influence than the Adams Chemistry Prize.
Thinking about it this way, he should really share the joy with his fans.
Lu Zhou took a photo of the Hoffman Prize medal and certificate before he wrote a caption.
[Was just given a €10,000 prize bonus. Last time, I chose ten winners for a Huawei phone. This time, I’ll choose ten iPhone winners.]
Lu Zhou hit “Send” before he threw his phone on the nightstand and went to sleep.