SOP Help

[lkh5650]

Hi guys... This was the SOP i prepared for Berkeley

I dont think its good and i need some help!

I am thinking of modifying this for other schools (1000 words limit)

but also, I have to write one for MIT and that one is alittle bit different

for MIT it says

"Please give your reasons for wishing to do graduate work in the field you have chosen. Prepare your statement of objectives and goals in whatever form clearly presents your views. Include as far as you can, your particular interests, be they experimental, theoretical, or issue-oriented, and show how your background and MIT's programs support these interests. The statement could be much like a proposal for graduate studies, in the more specific context of your professional objectives. You should set forth the issues and problems you wish to address. Explain your longer-term professional goals. The Admissions Committee will welcome any factors you wish to bring to its attention concerning your academic and work experience to date. (500 word limit)"

do you think i can modify my current one and use it for MIT? or should i just write a new one, if so what should i have in mind while writing it?

also please leave me comments on how i can improve my berkeley sop so i can fix it and submit it for other schools

thanks so much

Nanotechnology has captivated me since high-school. A multi-disciplinary field with tremendous research potential and industrial applications, the numerous aspects in the field remain a mystery for present day researchers. The unmapped domains has been the primary driving force for me to investigate this field – overcoming challenges requiring development of novel tools, theories, and models to solve. A passion arising from the need to acquire knowledge spanning across several disciplines, including biochemistry, electronics, and materials science at the molecular level.

My passion for the innovation and the unknown led me to Nanotechnology Engineering for my undergraduate education where I began a four-month internship with Dr. X in chemical engineering during the summer of 2008. I continued working with Dr. X for three additional internships investigating upon plasticity of low melting point metals, in particular indium. During the course of internships, I gained valuable research skills which include critical thinking, attention to detail and problem solving skills. Dr. X consistently would ask me “Can you bet your life on it”. This has led me to always carefully inspect my results, consider all the possibilities and never shoot down ideas. I am committed and passionate about my research where I spent numerous hours reading journals, text-books and discussion with fellow peers. My hard work ethic led me to the finding of extrusion like deformation mechanism of indium pristine nanostructures which was contrary to dislocation driven deformation pattern found by others. The results exhibited two types of compression strength where one demonstrated pronounced size effect like others and the other demonstrated bulk-like behaviour. As a result, I was able to publish two first author and a co-author manuscripts in well-recognized journals.

During the internships, I have gained diverse experiences through collaborations with other research groups: Dr. Y’s group at Stanford University and Dr. Z’s group at California Institute of Technology. I have stayed at Caltech for extended period of time in order to perform mechanical characterization of my indium nanostructures utilizing nano-indenter as Dr. X’s group did not have the instrument. I had opportunities to interact with various scientists in Dr. Z’s group in weekly group meetings and present progress of my work to the group. At Stanford, ex-situ compression study was performed on indium nanostructures to observe the dislocations nucleation and propagation using µXRD from Laurence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). I was responsible for the logistics of the project and compression tests where I gained experiences in research project planning.

In addition, my second last internship was at the pharmaceutical company, Apotex, where I was responsible for optimization of processes in regards to adverse drug effect reporting system. This experience strengthened my resolve to pursue graduate studies. I preferred the informal atmosphere where there is a lot of possibilities to apply basic science concepts. Therefore in subsequent work term, I decided to return to research environment and obtain a position in Canadian National Lab. My last internship was held at Natural Resources Canada Material Technology Laboratory (NRCAN MTL) where I was exposed to and gained interest in the energy field of nanoscale material science such as photocatalyst, thermoelectric and fuel cells. It was intriguing to see the employment of nanomaterials in energy field to generate useful application for society. I was specifically working on TiO₂ photocatalyst to increase its photo-conversion efficiency by synthesizing TiO₂ into arrays of nanotube and modifying the band-gap energy by anion doping. From this position, I have developed my other area of skills such as research proposal, funding requests, project planning, and presentation skills.

All of my research and academic experiences made me desire to pursue further knowledge in nanoscale materials science. Various research projects in University of California at Berkeley are fascinating and the quality of research projects through collaborations with LBNL is tremendous. The luxury of collaborating with LBNL opens up the opportunities to explore the various research projects which would not be possible at other places such as µXRD work utilizing synchrotron beam line. I would like to be the part of this active research community establishing many scientific breakthroughs utilizing these advanced instruments and resources. As well, the beautiful campus and city with nice weather are also attractive. I am interested in extending my knowledge in mechanical deformation of other nanostructures such as nanocrystalline nanospheres by Dr. Daryl C. Chrzan and nanowires by Dr. Andrew Minor utilizing in-situ transmission electron microscope instrument. Also, from my internship placement at NRCAN, I have developed keen interests in energy related materials science as the future application employing the scientific discoveries can benefit society and lessen the current energy problem. I am very intrigued in thermoelectric materials and the work of Dr. Ron Gronsky and Dr. Peidong Yang on utilization of nanowires on thermoelectric materials in order to improve the efficiency.

My future career goals are to establish new frontiers in the scientific understanding of nanomaterials and energy, where the discoveries made can then be employed to useful applications for the benefit of the environment and society. I believe that my hard work ethic and passion for challenges combined with the resources available and community at University of California at Berkeley, I can achieve my research goals.

* Professor Y&Z mentioned in this SOP are big shots in nanomechanics field..(like everyone in the field would know them, so is it wise that i mention their name)