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harshyjawale

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  • Location
    India
  • Application Season
    2015 Fall
  • Program
    PhD in Chemistry

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  1. Hello friends, I would be grateful to anyone who can evaluate my SOP and leave their valuable suggestions or edits. Statement of Purpose Chemical reactions are ubiquitous. When I typed this document, my muscles did a chemical reaction on sugars to give me the energy I needed. When you read this statement, your eyes were using retinal, an organic compound which converts visible light into nerve impulses. When you understood, the gaps between your brain cells were being bridged by simple organic molecules called ‘neurotransmitter amines’. We do not understand these processes but we carry them out in our mind and body efficiently. No chemist, however brilliant, understands all the minute details of chemistry in the universe. However, for a chemist the wonder and excitement lies in the fact that the universe is one gargantuan lab. It is this that motivates me to learn chemistry in my journey of education with a medium as good as the Duke University. Mathematics and Chemistry have been my favourite subjects ever since the school days, when I tried every avenue to learn more about them. This led me to participate in many workshops and lectures by preeminent Indian scholars on both of them. Over a period of time, my curiosity regarding several natural phenomena evolved into choosing a career in Chemistry. I suspect that since my father holds a Masters in Organic chemistry, initiation towards the subject and a subsequent development happened by osmosis right from my childhood. I opted for Chemistry major at V G Vaze College, one of the best chemistry departments in the University of Mumbai. The three wonderful years I spent there had a sweet ending - I stood first in the final year! Encouraged by this, I chose to apply to the two year Masters in Chemistry program at the reputed Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT/UDCT), Mumbai. By focusing on the joys of Chemistry and letting curiosity and good mentors be my guiding stars, I graduated in June 2014 and was placed 3rd in my class. As a means to further my education and achieve my ambition of becoming a world class chemist, I plan to pursue a PhD in Organic chemistry from a reputed institution like yours. I was fortunate to be in one of the few institutes in India where research work at the master’s level is not only made possible but encouraged. I choose to study Nature’s wonderful catalysts – enzymes – and their role in catalysing organic reactions. Dr. Bhalchandra M. Bhanage was generous in his time by mentoring and overseeing my work in ‘Studies of polyvinyl alcohol and chitosan based immobilized lipase for synthesis of anisyl propionate, characterization, activity, optimization and application studies’ spread over the one year of 2013 -2014. Methodology development along with organic synthesis constituted the two parts of my research project. In the project, I learnt to use enzymes to synthesize several industrially important compounds used in flavours and fragrances. I was delighted in developing a new enzyme-polymer blend combination which successfully gave high selectivity and yields of the products. It was gratifying to combine the selectivity of enzymes with the high yields expected of reactions used in the industry. This research experience made me very much hands on in carrying out organic reactions and gave me an in depth knowledge of enzymes. I also learnt to use and interpret data from SEM, FTIR, GC, GC-MS and UV. It made me realise the joys (and the occasional pain) of experimentation. In the future, the research would be useful in exploring different biochemical pathways for several organic reactions and also in promoting the industrial use of enzymes as catalysts. After my graduation, I have continued my research efforts in organic synthesis by exploring different biochemical pathways under the guidance of Dr. Bhalchandra M. Bhanage. One of the most significant achievements during my graduate tenure was when I had the honour of securing 2nd prize in the national level competition ‘Industry Defined Problem’. In this, I developed a novel, alternative and non-patent infringing method to synthesize an industrially important drug trans-zeaxanthin from an abundant drug trans-leutine. This highly cost effective and eco-friendly method won me several accolades and subsequently, the 2nd prize. Developing the methodology demanded creative designing abilities, literature surveys and out-of-the-box thinking all of which I believe, will revamp my research aptitude. Besides academics and research, I am actively involved in community service through an international organization called ‘Swadhyaya Pariwar’ (DAY in USA) for the past 7 years. As a part of this organization, I take part in street plays, elocution competitions, and social awareness drives throughout the year. This work has helped a lot in my personal growth as I have come to realise the value of teamwork, communication and having fun in the work I do. It is also humbling to see the diversity of challenges facing humanity and the brave efforts by a few in addressing these. Besides this, I also enjoy sports and travelling. Having already explored the enzymatic pathway for the synthesis of industrially important foods and flavour compounds, I plan to broaden my horizons by understanding the therapeutic importance of enzymes. Thus, I am very much interested in joining Duke University in pursuit of a doctoral program (PhD) in Organic chemistry, specifically under the guidance of Prof. Dewey G. McCafferty. His exceptional work on chromatin modifying enzymes, will help me to explore biologically inspired solutions in medicinal chemistry. My interest in medicinal chemistry arises because, I wish to contribute to the betterment of the society and I find the medium of medicinal chemistry to achieve my goals to be the most appropriate. Because, the world is plagued by illness and staying healthy and happy is a key to achieve prosperity. The area also represents fruitful opportunities for future research and a PhD in this area will help me channelize my efforts in the right direction. Hence, in future, I see myself as an independent researcher working with a dedicated research team in some premier institute. In my assessment, Duke University provides one of the most recognized graduate programs in Organic Chemistry in the USA. A good graduate program is indispensable for realizing a professional ambition of becoming a competent researcher. Therefore, greater availability of inter disciplinary research activities along with an excellent research team at your university will provide me a proper work environment congenial to research field and offer a broad spectrum of the field of Organic chemistry. Furthermore, the access to advanced facilities in your department will enable me to conduct my research using cutting-edge technologies. I see myself integrating at Duke University and I strongly believe that I will be successful in both completing my doctorate and contributing meaningful to the research endeavours at your university. P.S- One of the paragraph above is in red because I am not sure whether to include that in my SOP or not. Please suggest.
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