Chemistry PhD SOP

[paulnguyen]

Hi guys, here is my personal statement for a Chemistry PhD. program.

Please take a look and give me some feedback. I appreciate any help! I can also look at yours and give feedback if you wish.

Thanks!!!!

A little bit about my application: GPA: 3.70, major GPA: 3.75. GRE general: 150 V, 165 Q.

Although my GRE is not that high, my research professor told me to aim to top inorganic chemistry programs because of my strong research experience and the fact that English is not my first language + I take >17hrs every semester since I transferred to my current university in junior year. 

 

My nomadic life began at the age of 16 when I left my hometown to move to the biggest city in my home country, [name of the country]. Since that day, I have lived in 5 cities and traveled to 4 countries and 12 states in America. Change is my lifestyle. However, 3 things that never change in me are passion, curiosity, and a strong work ethic. With these values, I have not only overcome all obstacles from integrating into new communities but also set myself up to be ready for any challenge I will encounter in the future.

My passion for chemistry is ignited by my father who is a veterinarian. I grew up helping him capping scintillation vials and watching him working with animal drugs and I was genuinely fascinated about how science impacts life and wished to be a veterinarian when I grow up. That preliminary dream motivated me to study science early in my life, which led to my first two academic achievements at the [Name of the competition] Provincial Chemistry Competition for Middle School Students and the [Name of the competition] Math Competition when I was 15. I was one of the two contestants who got the highest score on the chemistry competition and was selected for a scholarship to study at the provincial high school for talented students. However, I declined the offer.

It is not fortuitous that I chose to dig more deeply into chemistry instead of sticking with my childhood plan of becoming a veterinarian. The more I learned about chemistry, the more I wanted to create. I wanted to create new chemicals that could change the world. Not so long after I won the chemistry competition, I realized this childish dream would not be practical if I kept staying in my hometown. I declined the high school for talented students offer to seek better opportunities in a bigger city. I attended a private high school and had a chance to do hands-on chemistry experiments twice a week participate in city science fairs and meet people from top universities in my country. I was also introduced to overseas education which excited my curiosity about the academic environment and life in the other hemisphere. To satisfy my curiosity, I went to the U.S. after graduating from high school.

Spending my first 2 years of college at a community college where research opportunities are not available, I tried to get into some short-term chemistry research programs and industrial internships, but it is hard because of my citizenship status. At the same time, I found a huge interest in sharing my knowledge and helping people. I joined the science and writing tutor teams and developed professionalism in tutoring chemistry and math, editing students’ academic papers, and communication with my colleagues. To me, the purpose of gaining new knowledge is to share knowledge. That is my motivation for dedicating most of my college time to teaching and tutoring. I ended my first period of college with the honor of being selected as the outstanding student at [H] College for my contributions to the community.

I transferred to [University___X] with intentions of looking for research opportunities and experiencing the south of the U.S., but the passion for teaching is still in me. Throughout the semesters, I operated Peer-leading team learning sessions to help students in the Inorganic Chemistry course and I became a mentor to support first-year chemistry students. These teaching and mentoring opportunities not only improve my skills but also put me in a position where I always have to update my knowledge. Also, here at [University___X] , I discovered another passion of mine. I joined Dr. [Dr. A]'s research group and was surprised by how immature I was. Little did I know that the way chemistry changes the world is not as loud as a speech from a political figure nor as emotional as a song from a singer. Chemistry changes the world on a molecular scale that most people do not even recognize. Here, I found my passion and curiosity of synthesizing molecules that can contribute to the growth of chemistry and society.

In [Dr. A]’s lab, [Dr. B] and I studied the syntheses and characterizations of a class of sandwich-type mononuclear lanthanide single-molecule magnets which possesses high degrees of axial symmetry and exhibits novel magnetic properties. In this project, I learned air-sensitive manipulations, glovebox and Schlenk line techniques along with the uses of NMR, IR, UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID). As this is my first research experience, I was also taught how to plan and organize reactions before running them. My most appreciation for this project goes to the lanthanide elements. Because I did not learn a lot about lanthanides in undergraduate courses, this project made me curious about these interesting metals. This research experience also expanded my knowledge of magnetism and methods to design single-molecule magnets. Furthermore, the most important thing I got from this project is that I can finally identify my chemistry forte, which is synthetic inorganic chemistry.

I continued my research journey by joining [Dr. C]’s lab. Here, I jumped into a new and fascinating project which focuses on syntheses of bio-inspired compounds that display catalytic activities for CO₂ reduction and hydrogen production. Specifically, I investigated the synthesis of an unprecedented manganese compound with an [name of the ligand] ligand which, for the first time, shows a switching in the binding mode of the [name of the ligand] ligand from a tetradentate [x] ligand to a binucleating tridentate [y] ligand. The unexpected result inspired me and my mentor, Mr. [Name], to figure out how it happened. I consider this project as an exploration because over the summer, I performed more than 50 reactions, set up numerous diffusion tubes for growing crystals, and waited weeks to see the formation of the crystals. Eventually, we figured out that the role of an extraneous metal is vital to facilitate or to template the formation of the novel manganese compound. The exploration gave results that not only answer our questions about the phenomenon and motivated us to produce an academic paper, but also teach me how valuable and important patience, hard work, and critical thinking are in scientific research. The more I am excited about the results, the more I want to share them. I gave oral and poster presentations at three undergraduate research symposiums at the three biggest universities in Texas. In addition, further study of this project is also my undergraduate thesis that I am working on. This project has prepared me for graduate school in two major ways. First, I have gained strong skills and knowledge in synthetic inorganic chemistry which also reflects my interests in this subject. Second, I have learned how to effectively describe and interpret my research to audiences with different academic backgrounds and in different forms of presentations.

Now I know that I can create and synthesize molecules and I want to create and synthesize more. My research experience has shown me how beautiful, important, and versatile compounds of transition metals (including lanthanides and actinides) can be. I want to keep synthesizing more coordination complexes and discover their applications from their structural, electrochemical, and magnetic properties. This, in addition to my passion for teaching, fosters my interest in pursuing a Ph.D. degree in chemistry, and [University___Y] is where I want to be to achieve this goal.

Choosing inorganic chemistry as the concentration, I understand it is an interdisciplinary subject that requires knowledge in biology, physics, and materials science. I also understand that the synthesis skill that I have is not enough to solve recondite problems in real life. To do that, I need to understand problems at an interdisciplinary level.  At [University___Y] , I believe I will have a chance to work toward that goal because every research group in inorganic chemistry here has a diverse research profile. My first attention is brought to Dr. [D] because her group has worked with single-molecule magnets. Moreover, I also want to be a part of her journey in quantum information science by approaching via coordination chemistry. Besides, I am also interested in Dr. [E]’s group where I can both be exposed to a variety of innovative chemical fields such as nanomaterials and nanolithography, and improve my synthesis root in coordination chemistry. Dr. [F]’s research group is also appealing to me due to their works in transition metals complexes. The [F] group can be a good place for me to utilize my passion for synthetic inorganic chemistry to apply to biological and medical fields.

Committing several years for chemistry is not an easy decision but I am confident that I have enough passion, curiosity, and a strong work ethic for this challenge. Although my life has involved a lot of moving, since the day I realized the beauty and the importance of inorganic chemistry I always have a consistent goal of becoming an influential and dedicated chemist. Pursuing a Ph.D. degree from [University___Y] is a significant step toward my future.

 

 

BEST!!!