Chapter 161: Project Approval

When it comes to winning awards, the matter of attending the award ceremonies naturally follows.

"The Humboldt Prize will be presented on the 12th of next month, the Cole Prize in Number Theory is scheduled for January, and the Ramanujan Prize will be awarded on December 21st. Have you got your itinerary sorted out for next month?" Zhou Wenping asked considerately. If there was anything Wu Tong did not quite understand regarding travel arrangements, they could help her refine the details in time.

These three accolades were all located abroad, and quite far apart from one another—one in Europe, another in Africa, and the third on the other side of the Pacific Ocean.

In truth, there was another aspect they were deeply concerned about: whether Wu Tong was permitted to travel abroad and if her safety could be guaranteed. Should there be any potential security risks, they would rather not have Wu Tong take the risk of claiming these awards in person, as her safety was of paramount importance.

"Mr. Faltings from the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics has sent an invitation wishing for me to visit and study there. I have already reported it up the chain, so we will see how the travel arrangements are made!" Wu Tong was not yet certain whether she would be able to go abroad; she had to wait for the security department to discuss and determine the matter before any travel plans could be finalized.

She herself was the easiest to manage—just zip up a suitcase, with nothing particularly special to prepare. However, she was involved too deeply in confidential projects, and whether her travel would be restricted remained open to discussion.

She would follow the established arrangements and avoid causing too much trouble for those tasked with protecting her. Compared to taking a trip, she was even less willing to see any pointless sacrifices made.

"Alright, we will discuss the specifics once the results come out!" If it proved inconvenient for Wu Tong to travel in person, they could simply find a reason for the School of Mathematics to send a representative to accept the awards on her behalf.

Pan Wenhua packed two boxes of black tea and, as he saw Wu Tong out, practically forced them into her hands, insisting that she take them with her.

"Come and get more once you finish these; I still have plenty here. A former student of mine, whose family is from Fujian, sends me some every single year. I don't really understand tea anyway—I'm just like a cow chewing peonies!"

"Look at that, look at that! Dean Pan is showing off his dutiful and brilliant disciple yet again!" Zhou Wenping teased. Pan's student from Fujian was now a renowned Changjiang Scholar in mathematics and enjoyed a stellar reputation within China's mathematical community.

"Let's go, Wu Tong. While you have the time, I'll take you over to get acquainted with your office at the Research Institute!" Zhou Wenping waved goodbye to Pan Wenhua as a farewell.

It had been two months since the semester started, and though Wu Tong had already produced her mathematical breakthroughs, she had not yet visited the Peking University Institute for Research!

They needed to prove that the perks offered by the School of Mathematics were truly no less than what the School of Materials Science could provide. The pride of the School of Mathematics, which they guarded through untold hardships, must not always be left outshone by other schools riding high on success.

First came the School of Materials Science directly claiming a confidential project in September, and then October's turbulent flow research, which clearly leaned toward fluid mechanics and had already made the School of Physics restless. Or rather, ever since Wu Tong enrolled, the School of Physics had never ceased its maneuvers; it was just that Wu Tong had been far too busy since entering university to give them any opportunity for petty actions.

"The Beijing International Center for Mathematical Research at Peking University is a platform for outstanding talent funded by the state, and it's also the flagship of our Peking University School of Mathematics. The head is Academician Tian, a top-tier grandmaster from our School of Mathematics, and I serve as the deputy director.

"Our honorary directors are two Fields Medalists. One of them is someone you are familiar with, Mr. Andrew Wiles, the proof provider of Fermat's Last Theorem. The other is someone you also know—Mr. Stephen Smale, whom we met previously at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Hyderabad." Zhou Wenping introduced as they walked, giving Wu Tong a more thorough understanding of the Beijing International Center for Mathematical Research.

Without needing to guess, Wu Tong had previously known that Peking University possessed such a place, but she probably had never looked into the details.

"The prover of the high-dimensional Poincaré conjecture. I have read Mr. Smale's pioneering work on the concept of chaos, Smale's horseshoe, Smale's problems, and Smale's paradox." Wu Tong was indeed no stranger to him; she had read quite a few of this gentleman's literature and monographs.

It was while she was examining Hilbert's twenty-three problems that she consulted Smale's eighteen problems associated with them, thereby coming into contact with this gentleman's series of literature.

"Indeed. Mr. Smale has made tremendous contributions to mathematics and is one of the greatest mathematicians of the last century." Zhou Wenping nodded, leading Wu Tong to the third floor of the research center and pushing open a well-situated office door.

"This is your office. We've only done a simple setup so far, so it's a bit spartan. If you have any requests, we can arrange them! My office is right across the hall!"

Wu Tong glanced inside. A desk and chair were complete, with a row of filing cabinets against the wall. Right beside the cabinets were an indoor water dispenser and a small refrigerator, while a vertical air conditioner stood against the opposite wall. In the middle was a small reception area, and a row of large windows lined the back wall, offering exceptional natural lighting. Sitting behind the desk, one only needed to look outward to lift their spirits, greeted by the blue sky and campus greenery.

"It's already wonderful!" The office must have been meticulously tended to by someone, as it was spotless, and Wu Tong could move in and start working right away. "I can practically begin working directly here. Thank you for all the trouble, Professor Zhou!"

"Then let's get started. This office can finally serve its full purpose!" Zhou Wenping made a witty welcoming gesture. They were all eagerly hoping to keep Wu Tong right here so she could focus entirely on her research.

Once a project and its objectives were established, Wu Tong had always been one to take direct action.

The Goldbach Conjecture—Wu Tong had continuously advanced in number theory, and naturally, she had long contemplated this supreme problem. From the Zhou Conjecture to the Twin Prime Conjecture and the de Polignac Conjecture, all of them served as laying the groundwork for this very issue.

In 1742, Goldbach's letter crossed the flames of war to reach Euler, consulting him on whether every integer greater than 2 could be expressed as the sum of three primes. To this day, nearly three hundred years later, this problem has yet to be given a perfect answer.

Let "a+b" denote the following proposition: every large even number $N$ can be expressed as $A+B$, where the number of prime factors of $A$ and $B$ does not exceed $a$ and $b$ respectively. Clearly, the Goldbach Conjecture can be written as "1+1". Progress in this direction has thus far been achieved using the sieve method.

From 9+9, 7+7, 6+6, all the way to the 1+2 proven by Mr. Chen Jingrun, these represented the persevering efforts and advancements made toward this conjecture by generations of predecessors. The sieve method seemed to have been pushed to its absolute limits by them.

Many scholars suspected that the sieve method had reached its end, but had it truly come to an end?

Wu Tong had never believed in conventional wisdom. Her intuitive judgment told her that the sieve method had not yet reached its conclusion and still possessed vast room for progress. This had already been demonstrated by her previous infinite group proof method, and further explained when she supplemented the sieve method with topology: the sieve method had not reached the end of the road.

Facts speak louder than words. Rather than engaging in arguments, Wu Tong preferred to use actions to verify her intuition.

Starting from the problem itself and following the path of her predecessors, Wu Tong began her deduction, proceeding from 9+9 all the way toward 1+1. She derived it anew from the very beginning, perceiving the correct trajectory of every single direction along the way.

Only by ensuring that the starting point was in the right direction could she remain on the correct path, engaging with the thoughts of more predecessors. Perhaps, she might just catch that fleeting spark of inspiration?