My name is XXX. I intend to get a Master's degree to achieve my goals of growing as a researcher and challenging myself intellectually with research problems. Find new answers to research problems.
The first time I seriously considered research was my sophomore year. I saw a presentation from a research engineer from Sandia national labs. She spoke about her experience in materials science and her research. She spoke about her academic history, studying aerospace engineering at Texas A &m with a focus on materials science. She spoke about the all the research projects she had the opportunity to be part of. I was particularly interested in this large, interdisciplinary project she had participated in to create next generation prosthetics using piezoelectric materials. I was fascinated by the autonomy she had to work with projects within and outside of aerospace and the variety of projects she had worked on. I was impressed at how she worked with international colleague from different disciplines and based in different nations to relate her designs. Her job resounded more strongly with me than any of the other speakers I had seen, so I knew I had to seek out research.
It was able to participate in an REU that summer, I was able to learn a lot, not only academically about materials science, but intellectually. I learnt how to approach research problems, how to work in groups and how to look for new insights when stuck in a rut. I grew to enjoy the challenge to research and concluded it was a good fit for me. I sought out many research opportunities and academic projects subsequently with the goal of improving my knowledge and having a broader base of knowledge for my research. I was able to participate in projects in Materials science, Aerodynamics, design and even biomedical engineering .I also learnt the virtues of time management and a strong work ethic.
My most recent project was in the National xxxxxxx lab. The goals of the labs are in characterizing high-speed gas dynamics, unsteady flows, and flows with thermal and chemical non-equilibrium effects. In support of this project, I worked with a team on the XXX Hypersonic Shock tunnel. The tunnel is used to in the study of chemical kinetics and performing aerodynamic tests. The shock tunnel is able to generate gases at temperatures and pressures that are not typically feasible with hypersonic blow down tunnels. I helped get the tunnel fully operational, perform initial tests and integrate laser diagnostic techniques in order to quantify background disturbance levels in the tunnel.I enjoyed the project greatly, particularly the interdisciplinary aspects of the project and the ability to work with my hands. My interests are broad, but I am particularly interested in aerodynamics, turbulence and interdisciplinary approaches to fluid dynamics
