A VIDEO of a Shenzhen Middle School student speaking with Nobel laureate Sir Roger Penrose has recently gone viral on the internet. In this nearly 15-minute conversation, the student questioned Penrose in English about some esoteric topics like cyclic universe theory, the Planck scale and Hawking points.

The student in question is Zhou Enzheng, a 17-year-old senior three student at Shenzhen Middle School. What brought Zhou and the 2020 Nobel Laureate in Physics into conversation was the Tencent WE Summit, an annual gathering of the world’s greatest minds in science, Shenzhen Evening News reported. This year’s Tencent WE Summit will open Saturday.

“I have been following the Tencent WE Summit. I learned that they invited Mr. Penrose to the summit this year, and I am so interested in Mr. Penrose’s research field, so I managed to get the chance to talk to him,” said Zhou.

According to Zhou’s physics teacher Huang Weicong, he has opened a course in relativity and quantum physics at Shenzhen Middle School. Zhou’s performance in the course is excellent and he shows strong interest in relativity and quantum physics, indicating that he has a solid understanding of the subject.

Zhou questioned Penrose about the entropy change in cyclic universe theory and asked him some questions about quantum consciousness that he derived from Penrose’s book “The Emperor’s New Mind” during their conversation. Zhou also sought personal advice from Penrose for future researchers.

“His responses have helped me gain a better understanding of his research topic and theory. Mr. Penrose is still active thinking and speaking at the age of 90, which is exactly what I aspire to be. I’m hoping that science’s power will prevent my mind from slowing down with the passage of time,” Zhou was quoted as saying.

Zhou is exceptional in science and his mother told the News that he had won six gold medals in chemistry and biology in international contests held in China.

Zhou qualified for the finals of the U.S. National Chemical Olympiad and won first place in China. He eventually ranked in the top 1 percent of over 16,000 contestants from around the world.

Zhou is not a nerdy student though. He enjoys ball games such as basketball and soccer, as well as playing the clarinet. He is also interested in public welfare and has utilized his skills to assist Lisu ethnic group villagers in Yunnan Province in extracting essential oils from native plants. (Zhang Yu)