309: Chapter 309 Zhao Shen ran off to make rockets??

"It seems you're not starting completely from scratch?" Deputy Director Wang asked.

"I've self-studied some basic knowledge of fluid mechanics before. Plus, while working on the Kakeya Conjecture recently, I've gained some insights into handling singularities in high-dimensional fluid directions."

Deputy Director Wang was silent for a moment, then turned to look at Vice President Tian.

"President Tian, this Professor Zhao of yours really knows a bit of everything."

"It's not just a bit of everything; whatever he learns, he masters to a considerable depth. All the professors in our Peking University Mathematics Department can testify to that," Vice President Tian said with a smile.

The matter was settled. Zhao Yang was appointed as a researcher at the National Space Center and temporarily assigned to the engine R&D department of the long march 5 launch vehicle project team, primarily responsible for data processing and system modeling related to engine turbopumps.

The procedures followed the joint appointment channel between Peking University and the Space Center. Daily work for non-classified parts could be completed remotely at Peking University or Zhao Yang's own laboratory, while classified parts required handling at designated locations within the Space Center.

A few days later, the China National Space Administration updated the personnel list for the long march 5 launch vehicle development team on its official website. This list usually wouldn't attract much attention, except for occasional checks by industry insiders. But this time was different. It was quickly noticed by observant individuals, who took screenshots and posted them online. After the screenshots spread to Weibo, the comment section exploded in less than half an hour. long march 5, development team, Zhao Yang—the appearance of these three terms side-by-side in the same table created such a sense of incongruity that many people couldn't process it.

"Wait, am I seeing this right? That Zhao Yang? The Zhao Yang who proved Goldbachs Conjecture? The Zhao Yang who published the PRL superconductivity model? He ran off to work on rockets?"

"Is this for real? Same name, maybe? It shouldn't be the same person, right?"

"It's the same person. I checked; his affiliation is Professor at the School of Mathematical Sciences, Peking University. There shouldn't be another Professor named Zhao Yang at Peking University!"

"Didn't he just say he was going to work on chips last time? How is there a rocket now? Is he trying to collect all seven to summon the dragon?"

"I suggest next time just say he's building a Gundam; I might believe that a bit faster."

"Mathematics, computer science, Biology, chemistry, Physics, chips, pharmaceuticals, marathons, public speaking, and now aerospace—he's a decathlete. Is God Zhao playing a real-life version of an RPG skill-point game?"

"Honestly, I feel like I wouldn't be surprised no matter what God Zhao does now. This is just too ridiculous!"

Of course, beyond the lively netizen comments, the industry's initial attitude wasn't as intense, but there were plenty of voices of doubt and caution. Someone posted a long thread on a forum frequented by aerospace professionals, analyzing the rationality of Zhao Yang's appearance on the long march 5 development list point by point.

"I've been puzzled by this Zhao Yang for a long time. You call him a mathematician, and he has indeed published Cole Prize-level papers, with proofs of two world-class conjectures to show for it. But you say he only does pure theory? He has a pharmaceutical company under his name with monthly profits exceeding a billion, his own semiconductor project, and even a PRL cover article on a superconductivity model."

"Now he's getting involved with rocket engines. It's not that I don't believe polymaths exist, but his crossover frequency is just too fast. The long march 5 engine turbopump involves multiple disciplines like fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, rotor dynamics, and control engineering. Normally, it takes several years of accumulation just to go from entry-level to participating in core work. He's an undergraduate Biology major; even if his mathematical foundation is strong, the complexity of aerospace engineering isn't something that can be solved just by being good at math. I have strong reservations about his position assignment."

After the post was published, the repost and comment section exploded once again.

"The person above seems to have a point, but he's Zhao Yang. Back in India at the International Congress of Mathematicians, when facing questions from math giants like Faltings, didn't everyone also think it was impossible to prove Goldbachs Conjecture so quickly using only number theory? In the end, he filled three blackboards on the spot without a single pause."

"Aerospace isn't like math. In math, you can work with just a pen and paper, but not in aerospace. An engine test run requires a whole team of hundreds of people watching in front of the test stand. What can someone with a theoretical background like him do there?"

Amidst numerous voices of doubt, Zhao Yang arrived at the Engine R&D Center of the National Space Center located in Fengtai District.

The R&D center was a very ordinary-looking building with gray-white exterior walls and a sign with black characters on a white background. Armed police stood guard at the entrance, and all people and vehicles entering or leaving required registration and verification. Along the walls of the internal corridors hung a row of large black-and-white photos showing various launches of the Long March rocket series, with mission codes and years labeled beneath each photo.

Zhao Yang wasn't neglected or scrutinized because of his fame when he walked into the building. Instead, a young engineer near the elevator in the lobby recognized him first. Subsequently, from security to administration, the staff gathered around much faster than he had imagined. Someone pressed a registration form onto the counter for him to sign and added a comment.

"Teacher Zhao, please record your fingerprints first. Your profile was already created in the access control system last week."

The tone was somewhat eager; after all, this was Zhao Yang!

Several group leaders from the Engine R&D Department were already waiting in a small meeting room on the second floor. When Zhao Yang pushed the door open, the room fell silent for a moment. Then, a white-haired senior engineer sitting at the far end stood up first and extended his hand.

"Dr. Zhao, I've long looked forward to meeting you. My name is Sun Jiadong, the Chief Engineer of the Engine Department."

When he shook the senior engineer's hand, it felt like grasping a piece of coarse wood—rough and firm.

"Chief Designer Sun, you're too kind. I don't have much experience in aerospace; I'm mainly here to learn."

Zhao Yang kept a very humble attitude; after all, he really was here to learn. In both his past and present lives, he had never set foot in the field of aerospace—this was the first time!

"Haha! Professor Zhao, you're too modest! We're all well aware of your track record! The cross-domain War God! Everyone knows about it!"

Chief Designer Sun joked humorously.

The entire office was immediately filled with friendly laughter.

Afterward, everyone went back to their work. He simply asked for a complete set of turbopump design materials and the test data from the past three months, then settled down steadily in a temporarily vacated office to start digesting them bit by bit. He entered the building at eight every morning and didn't leave until eight or nine at night, basically spending all his time in the office except for meals and bathroom breaks.

Once, Chief Designer Sun passed by his office door and saw him squatting on the floor with several pages of turbopump assembly drawings spread out, lying prone to measure the cascade spacing with a ruler, with a set of materials lying beside him. Chief Designer Sun stood at the door for a moment without speaking.

"Dr. Zhao, have you never dealt with pump impellers before?"

Chief Designer Sun asked, looking at Zhao Yang.

"No. I've read about the principle of centrifugal pumps in textbooks, but this is the first time I've seen the actual blueprints for a multi-stage high-pressure hydrogen pump with an inducer."