Please evaluate first draft of my SOP for Physics Graduate program

[Sunandan Malviya]

(A word document is also attached at the end of the same if this seems too shabby).

During my earliest childhood the most important kind of knowledge that I received came to me,
rather informally, through the discussions and debates with my dad. As such, asking questions
has become an integral part of my personality. The conversations on philosophy, spirituality and
religion that I have had as a child with my dad have played a major part in shaping me into who I
am today – a critical thinking, curious and reflective individual. My passion for Physics kindled
when I embarked on a journey with Morgan Freeman ‘Through the Wormhole’ while trying to
search for new cartoon channels on my television set. It immediately hooked me. To me as an
eleven-year old the appeal naturally was not intellectual but emotional. ‘How can something be
so big that it makes such a big Earth look like nothing?’ such were the questions that started
settling in my inquisitive young mind. I had decided early on to pursue something that would
present pictures of such marvellous nature to my mind. To me on a personal level, Physics has an appeal of a holy kind not much distinguishable from that of spirituality and philosophy.
 I am highly interested in Theoretical Physics and want to pursue the Physics PhD program
in your esteemed institution. My primary interest is in the Atomic, Molecular and Optical area of
research, particularly in the field of Quantum Optics. I have recently started working under two professors on a project in Quantum Optics. The bases of this project is the paper “Effects of
linear and quadratic dispersive couplings on optical squeezing in an optomechanical
system” published in Physical Review in 2015. The aim of this paper was to study the
quadrature squeezing in the presence of both the linear and the quadratic coupling
simultaneously. This facilitates strong squeezing without the requirement of introducing extradegrees of freedom which is usually necessary. Since the project was started recently I am only vaguely familiar with many of its technicalities. As such the initial aim assigned to me is to get familiar with the formalism and application of optomechanical systems and to try to reproduce this paper only with the linear coupling .I have been made familiar with the interpretation of the Hamiltonian used in the paper and have derived the rate equations for position ,momentum and
annihilation and creation operators using the Quantum Langevin equation .Further separating
each operator in its steady state and fluctuation components , led to a set of non-linear algebraic
equations where I had to ignore the non-linear terms and proceed to form the third order polynomial equation of intensity in terms of power corresponding to the Bi Stability of the
system. This is what has been done so far by me and the project is in progress. After the initial aim is achieved, the objective is to extend this study using Optical Vortex beams. Even though I am new to this field and have much to learn, I am highly motivated in pursuing this field since it is still growing and is very interesting.One of the areas in which The Taylor Research Group is doing research at the quantum limits of measurement with the help of quantum optomechanical sensors . Since the project I am doing deals with strong squeezing in optomechanical systems leading to ultra-sensitive measurements I believe I can learn a lot in the Taylor Research Group and also contribute in this area.

        In terms of diversity, I have a lot to bring to the table. My dad is a Hindu while my mom a
Muslim. I have spent my youth years in Goa, a state prevalent in Christian community with a
mix of Portuguese culture. Growing up among such diverse religious communities has imbued
my personality with diverse values making it flexible, tolerant and accepting. Having been born
in the capital of the most populous state in North India and later moving to a Southern State, I
have experienced the diverse regional cultures of my country as well. I was never an excellent
student in my hometown. When I moved to Goa in the eighth grade the drastically different
culture , community and the flurry of new interactions with students and teachers propelled
me to make an identity of my own.This new experience pushed me to become an excellent
student. Since then I excelled throughout my academia while also actively participating in
co-curricular activities such as being part of the school football team.
After completing my tenth grade I went back to my hometown to complete the rest of my
studies as it had better Science oriented schools. There ,being a top student of my batch ,I was
selected to be a part of the Sakura Science Exchange Program (SSP) 2016 , where a group of
students were taken to Japan to provide exposure to Japanese technological agencies,
laboratories and museums. This was a very enriching experience. Not only did it boost my
passion for Physics but also made me realise the importance of being part of a global scientific
community in order to contribute in this field. Two particular experiences had a major impact on
me. First was when we visited a lab in Hokkaido University where the research scientist told us
about the wide-range of applications of Photonics such as particle spectroscopy, optical sensing
and bio-imaging using fluorescent probes among other things. The information was brief and not
very technical but it clearly made me interested in areas concerning light-matter interactions. The
second one was in JAXA, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. There the lead researcherexplained to us that a major problem for JAXA was the need for young members as the space
exploration projects are very long term and scientists who start a project usually get very old till
it gets completed. Due to this they designed international programs such as SSP that made
international students familiar with Japan and encouraged them to be a part of its educational and
cultural body. This was a problem particular to Japan since the median age is high there. But this
made me realise the importance of being part of an international community where individual
shortcomings can be replaced by combined contributions. Physics is a science aimed at unifying
different aspects of nature and with the same spirit of unity and interconnectedness should we
pursue it. These were the motivations for trying to be part of a diverse and global community of
Science, an aspect in which University of Maryland is considered ideal.
I aced my twelfth Board Examination and was All India Rank 4 with a 100 in Physics
due to which I received the INSPIRE Scholarship. In college, I participated in an NGO named
National Service Society (NSS) and was part of their Environment and Disaster Wing. We
organised marches for public awareness and Plogging drives. We also visited orphanages ,old
age homes and provided left-over food to stray animals. Working for NSS made it clear that no
matter the field or the walk of life to which a person belongs, service to society remains the
highest of ideals.The various events organised by University of Maryland such as the Outreach
program and Maryland Day seem enriching and exciting. I hope to participate in these for my
holistic development and for giving back to the community. I also hope to get involved in
Graduate Student Organizations like the Mental Health Task Force and the Women in
Physics Group which aim at serving the student community. While in college I also was a
member of LUMEN, The Physics and Electronics Society and took part in discussions and
presentations. In the First year I took part in ‘Unearth’ where I gave a qualitative presentation on
‘Quantum Entanglement’ among students of different colleges. I have been a meticulous
,engaging and passionate student and hope to maintain this boundless energy for future
endeavours as well.
 After completing my PhD, I aim to research further in this field of Quantum Optics. I
also plan to take the ideas of this field to places where it's relatively new and just growing as in
my own country. In terms of its community and research UMD stands out particularly
distinguished and thus I believe it would be instrumental in helping me achieve my future goals.
My father often tells me that the divinity of one’s soul can be realised by the sanctity of one’s
work. Such efforts and work is what I hope to bring to your institution.

( I have also added a word document of the same if the above seems shabby)

SOP UMD.docx

Edited September 20, 2020 by Sunandan Malviya

[jl6238]

Hi Sunandan, 

I am happy to help you with your SOP. To better help, can you PM me some more details about the program you're interested in? And I can also give you private feedback.

[Sunandan Malviya]

Sorry for the late reply. If you are still interested that would be a huge help. Thanks a lot.

How should I 'personal message' you ?

I am still writing about my program here just in case by pm u meant here:

I am interested in applying to Physics PhD Program. I am  currently enrolled in a Bachelors degree.

Edited October 24, 2020 by Sunandan Malviya