Statement

of Purpose
Xiaodan Shen

I believe I am a born engineer. Unlike other girls, I am obsessed with logical thinking. From deeply
fathoming one theory to perfectly applying it into practice, I find my peace and enjoy the feeling of
making a difference to this world. Therefore, after four years' study in the Department of Optical
Engineering in Zhejiang University, I make up my mind to apply for the master degree of Electrical
Engineering in UCLA, with a faith to prepare myself for future career in electrical industry.

The three months' 2014 summer internship in the University of Alberta, Canada was an memorable
experience to me. I stood out from hundreds of applicants all over China and finally succeeded in
application with a national funding provided by the China Scholarship Council (CSC). My project aimed
to design, optimize, assemble and test an optical system for optical dipole trapping under the
supervision of Pro. Lindsay LeBlanc. After fully realizing the principle of optical dipole trapping, I
designed a high-precision trapping system by focusing two 1064nm beams at the same point with a
90-degree intersection. With further simulation by software Matlab and Origin, I worked out the
parameters of all optical devices and smoothly finished purchasing and assembling on my own.
Without surprise, testing results perfectly fitted the theoretical anticipation with a only
20-micrometer-wide beam waist, which means I perfectly accomplished my internship tasks.

This three-month-long internship presents me a new way of being a versatile engineer, going abroad
for a master degree of Electrical Engineering. Given that I would like to focus on electrical circuits in
my graduate study and have a strong interest in circuits and embedded system, I decide to choose
circuits and embedded system as my track. I have established a profound friendship with Pro. Lindsay
LeBlanc during this summer and her approval of my decision gives me a lot of confidence and
courage.

In lecture "Microcomputer System Design and Application", I designed a speed and frequency test
system based on 80C51 chip. I used HD7279A, one kind of keyboard management chips to select
different modes and displayed the current test results on one LCD screen constantly. My coding
cleverly made full use of array and therefore saved a lot of memory, which helped me rank No. 2 in
the final evaluation. Through this course project, I find I have a nature enthusiasm for embedded
system design. I could stay in the lab for six hours in order to optimize the design and go to electronic
market looking for one device in hot summer. In my opinion, engineering is to make things easier,
which is exactly my final goal of studying circuits and embedded system and of being a electrical
engineer.

Another unforgotten encounter with electrical circuits is in lecture "Electric Circuit Design Lab", where
I used the knowledge of electric circuits to design and assemble an intelligent line-tracking car. My
line-tracking car skillfully took advantage of LEDs and photo-sensitive resistances to control the
motors, in order to keep car running exactly along the black line. In the final test, my car ran both
quickly and smoothly and reasonably won me a high grades.

What's more, my strong ability of learning and practice is the best quality to be an outstanding
engineer. I have taken part in the 6th National Energy Saving and Pollution Reducing Competition and
won the third prize among more than thousand teams. To cooperate with my teammates from the
Department of Energy Engineering, I had to grasp key knowledge of energy engineering and apply it
into optical design which I was in charge of. In addition, I have ever worked in Pro. Qing Yang's lab
helping graduate students with the research on nanowire ultraviolet light emitting diodes. I was
responsible for developing appropriate nanowires and taking basic optoelectronic property tests.
Although I was a junior year undergraduate, I quickly learnt these sophisticated skills and made myself
helpful in the research. At last, I become a third author of the paper "High efficiency single Ag
nanowire/p-GaN substrate Schottky junction-based ultraviolet light emitting diodes", which is
absolutely an extraordinary honor to undergraduate students in China.

As for the potential faculty mentor and specific research interests, based on my final goal ---- making
things easier, I would like to choose Pro. Mani B Srivastava and his work in Networked and Embedded
Systems. His group's contribution on low-power and energy-aware embedded systems attracts me so
much that I wish I can join them and make a difference.

Holding the belief that I am a born engineer, I wish to get a deeper and comprehensive understanding
of electrical circuits and catch up with the most advanced technology in electrical field when pursuing
the master degree in Electrical Engineering, UCLA. I would devote myself into professional practice in
electrical field after finishing master degree and become a real engineer to make things easier for
everyone in the world.