208: Chapter 208 Invitation

This batch of batteries performed exceptionally well. If the principles can be fully understood, specifically which materials are reacting within, then after filing for patents, CATL will hold the technological high ground in the future high-nickel ternary material roadmap!

Professor Wu Kai was a bit anxious; the success of this experiment had exceeded his expectations!

Now he just hoped that Zhao Yang's side could provide some good news!

At 12:05 AM, a notification for a new email popped up in the bottom right corner of the computer screen.

It's here! A flash of excitement crossed Professor Wu Kai's eyes.

He immediately put down his teacup, clicked on the email, and downloaded the encrypted PDF analysis report.

He read the analysis report carefully.

When he saw the conclusion that titanium particles enriched on the surface under a specific temperature gradient, forming a nanoscale lithium titanate coating layer in situ...

A look of realization appeared in Professor Wu Kai's eyes.

"So that's how it is!"

All his doubts were completely resolved at this moment.

Traditional coating processes usually require additional liquid-phase or solid-phase mixing steps, which not only increases production costs but also often results in uneven coating layers that easily peel off during the charging and discharging process.

However, the mechanism Zhao Yang identified through his data model utilizes thermodynamic properties to generate the coating layer in situ during the precursor sintering process.

This type of coating layer not only has extremely strong bonding strength but also has a relatively simple process, meeting the conditions for large-scale industrial mass production!

Professor Wu Kai clearly understood the commercial value of this discovery.

He immediately picked up the internal phone on his desk and dialed the number of the head of the Patent and Legal Affairs Department at the R&D Center.

"Old Liu, wake up. Bring a few people to the conference room immediately."

Professor Wu Kai's tone was filled with excitement.

"We just confirmed an extremely core mechanism for high-nickel material coating technology. Based on the data parameters and temperature ranges I provide, you must draft the patent applications overnight. We must secure the domestic and international PCT patent layouts as quickly as possible before other companies do!"

Although it was highly probable that his lab was the first to complete this on this track...

...Professor Wu Kai knew of many laboratories competing with them on the same technical route, so they had been racing against time in their experiments, not daring to slack off at all.

Now that they had finally mastered the technology, understood the principles, and produced the batteries, applying for patents as soon as possible and securing the patent layout was the way to go.

In a situation like this, if someone else registered the patent first, the loss would be far too great!

No one could afford that!

The entire R&D and legal teams of CATL began operating at high speed late into the night because of this report.

At 9:00 AM the next day.

After finishing a ten-kilometer morning run, Zhao Yang took a shower and had just sat down at his desk to read.

The phone on his desk rang.

The caller ID showed Professor Wu Kai.

Zhao Yang pressed the answer button.

"Good morning, Dr. Zhao."

Although Professor Wu Kai's voice carried a hint of hoarseness from staying up all night, it was filled with irrepressible excitement.

"I read your report from last night carefully; you did a great job! We organized several senior researchers overnight for an internal theoretical verification, and it holds up completely. The legal department is already rushing the applications for the relevant core patents."

"It's good that the data is useful."

Zhao Yang responded in a steady tone.

"Dr. Zhao, you've done us a massive favor this time. The discovery of this in-situ coating technology will greatly advance the commercialization process of our high-nickel batteries."

Professor Wu Kai paused on the other end of the line, then got to the point, starting to fulfill the terms agreed upon in the previous contract.

"Regarding your personal reward, the company's senior management held a brief meeting this morning and has made a decision."

Professor Wu Kai stated the specific benefits one by one.

"First, because the mechanism you identified solved the long-term lifespan and safety issues of the material, it is considered a major technical breakthrough. The company's finance department will deposit a special performance bonus of three million RMB into your personal account this afternoon. This amount is net after tax."

"Second, the multi-dimensional algorithm model you built previously has now completed its internal patent separation. The company agrees for you to organize it into a paper for external publication; there's no need for any further confidentiality concerns."

"Third, regarding the core material science papers our lab will produce about this batch of titanium-doped batteries—since the underlying mechanism and data analysis were completed by you—all these papers will bear your name. Depending on your contribution to specific papers, you will be published at least as the second author or as a co-first author."

"Finally, your title as a Distinguished Researcher at CATL's Beijing R&D Center will be retained indefinitely. As long as you are in office, a guaranteed base salary of thirty thousand RMB per month will be paid on time. If you have the energy to take on our other R&D challenges in the future, all additional work will have separate compensation calculations."

Professor Wu Kai laid out all the conditions clearly. CATL's sincerity was evident. They knew very well that using these bonuses and paper authorship rights to bind such a genius mind with terrifying logical deduction capabilities was a guaranteed long-term investment.

"That works, the arrangements are very reasonable. Please thank the company management for me." Zhao Yang accepted the terms straightforwardly without any refusal or polite formalities.

This was the reward he deserved for his intellectual labor.

After hanging up the call with Professor Wu Kai.

Zhao Yang opened the document editor on his computer.

Since CATL had lifted the confidentiality restrictions on the algorithm's principles, he planned to spend the morning organizing the Multi-dimensional Manifold Mapping Dimensionality Reduction Algorithm he had written for processing complex non-linear material data into a standard academic paper.

He intended to submit this paper to a mainstream journal in the field of computer algorithms or applied mathematics to continue accumulating experience points in Informatics or Mathematics for the system.

Just as he had typed the first few English letters of the paper's title...

...the phone on his desk rang again.

This time, the caller ID showed the President of Beijing Forestry University, Zhou Limin.

Zhao Yang answered the call.

"Zhao Yang, are you at your apartment right now?"

"I am, Principal Zhou."

"Do you have time right now? Come to my office in the Administration Building," Zhou Limin said with a hint of solemnity in his voice, "An urgent foreign document was sent to the university's Foreign Affairs Office specifically for you. You need to come and see it in person."

"Alright, I'll be right there."

Zhao Yang hung up, saved the newly created blank document, put on his coat, and walked out of the apartment.

Ten minutes later, Zhao Yang arrived at the Principal's office in the Administration Building.

Pushing open the door, Zhou Limin was sitting behind his desk, holding a bound fax in English.

Seeing Zhao Yang enter, Zhou Limin stood up immediately, his expression a mix of excitement and emotion.

"Zhao Yang, have a seat first." Zhou Limin pointed to the chair opposite him, then handed over the English fax.

"This is an official invitation letter sent to our university's Foreign Affairs Office this morning from the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States."