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Zhang Ning, a genius in mathematics, stayed in the United States to deliver takeout food, instead of returning to China to become a professor. What happened?
Zhang was born in 1955. He is very talented. At the age of 9, he began to teach himself college mathematics courses. 1978 was admitted to the Department of Mathematics in Peking University. At that time, the training of talents in Peking University was at its peak, and the students and professors in the Department of Mathematics were top talents. Zhang has made outstanding achievements in the field of mathematical research. Later, he followed Mo Zongjian, a famous mathematician in China, to Purdue University in the United States for further study. The research direction is Jacobian conjecture.

However, the road to studying in the United States is not smooth. Zhang chose jacoby conjecture as his doctoral thesis, but he didn't get the support of his tutor Mo Zongjian. It took Zhang two years to finish his doctoral thesis and seven years to graduate. It can be seen that there are some irreconcilable contradictions between Zhang and Mo Zongjian that outsiders don't know.

After graduation, the tutor Mo Zongjian never wrote a letter of recommendation to Zhang. At that time, Mo Zongjian's reputation in mathematics was so high that Zhang had no recommendation letter, no resources or opportunities for interpersonal communication, and it took a lot of energy and time to find a job. In the end, I can only find some part-time jobs in the United States, deliver takeout and wash dishes to support myself.

Ding, the head of the Department of Mathematics in Peking University and a famous mathematician, learned about Zhang's situation and invited him back to Peking University to teach and do mathematical research, but Zhang refused. Later, with the help of alumni, he found a job as a lecturer in an American university, and published a research result that caused a sensation in the field of mathematics in 2006. Fame and fortune were achieved overnight.

In recent years, more and more young talents who have studied abroad and achieved academic achievements have returned to China to devote themselves to education or scientific research in corresponding fields. We respect the personal choice of this "mathematical genius", but we also feel very sorry for it.