Chapter 284 - 219: The Essence of Chemistry

Chapter 284: Chapter 219: The Essence of Chemistry

December 11th, Thursday.

2:00 PM. The afternoon sun was just right.

Yannan University School of Chemistry, Experimental Building A, Room 301.

This was what Chen Lin considered his "old stomping grounds." The last time, with the mathematical model for the solid-state battery, this was where Professor Lu Zhongqi had given the materials to Chen Lin and Shen Yan.

When Chen Lin pushed the door open and walked in, three people were already sitting inside.

Professor Lu Zhongqi from Yannan University’s Department of Chemical Engineering, and Professor Tang Xuebing from the Science and Technology University’s materials science department.

There was also a familiar face—Professor Lu’s doctoral student, the sweet-looking Senior Yan Lin, who had a touch of baby fat on her cheeks.

"Professor Chen! You’re here, you’re here!"

The moment he saw Chen Lin, Tang Xuebing shot up from his chair. He strode over, grabbed Chen Lin’s hand with both of his own, and shook it vigorously.

"We’ve been eagerly awaiting your arrival!"

Professor Lu Zhongqi also stood up, chuckling. "Professor Chen, you’re a very busy man these days. Your presence truly honors our School of Chemistry."

"You’re both too kind, Professors." Chen Lin smiled and exchanged pleasantries. "We’re old acquaintances now. There’s no need for such formalities."

Compared to their first meeting, Chen Lin was noticeably more relaxed this time. His every move exuded a calm, confident air.

Yan Lin stood behind her two advisors, gazing at Chen Lin, her big, bright eyes filled with little stars of adoration.

She remembered when Chen Lin first came here; she hadn’t been able to resist the urge to gossip about his relationship with Shen Yan, only to be shot down by a glare from her advisor.

But now, as she looked at this junior who was several years younger than her—no, she should call him Professor Chen now—Yan Lin’s heart was filled with nothing but pure admiration.

"Professor Chen," Tang Xuebing said, pulling Chen Lin to a seat, the excitement still plastered on his face. "Just like I told you in the email, our joint project team has made what I can only call lightning-fast progress these past two months!"

"It’s all thanks to the fractal geometry model you solved last time! We’ve completely figured out the growth mechanism of lithium dendrites!"

"If you can help us solve this new problem that’s just popped up," Tang Xuebing said, pumping his fist, "I guarantee that before long, our joint research team will produce results that will shock the world!"

Chen Lin smiled and nodded. "I’m just glad I could help."

At that moment, Yan Lin, who had been silent all this time, shyly came forward and poured Chen Lin a glass of water.

"Professor Chen, have some water."

Her voice was sweet, with a hint of nervousness.

"Thank you, Senior," Chen Lin replied politely.

"Um..." Yan Lin hesitated for a moment before mustering her courage. "Professor Chen, I really, truly want to thank you!"

"Hm?" Chen Lin looked at her, a little puzzled.

Yan Lin’s face flushed slightly, but her eyes shone with sincere gratitude. "Because of the fractal geometry model you developed, our project team published that paper, *’A Study on the Evolution of the Solid-Liquid Interfacial Stress Field Based on Fractal Geometry and Its Influence Mechanism on Lithium Dendrite Growth.’*"

She paused, scratching her head a bit sheepishly. "Professor Lu and Professor Tang were looking out for me and let me conduct some follow-up experiments and data analysis based on that paper. So, I managed to get a first-author SCI publication in the field of chemistry out of it."

For a doctoral student, a first-author SCI paper was a golden ticket for graduation, and even a stepping stone to a future faculty position at the university.

It was no exaggeration to say that Chen Lin’s derivation had directly altered the trajectory of her academic career.

Chen Lin was taken aback for a second, then smiled and waved his hand dismissively.

"You’re being too kind, Senior. That was your own hard work. All I did was a tiny, insignificant part."

Seeing how emotional Yan Lin was, Chen Lin felt quite calm.

He wasn’t a complete novice anymore and understood a thing or two about scientific research. It was perfectly normal for someone to build upon an important paper like *’A Study on the Evolution of the Solid-Liquid Interfacial Stress Field...’* and produce further research results.

After the pleasantries were over, Professor Tang Xuebing seemed to remember something. His expression turned serious as he steered the conversation to business.

"Right, Professor Chen, there’s something I need to clear with you first."

Tang Xuebing pulled a document from his briefcase. Though his movements were casual, his tone was serious.

"I know that your company, Yanhai Consulting, currently quotes a starting price of five million for its projects."

At this, Tang Xuebing let out a hearty laugh and patted his chest.

"Don’t you worry. We may be a university research team, not a big corporation rolling in money, but the project team absolutely will not skimp on this consulting fee! As long as you can solve the problem, we’ll transfer the full five million—not a cent less—straight to Yanhai Company’s account!"

Hearing this, Chen Lin simply smiled without saying a word, his expression calm and unconcerned.

’I’m already crystal clear on this point,’ he thought.

Principal Chang Kai had previously disclosed to him that Yannan University and the Science and Technology University had signed a top-level joint R&D agreement for this solid-state battery project.

If they actually managed to pull this thing off, the two universities would split the subsequent patent revenue and technology licensing fees fifty-fifty.

And this was the solid-state battery! The heart of new energy vehicles!

Just think about the major battery manufacturers today—weren’t they all giants with market caps in the hundreds of billions or even trillions?

The domestic new energy giants were already lining up at the project team’s door with their checkbooks out, just waiting for a chance to get even a small piece of the pie.

On top of that, with the project itself having made a major breakthrough, the national-level research funding allocation was bound to be astronomical.