Successful Personal Statements

Copyright © 2019 by Chen Du

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eBook ISBN 9781543933161

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Author Bio

Chen Du was a PhD Candidate in the Molecular and Cellular Biophysics and Biochemistry PhD Program at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, the State University of New York at Buffalo in 2002. She has a Master’s Degree in Biophysics from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a Master’s Degree in Radio Physics with the concentration of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In 2005, Chen Du was honored by being included in the list of Leading Scientists of the World 2005 by the International Biographical Centre of Cambridge.

Chen Du is a translator, a voting member of the American Translators Association and a member of Translators Association of China. She has practiced as a professional in the translation field and the English application essay writing field since 2004. She excelled in the Interpreting and Translation Studies Master’s Program at Wake Forest University in fall 2016. In addition, she revised more than eight chapters of the Chinese translation of the biography of Helen Snow, Helen Foster Snow – An American Woman in Revolutionary China, in 2015. In the United States, her translations have appeared in Lunch Ticket and one of her essays was published by The Dead Mule in February 2019. She is also the founder of the Ofsea English Editing website www.ofsea.com.

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Peter Williams (a poet and a PhD student at the State University of New York at Buffalo), Dr. David Fairbanks, and his friend Michael (graduated from Harvard University) for proofreading some of the essays.

Table of Contents

Preface

I: FOR PHD STUDY

1. PhD Study in Material Science/Chemical Engineering

2. PhD Study in Medical Science/Hematopoietic Pharmacology/Ionizing Radiation Toxicology

3. PhD Study in Electronic Engineering

4. PhD Study in National Economics

5. PhD Study in Material Science/Thermal Convection

6. PhD Study in Nutrition

7. PhD Study in Physiology

8. PhD Study in Applied Mathematics/Computational Mathematics

9. PhD Study in International Relations

10. PhD Study in Accounting/Finance

11. PhD Study in Biology and PhD Study in Business/Management

12. PhD Study in Food Science & Engineering (Transcreation, Two Versions)

13. PhD Study in Petroleum Engineering

14. PhD Study in Chemical Engineering

15. PhD Study in Finance

16. PhD Study in Finance Science

II: FOR MASTER’S STUDY IN SCIENCE

1. Master's Study in Mechanical Engineering/Nanospheres (Statement of Purpose)

2. Master's Study in Electronic Engineering/Internet Engineering

3. Master's Study in Food Science

4. Master's Study in Biomed

5. Master's Study in Electronic & Electrical Engineering

6. Master's Study in Evolutionary Biology

7. Master's Study in Electrical Engineering

8. Master's Study in Computer Science (Statement of Intent)

9. Master's Study in Civil and Environmental Engineering (For MIT)

10. Master's Study in Town and Country Planning

11. Master's Study in Nanoscience

12. Master's Study in Mathematics/Biostatistics

13. Master's Study in Environmental Sciences (Letter of Motivation)

14. Master's Study in Industry Design (Two Versions)

15. Master's Study in Microelectronic/Electrical Engineering

16. Master's Study in Communication Engineering

17. Master's Study in Analysis Chemistry

18. Master's Study in Microelectronics

19. Master's Study in Computer Science (Transcreation)

20. Master's Study in Engineering Education (Statement of Purpose, Two Versions)

21. Master's Study in Architecture (Statement of Purpose)

22. Master's Study in Software Engineering

23. Master's Study in Information Engineering

III: FOR MASTER’S STUDY IN BUSINESS

1. Master's Study in Financial Engineering

2. Master's Study in Entrepreneurship

3. Master's Study in Financial Mathematics (Statement of Purpose)

4. Master's Study in Business Management/Human Resource Management (Statement of Purpose)

5. Master's Study in Fashion Marketing/Strategic Fashion Marketing

6. Master's Study in Statistics/Finance (Statement of Academic Purpose)

7. Master's Study in Economics (Two Versions)

8. Master's Study in Finance (Two Versions)

9. MBA (Essays and Personal Statement)

10. Master's Study in Technology Management (Essay)

11. Master's Study in Finance

12. Master's Study in Accounting

13. Master's Study in Finance

14. Master's Study in Finance (Essays)

15. Master's Study in Finance (Transcreation, Essays)

16. Master's Study in Financial Engineering (Two Versions)

17. Master's Study in Finance/Management

18. Master's Study in Financial Mathematics

19. MBA

20. Master's Study in Management

21. Master's Study in International Accounting/Financial Management

22. Master's Study in Economics (Statement of Interest)

23. Master's Study in Business Administration/Accounting

24. Master's Study in Management in Operational Research (Essays for the University of British Columbia)

25. Master's Study in Management Sciences

26. Master's Study in Accounting

27. Master's Study in Marketing/Management

28. Master's Study in Finance/International Management (Letter of Motivation)

29. Master's Study in Social Service Management/Applied Sociology

30. Master's Study in Financial Management

31. MBA

32. Master's Study in Human Resource Management

33. Master's Study in Finance

34. MBA in Global Management (Letter of Motivation)

35. Master's Study in Finance

36. Master's Study in Finance

37. Master's Study in Human Resource Management (Motivation Letter)

38. Master's Stdy in Quantitative and Computational Finance (Transcreation)

39. Master's Study in Economics

40. Master's Study in Accounting

41. Master's Study in Finance

42. Master's Study in Finance

43. Master's Study in Finance

44. MPhil Study in Technology Policy

IV: FOR MASTER’S STUDY IN LAW

1. LLM

2. LLM in Commercial Law

3. LLM

4. LLM

5. Master's Study in International Commercial Arbitration Law (Statement of Purpose)

6. LLM in Economic Law

7. Master's Study in International Law

8. Master's Study in Maritime Law (Statement of Purpose)

9. LLM in Taxation

10. Master's Study in Corporate Financial Law

V: FOR MASTER’S STUDY IN HUMANITIES

1. Master's Study in Interpreting and Translation Studies at Wake Forest University

2. Master's Study in Applied Linguistics/English Language Teaching

3. Master's Study in Advertising and Media

4. Master's Study in Communication/Social Science

5. Master's Study in Communication (Statment of Purpose)

6. Master's Study in Art/Illustration

7. Master's Study in Translation & Interpretation

VI: FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDY IN SCIENCE

1. Bachelor's Study in Architecture (Essay)

2. Bachelor's Study in Electronice Engineering

3. Bachelor's Study in Biochemistry

4. Bachelor's Study in Mathematics and Engineering/Aircraft Engineering

5. Bachelor's Study in Science (Essay)

6. Bachelor's Study in Architecture

7. Bachelor's Study in Engineering

8. Bachelor's Study in Architecture

9. Bachelor's Study in Environmental Science (Translation, Essays and Personal Statement for Duke University and Other Schools)

10. Bachelor's Study in Science

11. Bachelor's Study in Mechanical Engineering (Essays)

VII: FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDY IN BUSINESS

1. Bachelor's Study in Management/Fashion Management/Brand Management

2. Bachelor's Study in Business

3. Bachelor's Study in Financial Engineering

4. Bachelor's Study in Business (Essay)

5. Bachelor's Study in Economics

6. Bachelor's Study in Finance

7. Bachelor's Study in Commerce

8. Bachelor's Study in Management

9. Bachelor's Study in Accounting

10. Bachelor's Study in Business Management

11. Bachelor's Study in Commerce and Economics

12. Bachelor's Study in Management (Essays)

13. Bachelor's Study in Commerce

14. Bachelor's Study in Economics

15. Bachelor's Study in Economics

VIII: FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDY IN HUMANITIES

1. Bachelor's Study in Digital Media Technology

2. Bachelor's Study in Sociology (Two versions)

3. Bachelor's Study in International Relations (Essays)

IX: FOR UNDERGRADUATE TRANSFER

1. Undergraduate Transfer to the University of California, Business/Economics

2. Undergraduate Transfer to Columbia University, Economics (Autobiographical Essay)

3. Undergraduate Transfer in Business

4. Undergraduate Transfew in Sociology (Essays and Personal Statement)

5. Undergraduate Transfew Essays in Economics for Cornell University (Essays)

Preface

This book is dedicated to applicants in China and other nations. The essays are successful personal statements, statements of purpose and application essays to first-rate graduate schools, colleges and universities in Western countries including United States of America, Canada, The United Kingdom, Germany, France, Australia, Sweden, Russia, other European countries, Singapore and Hong Kong, in a wide variety of fields of study in the sciences and the humanities. By default, the essays are personal statements unless specified. They were written from 2005 to 2016 and are listed in reverse chronological order within each category. Most of them are written based on a significant number of raw materials provided by the applicants in the Chinese language and are a true reflection of the backgrounds and experience of the applicants. During the writing process, the raw materials are screened, selected, organized, compiled, condensed, extracted, highlighted and showcased. In some sense, it is the integration of creation, translation and editing. The book was formatted in Microsoft Word and some essays have retained their original format in order to resemble a true application essay. It should be noticed that in this edition some names are replaced by capital letters like A, B and C. This collection aims at illustrating that there isn’t one set of standards for a successful personal statement or statement of purpose across different English-speaking countries and different fields. Instead, a truly successful personal statement or statement of purpose is the one that can touch the humanity and heartstrings of admissions committees and professors of top schools in all Western countries by thoughtfully expressing the true achievement and intent of each applicant. It is worth noting that even though the author endeavored to perfect each essay in each moment, readers of this book should understand that perfection is a process and not a destination. There is no such thing as a perfect application essay. Perfection is improving at each stage, getting better and better! If this book can inspire a reader to write a better application essay, its purpose is fulfilled.

I: FOR PHD STUDY

1. PhD Study in Material Science / Chemical Engineering

I was born the daughter of two devoted scientists in the field of chemistry: one, a chemical engineer committed to research and to projects involving fine chemicals, and, the other, a PhD materials scientist, who worked on the development of new functional materials. With their influence, I have developed the conviction that I am destined to follow in their footsteps and excel as an accomplished and renowned materials scientist.

My parents cultivated in me an insatiable curiosity about the world around me and instilled in me the desire and confidence to learn new things. They encouraged me to pursue my interests and ambitions. This aided me in attaining a position as a full-time research assistant in the Department of Chemistry at Hong Kong Baptist University in the summer of 2010. I was eager for a position at the department and I had boldly persuaded Professor A to give me the opportunity to prove myself qualified and capable. With his encouragement, I plowed through piles of articles published by him and related papers from others, dealing with both the difficulties of understanding many chemistry terms in English and the inherent challenges of the field of chemistry itself. I submitted to the department the first research proposal of my life, titled The Analysis of Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) by LC/MS, and successfully won the position.

This position was a paid full-time job under contract that came with a Certificate of Appreciation and a salary of 8000 HKD for forty hours per week for one month. It entailed assisting a visiting scholar from Zhejiang University, a professor, a Post-Doc scholar and three graduate students with their experiments, setting up a LC-MS method to analyze PFOS, processing data and drafting a final report. This gave me the opportunity to hone my skills in analytical chemistry and to learn and work directly in a fully equipped lab.

In the meantime, there were many obstacles to overcome studying in Hong Kong – a city full of languages and people that were all new to me. I enjoyed picking up the gauntlet thrown down by this exciting new environment. When the opportunity arose, without hesitation I seized the initiative and took the IELTS examinations for the chance to study overseas. All my preparations paid off when I secured one of the two valuable slots to study at Simon Fraser University as an exchange student with partial financial support from Hong Kong Baptist University.

In Vancouver, I had some of the most unforgettable experiences of my life. Many of my classes were populated by students of different majors, with varying goals and opinions. This helped me broaden my own views and improve on my ability to look at a subject or a problem from multiple perspectives.

Study was intense and a large amount of reference material needed to be read alongside the accompanying textbooks. In addition, every experiment was like a small research project where you were expected to carry out protocol and operate unfamiliar machinery with little or no prior instruction given. In the end, an original and well written research report had to be submitted if you expected to earn high marks. This training emphasized expanding personal limits and capabilities more than the training in Hong Kong universities, which are widely considered more difficult than universities in mainland China. My experience there kindled a plan to pursue a graduate degree in functional materials at a well-known lab in North America.

My passion for functional materials started as early as the summer before my departure to Vancouver, when I was trained under the supervision of Professor B in the Laboratory of Functional Ceramics at Shaanxi Normal University, a 211 Project University under the direct administration of the Ministry of Education of China.

This project was supported by National Science Foundation of China (NSFC) with the Grant Number 51172136; its goal was to discover a functional material with a giant dielectric constant and very low dielectric loss. I worked on this project for two summers. Led by Dr. C, I designed a Na0.5Y0.5Cu3Ti4O12 material system, adopted conventional solid-state reaction techniques, and studied the effects of sintering conditions on the phase structure, microstructure and electrical properties. It was successfully determined that Na0.5Y0.5Cu3Ti4O12 ceramics sintered at 1060 °C for 25 hours exhibited a giant dielectric constant over 10000 around room temperature. Our submission of a paper, titled Giant Dielectric Properties and Relevant Mechanism of Na0.5Y0.5Cu3Ti4O12 Ceramics, to the Journal of the American Ceramic Society has greatly boosted my enthusiasm for research on functional materials.

With resolve, I have selected the synthesis and characterization of solution-processable molecular materials for organic solar cells as my final year project from a list of forty choices. This project involves designing a new semiconducting polymer for bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells with high energy conversion efficiency. The biggest bottleneck of this study is to find out a viable polymer as the donor to improve the energy conversion performance that can match with fullerenes as electron acceptors, generally a C60 derivative. These kinds of polymers are also the objective of all the other scholars in this area. At this moment, I have synthesized part of the donor molecules; I have set up a feasible protocol for palladium-catalyzed Suziki cross-coupling that is the key reaction; and I am also working on three acceptors with different substituents.

In this project, every reaction is followed by complicated post processes, such as the purification of the sample by extraction, rotary evaporation, column chromatography, and so on. Moreover, an optimal reaction condition is only found after many failures. Any tiny mistake, like a slight error made during the weighing of a reagent or a spill of a solution during an extraction, could cause the crash of the whole experiment. Often, the result of a reaction is different from what is expected. For example, one time a substrate was added to the 3-position of a heterocyclic ring, instead of the 2-position, because the speed of adding a sample was a little bit too fast, as monitored by TLC plates. On one hand, protecting myself and my co-workers in the lab is always my priority when I work. On the other hand, the required minute attention to detail has helped me nurture patience, precision and a strong sense of awareness, refining my lab work and problem solving skills.

More significantly, my final year project and my research at Professor B’s lab have shown me the astonishing prospects for new breakthroughs awaiting the field of functional materials. Will I be the catalyst for speeding up this scientific revolution? I ask myself this question again and again. At this watershed in my pursuits in material science, I recall female scientist Dorothy Hodgkin’s tremendous effort, her successes and her contributions to the peace of the world. I also recall Terry Fox, who demonstrated how to live to the fullest despite all hardships and his faith in making others’ lives better.

There are many bumps in the road to becoming a functional material scientist, especially for someone devoted to both research and to serving society. However, this is the path I have chosen, and it is the journey that lies ahead for me.

2. PhD Study in Medical Science / Hematopoietic Pharmacology / Ionizing Radiation Toxicology

Three years after I enrolled at university, I found that my comfort zone stays in connecting parts of different subjects and digging out unstated assumptions. For example, in an Internal Medicine class in my third year, when the teacher asked us why a common side effect of digitalis drugs is gastrointestinal tract reaction, I recalled that digitalis drugs negatively regulate sodium pumps on cell membranes, which I learned in the course of Pharmacology, and that signals transmitted by the nerve plexus of the gastrointestinal tract are correlated with changes in the cellular ion concentration of the gastrointestinal tract cells, which I learned in the course of Physiology. In only a few seconds, by this connection of different concepts in different areas, I worked out the correct answer that is digitalis drugs inhibit the sodium pumps of the epithelial cells of the gastrointestinal tract.

I remember during the period when I was taking the course of Medical Immunology, I read about that allergens stimulate the production of IgE in sensitive individuals. I then made the hypothesis that the same allergens in the body of a none-sensitive person could cause the production of IgG. To find out whether or not this supposition was correct and the reason for this assumed difference, I researched a few original English books and articles from which I learned that the rearrangement of DNA fragments and CH genes is the cause. Nevertheless, I was not satisfied with this answer and asked myself a further question, what is the upstream control mechanism for this rearrangement. In this way, I traced a significant amount of information relating to this topic and hunted the answers one after another until I had to set aside time for the CET-6 examination.

I just couldn’t help indulging myself into netting what I had learned in a wide variety of fields, revealing the hidden and implicit questions, and tracking deeply into them and probably until the very end. This unique way of thinking and personal trait only turned my preparation works for examinations at university into seemingly giant projects. Nonetheless, they enabled me to be firm in my belief of my profound and complete mastery of what I had learned and to shed light on my future life’s path, that is to expose myself to cutting-edge researches and to verify all my ideas by investigations. As a result, I successfully became a graduate student and a scientist, I believe, without any hesitation.

As anticipated, my methods of analysis have brought me much bonus during my graduate training. Thanks to my advisor, Professor A and all the other senior scientists at the lab. They have given me great trust to test all my ideas. From then on, I don’t need to only search references for an answer, but work for it, design for it, play hard for it, and shed tears and sweat for it, in person! For example, I read that in an article the author hypothesized that ionizing radiation could activate p38 by activating the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and thereby he guessed that ROS was on the upstream of p38. I then hit upon the idea that the activation of p38 may activate the production of ROS. To prove this inspiration, I suggested that we use a blocking agent for p38 in our experiment to test the production of ROS. Surprisingly, in bone marrow nucleated cells, it was detected that the amount of ROS under ionizing radiation was significantly reduced given a blocking agent for p38. Though this result was obtained a little bit earlier by another research group, it served as a catalyst for my confidence and determination in my endeavors.

Due to our limited lab conditions, four years ago, my colleagues had found that those methods and techniques brought to the lab by Professor A from America couldn’t work out to some extent. Since my arrival at the lab, one of my main responsibilities has been adjusting and refining the experimental protocols. Take CAFC assay for example. All the researchers here were used to cultivating stromal cells after washing bone marrows; however, they had never produced stromal cells enough for laboratory use. When I was cultivating stromal cells from compact bones, I realized that it was a waste to discard bone marrow cells which were washed out and were considered to be useless by my colleagues. Therefore, I tried to culture those washed out cells by expired medium.

To my surprise, I found that stromal cells from mice that weigh 11 grams have relatively strong growing ability and their best growth temperature is 37 degree Celsius. On the contrary, in our old protocol, only mice that weigh 22 grams to 23 grams which were considered to have relatively more bone marrow cells were selected. In addition, my colleagues neglected that the temperature of 33 degree Celsius which they chose to culture cells was not suitable and could even inhibit the cell growth to some extent.

Right at that moment, I recalled that Prof. A once suggested that I use the MyeloCult M5300 medium of StemCell Technologies to perform primary culture of stromal cells. Eventually, I designed a procedure that integrates this suggestion of my advisor, my findings and the old method, that is, culturing cells of mice that weigh 22 grams at 37 degree Celsius first and one week later changing the medium to the MyeloCult M5300 medium when the cell growth slows down. This protocol lately was proved to be perfect; however, it is a more expensive one in that the MyeloCult M5300 medium costs us nearly 3,000 Chinese yuan per one hundred milliliters and is far more expensive that the expired medium I used to cultivate stromal cells from mice that weigh 11 grams. Nevertheless, it gave me the opportunity to tackle the same problem from different perspectives and by different approaches.

When it comes to my future plans, Professor A has told me many times how nice and supportive scientists and staffs at the lab of B are. From the signs of a true researcher on her, I often wonder whether or not these qualities of hers were best developed during her training at the lab of B. In addition, in both of the two projects in which I participated at graduate school, we harmoniously cooperated with Dr. C at UAMS. These have been the driven force for me to deem the lab of B and the University of Arkansas of Medical Science my only and best choice. I hope it will be the start of my grand life project – from a PhD student in pharmacology to a Postdoc, to a lab leader with my own research fruits and national projects, and to an enterprising scientist with cooperation to pharmaceutical or bio-tech companies.

At this moment, I am deeply aware that there are still many enigmas in the domains of hematopoietic pharmacology / ionizing radiation toxicology that need to decipher, for example, what is the control mechanism for p16 proteins, whether or not p16 can cause cancer when being triggered by some smart carcinogens, and what is the relationship between p27 and cell senescence. Nonetheless, I am ready to go!

3. PhD Study in Electronic Engineering

Mental toughness to me means the spirit conveyed by the famous quote of Ernest Hemingway: A man can be destroyed but not defeated. By exerting great effort to be a person with unshakeable determination and fortitude, I have continuously uncovered questions in research and tackled them one after another. Conquering the twists and turns of scientific studies in electronic engineering has provided me with a great sense of self-fulfillment. I have also experienced the satisfaction brought about by the fruits I have harvested including three patents to which I am a contributor. These patents can perfectly demonstrate my research talent, creativity and ability in the design and application of all types of control chips.

My main project during my graduate studies involved the modeling of a vertical/short takeoff and landing aircraft, circuit board design, complex programmable logic device (CPLD) design and digital signal processing (DSP) programming of flight controllers for vertical/short takeoff and landing of aircraft and helicopters. This included the development of an automatic and remote control switching system for unmanned aerial vehicles. To avoid the damage of expensive airborne equipment and personal injury, my team proposed to devise a switching system for better operation of an aircraft during its landing. In this patent work, I put forward two novel ideas. The first one is setting the command received by the DSP computer board of an aircraft right before the switching button is pressed as the initial value for an automatic control, and the second one is the adoption of a single-pin serial communication link to transfer signals to the DSP so as to overcome the problem of insufficient I/O ports.

With regard to the principle of the second idea, I set a switching/non-switching signal as the frame head followed by four control signals for the steering engine. As the switching/non-switching signal only has two extreme bandwidths that are maximal and minimal whilst operation signals vary between these two extreme states, it’s very easy to discriminate a switching/non-switching signal and an operation signal. More specifically, I used a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal with a mark space ratio of 1 to 7, and switched the channel that directly controls a servo at a time fixed at half cycle of a PWM wave. After switching the channel four times, I obtained a combination waveform that contains four commands for the steering engine. With only one line, different signals can be received by the DSP, which later proved to be completely feasible. Electronic engineering is truly the platform for the most creative minds!

Then, in our following research, we found that we can utilize this switching circuit board to conduct experiments on selective channels, for example, we can test whether or not an aircraft can automatically control its course by connecting its pilot channel to the switching circuit and the other channels to the receiver of commands. In this way, we tested all the other channels one by one and then realized a combined automatic control of channels for pitch, ailerons, elevator, rudder, throttle, and so on. This is a thought that had never been proposed up to the date of the issuing of our patent. Teamwork definitely means high efficiency and effectiveness in transforming even the tiniest brainstorm into reality.

Furthermore, when researching the coupling property of a helicopter system, we also exploited this method to examine whether or not a coupling is intense and whether or not it has an influence on our control algorithm for each channel. For example, we transmitted a signal of automatic control to the pilot channel through this switching circuit, and manually controlled the pitch channel. Because there is a huge coupling between the pitch channel and the pilot channel, by exploiting the interference of a manned operation to the pilot channel controlled automatically, we can detect the effect of the automatic control. Indeed, a good idea is often the harbinger of another.

How I wish that I could have more time at the graduate level to germinate all my seeds of thought! During my main project mentioned above, I found that I was often perplexed by difficulties caused by inadequate interfaces due to too much airborne electronic equipment. Therefore I hit upon the idea of working out my own solution. Having researched correlating articles like the paper of Henrik B. Christophersen published in the 2004 Unmanned Unlimited Technical Conference, I am designing a 6-layer flight control circuit board that integrates DSP and a small 144-pin field-programmable gate array (FPGA) chip as a flexible extension to the functional interface. This design involves a great amount of work, and I expect to finish it in seven months plus half a year of debugging. I persist to carry out all the tasks from the very beginning to the very end all by myself. Those tasks include the design of every step, printed circuit board wiring and research of datasheets about chips. I believe the capability to design and make a multi-layer circuit board can increase the competence of a researcher in electronic engineering. Teamwork is, of course, of fundamental importance, but I am also profoundly aware that the spirit of independence is necessary to strengthen a researcher’s capacities and skills from time to time.

As a matter of fact, I have been enlightened so much by works of famous Western engineers from the perspectives of their train of thoughts and techniques. For example, during our exploration of a vertical/short takeoff and landing aircraft, we learned from the idea of a NASA engineer called James A. Franklin about a compartmental modeling method that starts from a control signal to the issue of speed, and then from the issue of speed to the issue of thrust. Moreover, I have realized that during our research, the application of theory is often hindered by our limited equipment. I hope that there are platforms for me to examine my theoretical creations, such as a model to truly carry airborne equipment and an intelligent vehicle or robot for moving equipment, and platforms for me to collect raw data in person instead of verifying the data of others! The combination of the best engineering faculty and cutting-edge facilities at a first-rate institution like yours is the best driving force for my resolution to pursue PhD training under your guidance.

When it comes to my future research, I am confident that it will mainly be different from my present work on the control object. If possible, I wish to continue my study on the modeling of an aircraft. For example, I would like to work on the establishment of a relatively universal accurate mathematical modeling and identification method, the modeling and system identification of a higher-order system, such as a vertical/short takeoff and landing aircraft that has intense coupling among its multi-servos, and theoretical improvement of the current modeling method for a typical higher-order system. In addition, I want to study correlating control theories for complex systems, apply controllers that combine DSP and FPGA to systems more complicated than those I have studied, such as flexible robots, and investigate new types of aircraft, robots and intelligent vehicles.

I completely understand my responsibilities, aptitudes, potential and also my passion for attaining all my study plans, in consideration of which, I believe I will never be defeated!

4. PhD Study in National Economics

With tremendous effort and dedication, from elementary school to graduate school, I have grown up with a spate of accolades. On this rocky road to success, I always strive to reach a higher level of education and accomplishments and fortunately each time I can achieve my aspiration with iron persistence. In the national college entrance examinations, I ranked the 3rd in more than 4000 students in the county. Moreover, I passed the national graduate school entrance examinations with the highest score in 537 applicants from all over China. Now, I have absolute confidence in my next ambition that is to enter your famous PhD Program in national economics. Ready I am!

In my freshman year of college, by studying complex communication systems and polishing my skills on both software and hardware, I gradually developed the ability to think logically and abstractly, to process a large amount of information highly efficiently, and to manage complicated issues with a sober mind and by scientific approaches and especially with the aid of computer software. All of these, I believe, will significantly help me with my future PhD study in the field of national economics. In addition, I ever participated in the National Mathematics Modeling Competition in 2004 and thereby improved my overall capacity and the ability to analyze and solve demanding difficulties.

In the meantime, I obtained two valuable capabilities that are to think and to study independently by taking courses like Signal & System and Training in Electronic Design. As the most basic and essential course of electronic and electrical engineering, Signal & System guided me to transform my original simplex way of thinking into a more comprehensive one, and to truly savvy the charm of independent reflection. In the course of Training in Electronic Design, my problem-solving and hands-on abilities were further enhanced. Then, in order to taste the pith and marrow of novel English literatures, I perused the book named Signals and Systems written by Alan V. Oppenheim, et al, Information Theory and Reliable Communication, and so on.

Besides my odyssey in electronic engineering, I also tested the extreme of my ability in another field, international trade, in my junior and senior year even though my study load was exceptionally heavy. In my spare time, I concentrated on this field and elected to take more than a dozen courses. On one hand, I broadened my horizon and explored different thinking styles; on the other hand, I learnt to ponder over my major from an interdisciplinary perspective. Even though my dedication to this minor influenced my major GPA, I know everything has two faces and I have absolute confidence in my attainments.

With regard to extracurricular activities, I participated in them as many as possible among which the National College Student Innovative Undertaking Design Competition was a most significant one. I organized and supervised a team with five members from different colleges and programs. Besides working out a composite project report that should cover regulations, plans, finance and risk designs for a simulated company, we also investigated and studied the market. In two months, in order to obtain most valuable data, we rode bikes, traveled all over the Xi’an City, and spent more than 16 hours per day for two weeks.

Often, I didn’t have time to eat a meal while encountering various difficulties. But, I never gave it up. With devotion and intelligence, we finally completed a strategy report that combined knowledge in finance, accounting, electronic techniques, marketing and financial risk management. In retrospection, I realized what I had gained in this competition were not merely honors, but a more precious treasure in my life, an experience of striving for success, leading a team and cooperating with a group of people towards a common goal. Therefore, I always felicitate myself for being able to grow at all levels.

Furthermore, it is exactly this experience that enabled me to believe that as a modern professional into science and technology, I should also have the knowledge in economics and management in order to develop and gain control over techniques from an economic and managerial perspective. As a result, after my graduation from university, I was enrolled in the graduate program in Technical Economics and Management at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. There, I further reinforced my multidisciplinary background and mastered skills to analyze scientific issues with economic and managerial viewpoints.

During my full-time work at ZTE Corporation, as a Business Manager, I was responsible for developing business strategies for the company, and went all over the country to participate in all kinds of business negotiations. This work experience was valuable in that it provided me with plenty of opportunities to integrate theory in economics and management with practice. Afterward, I became an honored civil servant and started to work at Liaocheng Municipal Development & Reform Committee. Here, I am mainly responsible for high-tech industries. I am more aware than ever of the tremendous impact that government behaviors have on the national economy. In addition, for the first time, I understand profoundly how important it is that a governmental decision maker has the combined knowledge of economics, science and technology as well as integrated views in them.

It is well-known that China is currently in an economic transition period so that lots of economic researches about diverse industries and especially high-tech industries are required to analyze the current economic situation, and thereby corresponding appropriate policy recommendations are needed. However, the central characters of the Chinese government mainly have a background in science. In light of this, I believe it is an opportunity for me to pursue a PhD study in national economics. More importantly, after my three-year systematically graduate training in economics & management and my past career life at the local governmental sector, I found that I have a true passion for the field of national economics and yearn to explore it more profoundly than ever so as to become a governmental decision maker or analyst in the future.

Right at this turning point of life, with enduring courage and perseverance, I am confident that my future PhD study in national economics will be a new beginning for me to march toward a more brilliant future and it definitely will be another milestone in my life.

5. PhD Study in Material Science / Thermal Convection

Seek hope in despair, and life will be splendid finally. When bias flow occurred in a simulation experiment by the Fluent software and none of my advisor and fellows could explain this phenomenon, I recited these words of a famous Chinese leader of industry to encourage me to hang on. For one month, I consulted a great number of references, modified the partition of lattice and adjusted software parameters. Eventually, it is shown that when the coefficient of relaxation is bigger than the default value, bias flow will happen. Coefficient of relaxation is a parameter that normally does not need to be altered. To prove this, I conducted a control experiment on a vertical model without changing all the other parameters including this coefficient, and bias flow didn’t take place as expected. This instance hence taught me to understand each relevant parameter thoroughly, and that success comes from my taking up challenge with full self-confidence.

I have simulated three dimensionally metal flow and solidification in continuous bloom casting with electromagnetic stirring for nearly two years. It is well known that there are few studies in China about true three dimensional simulation of continuous bloom casting with electromagnetic stirring on a curved continuous caster, and that in most of the similar numerical simulation experiments in China, a curved continuous caster is simplified to a two dimensional or a three dimensional vertical model, which often causes deviation of the experimental result from the reality. As such, difficulties and setbacks are inevitable for me.

All by myself, I devised plans to carry out the project like exploiting the Fluent software to simulate fluid flow and solidification and utilizing ANSYS software to calculate the magnetic field at the same time, and realizing the coupling of the two simulation results by spatial interpolation, a method in the field of geology. More importantly, many times especially when dealing with details, I must have my own or even novel ideas, without any experience of others to learn from, for example, regarding how to incorporate boundary condition into the software calculation by computer programming, besides the bias flow problem. It took me three days to obtain one result, and eight times to obtain a correct result. However, all obstacles were defeated by me finally, for my iron insistence.

In the year 2008, I was chosen with honor to participate in DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) Sino-German Summer School of the Thermohydrodynamics Training together with other 45 graduate students some of whom were even PhD students from four famous Chinese universities. It was a valuable opportunity for me to enhance my preparation in thermohydrodynamics, and to be encouraged by my German professor to apply for a PhD under his supervision. Both Professor A’s project and my graduate project involve turbulent convection and use software like Fluent and CFX in which I am proficient. Moreover, my future project – numerical simulations of the velocity field in turbulent Rayleigh Bénard convection – in his lab will be exactly about simulation which is my niche and passion.

Besides research, as a loyal Catholic, I am ardent to take part in charity and volunteer work. Last year, I practiced at Leper Village of Yunnan Province, teaching grandchildren of aged lepers. Even though this experience only occupied a tiny amount of time in my life, it has become my lifelong memory of courage and social responsibility. The great contrast between the people there haunted by poverty, backwardness and diseases who only appeared on news before and the beautiful landscapes I see around me in the rest of China shocked me to reflect that the real development of a nation is determined by its people from the lower part of the society. Feeling fortunate, I love life and cherish any gateways to better education more than ever, and hope to create more opportunities for those who ever touched my heart.

6. PhD Study in Nutrition

Self-independence and self-reliance are what I have been edified by my mother who rose from the gutter, and is the principal of a municipal central primary school, ever since I was a little child. As early as five years old, I shared household chores with my parents like shopping alone. Till now, I have been living on my own for more than ten years. Exactly because of these two qualities, I can strive and endeavor ceaselessly toward my scholarly goals with ease and skills all by myself. By these self-trainings, I am able to accustom myself to a new environment and plunge into new study tasks immediately. So will I, if offered the precious opportunity to pursue more profoundly and comprehensively at your first-rate university. I am confident!

Five years ago, my father ignited my appetite for food sciences by his creative and nutrition-balanced dishes. I was then in awe of the miraculous power of how commonplace raw materials are transformed to a variety of amazing and delicious food. To disclose these enigmatic processes, I frequented bookstores to collect pertinent publications, self-studying and practicing, just to quench my keenness and thirst. Not until I, content and ambitious, embarked successfully on the Program of Food Science & Engineering, did I apprehend thoroughly that food science is something more complex than education in cooking. It is in fact art about food crafts, processing and packaging, a series of courses that demand technical innovations and skills.

Among those subjects that have enlightened and enriched me, Food Storage and Preservation refreshed my know-how about the suitable chemicals or countermeasures to keep fruits and vegetables fresh. Curious of the mechanisms behind, I often reflected on how to exploit principles in physics or chemistry to invent new approaches. By dedication in the field of food processing and packaging, I got acquainted with skills of converting and refining unprocessed bits and pieces to those either familiar or unfamiliar to us. In the meantime, I couldn’t help but try my artistic talents. By studying food additives, I understood how different ingredients interact with each other and their correlations with physiology.

With much follow-up experimentation, I found that the process of integrating theory with practice is more magical than the knowledge itself. In experiments about cereals and oils processing, my dream of producing delicate and tasty pastry was satisfied. Even now, I can still recall how difficult it was for me to elect to take this course when it had begun for nearly one month. To persuade the teacher and assure him of my passion, I consulted lots of documents and articles in the library and mastered the fundamental procedures to make several kinds of cakes and bread. Finally, I was accepted by him, grasped the mechanics of brewage and fermentation, and baked bread successfully.

Though busy enough in study and student works, I trained myself in a few research projects. For example, in 2006, I participated in the study of a natural deacetylated konjac glucomannan (da-KGM) antibacterial membrane and its applications. This is a project that mainly investigated how to process konjac glucomannan to produce the membrane. In short, konjac glucomannan is deacetylated. Then, fortifier, plasticizer and emulsifier are added to the processed sample to improve its properties. Finally, a kind of bacteriostatic agent is added. In the meanwhile, the influence of pH on the membrane’s performance was probed. Its processing as well as its application in preserving strawberries was studied. Moreover, it is found that the combination of chitosan and the da-KGM antibacterial membrane has significant effects in preserving strawberries.

When I searched pertinent articles in the library, I found there were rare reports on processing a KGM composite membrane and on exploring da-KGM composite membranes. Therefore, this research has some significance and prospect. To get acquainted with the experimental equipment and analysis approaches required by this series of investigations, I referred to a variety of documents, and finally mastered skills on operating a spectrophotometer, centrifuges, and so on, and on determining contents like organic acids, soluble polysaccharides, soluble proteins, vitamin C and soluble solid substances, etc. These trainings have helped me ground myself well in my chosen field.

During the last academic year, I took part in a project exclusive for college students at Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University that was titled Studies of the Qualities of Condensed Litchi Juice in Storage. It was the first time for me to work at the Institute of Food Science & Technology affiliated to Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University. By studying the chromaticity value, the stability of the juice and the microbes in it during its storage, and by ultra-pressure processing and multiple control experiments, a very effective processing method was produced. It was predicted that this method can help to preserve the juice under more normal conditions while saving its flavor and most of its nutrition.

According to an authority in the global realm of food sciences, great food and great nutrition are two sides of one coin. In advanced Western countries, to adapt to the requirements and tendencies of people, scientific research, manufacture, sales and service related to food nutrition has become a giant industry. However, on the word of The 4th Investigation of Chinese Residents’ Nutrition and Health, Chinese people are facing the double challenge of deficiency in nutrition and poor nutritional balance. This showcases that China’s overall practice and research in nutrition doesn’t keep pace with its economic development.

Nevertheless, with more than a thousand years of food history and culture, China has some significant advantages over others. Firstly, it has much experience in labor-centered industries especially those relying on agricultural crops. Secondly, the consumption of either traditional or novel food products has deep cultural roots. For the reasons mentioned above, I aspire to engage in the PhD study in nutrition so as to satisfy Chinese people’ ever-growing needs and introduce to them healthy and scientific provisions. To improve the general people’s awareness, the nation is speeding up its establishment and legislation of pertinent law like Legislation for the Enhancement of Citizens’ Nutrition and Law of Nutritionist. I hope, after my future overseas study at your esteemed institution, I can participate in all these earth-shaking reforms and bring forth the image of a leading nutritionist in mint condition to all the other Chinese.

Knowledge alters fate. This is what is shared by my mother and me. With motivation and determination to take the reins of more profound, integrated and comprehensive knowledge and techniques, I am confident I will march toward a more bright and promising destiny.

7. PhD Study in Physiology

My tours in the past twelve years have rendered me opportunities to quench my passion in nature and life sciences. Before each trip, I collected info about my destiny in the library or on the Internet after it was invented. Then, I would design my own itinerary and schedule. I like to walk the path no one has traveled, and to be showered by a view no one has enjoyed before. Many times, I picked my way across a rough and rocky hillside. Therefore, I have come cross a lot of rare animals and plants like the trimeresurus gramineus in the Green-Town Mountain and the giant centipede in Zhangjiajie. In this summer, when I was soaked in the rolling cloud around the Yellow Mountain, I understood that my comprehension of the world, my love for nature, and my motivation for exploring the unknown had been strengthened step-wisely.

The first year of my college life was adventurous in some sense. By mistake, I was enrolled in the Program of Nursing. For a few weeks, I was upset and frustrated. It was not my beloved life science. But, is it a dead end for me? Would it be unconventional for a Chinese student to transfer to another program? I asked these questions to myself. It could be a necessary training for my future development in my chosen field. I realized this especially after I started to study courses in anatomy, histology, embryology and pathogenic microbiology. Finally, after one year of devoted preparation, I passed the entrance examinations of the best class of the School of Life Science at A University, as I wish.

There was another story about struggle in my second year. At that time, the tasks on my shoulder were doubled because I had to catch up with my classmates while making up time for the first-year courses of the school. I attended eleven or even thirteen lessons a day, more than seventy lectures per week, and took about ten examinations continuously. I was exhausted, but happy. More importantly, I found I was attracted to what I was learning truly. When pressure was transformed to impetus, the result was