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by jessriedel
4290 days ago
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Yitang Zhang has an incredibly inspiring academic story of perseverance and passion in the face of adversity: > After graduation, Zhang had a hard time finding an academic position...He managed to find a position as a lecturer after many years, at the University of New Hampshire, where he was hired by Kenneth Appel back in 1999. Prior to getting back to academia, he worked for several years as an accountant and a delivery worker for a New York City restaurant. He also worked in a motel in Kentucky and in a Subway sandwich shop. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yitang_Zhang (UNH is ranked #108 in math nationwide.) I highly recommend that article in Quanta: http://www.simonsfoundation.org/quanta/20130519-unheralded-m... |
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"So after Yitang graduated, I told him the normal way of seeking jobs. When I looked into his eyes, I found a disturbing soul, a burning bush, an explorer who wanted to reach the north pole, a mountaineer who determined to scale Mt. Everest, and a traveler who would brave thunders and lightnings to reach his destination. Yitang never came back to me requesting recommendation letters. Apparently, he did not seek a job. Even to the date Yitang announced his monumental result I did not know what was the best for him. Though I was sure of one thing, − he could not survive the life of “tenure-track,” “tenure,” and “promotions”. It was not his type. I regarded him as a free spirit, and I should let him fly."
http://www.math.purdue.edu/~ttm/ZhangYt.pdf