Graduate / SOP for PhD. in printing or specifically printed electronics - Feedback/Comments [4]

Hi all,
I am new to this forum, I am applying for a PhD., Kindly comment on my SOP below. Your help will be highly appriciated.

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE:

My aim for the near future is to pursue my studies towards a PhD. My research interests include areas related to printing and more specifically printed electronics. Printed Electronics is relatively a new field of study which encompasses tremendous untapped potential in terms of wider audience, newer applications, and continual growth and development. To make my mark in this exciting arena, I feel the need of having professional qualification and training to enable me to carry out quality research; this remains my primary reason for opting for a PhD in this field. Moreover, my unique combination of academic education, professional experience and childhood love for electronics also encourages me to select this field. This doctoral study will take me a step further towards my career goal of being an accomplished researcher and ultimately a distinguished professor.

My romance with electronics was officially initiated in eighth grade when my friend helped me to build my first circuit that just flashed a few LEDs. The unofficial love before that was just limited to the battery operated toys, I received as my birthday presents. Within a week of their reception, they were torn apart to fulfill my growing curiosity. I always found myself meticulously thinking about their working and operation. This thought was taken forward when I started to build small electronic hobby kits. These circuits helped me enjoy my adulation for electronics but kept me wondering about the working principals behind them.

My affection for electronics was taken to another level at my father's small business of print production, where I was able to interact with the 'real' electronics involved in printing machines. Along with my high school, in the evenings, I started helping my father in the maintenance of printing equipment installed. The work was interesting; I became emotionally attached with it and decided to pursue a professional course in electronics. My good academics in science supplemented my decision and gave good reason to consider such a path.

I sought and was granted admission for undergraduate studies at one of the prestigious institutes of [my country name], [name of undergrad university] for a major of my choice, Electronics. There I got a sound knowledge about basic electronics, circuits, theories, techniques, and implementations. Most of the projects done were revolved around microcontrollers, microprocessors and digital electronics, but the knowledge I gathered there allowed me to diversify in any specialized field. During the four years of studies, I continued to help my father as an assistant maintenance engineer and applied the knowledge and principals I learnt at the university. This helped me to keep my education in sync with industry requirements. This also helped me gain extensive and practical knowledge about all the operations and processes involved in printing.

During my studies at [name of undergrad university], I served the electronics department student council and was involved in organizing number of student events and activities. During my final year, I started teaching microcontrollers privately to junior students and continued with it for five years after graduation. Teaching is one of the most enjoyable experiences I ever had. I also served as external examiner for about twenty five different final year student projects. I was also hired by a human resource firm as a training partner and was responsible for conducting a course on Microcontrollers. I also served as an honorary judge in student electronic project competition organized by the National University.

My professional life as an electronics engineer has been a path of exploration, eventful and full of surprises. Soon after my graduation I was hired by a graphics bureau service, who was the first in [name of my country] to install a computer to plate (CTP) machine. I worked there as a maintenance engineer for about four years and gained extensive knowledge about the pre-press step in the printing process. Then I moved to [name of country]'s largest English newspaper group who were in the process of installing the same CTP. I became part of the installation process and gained hands-on experience on the software and hardware of the pre press equipment.

During this, five and a half years of professional experience, close contact with the pre press section impelled me towards the exciting field of digital image setting and halftoning. My quest for knowledge persuaded me to do Master's degree in this field. I followed my pursuit and was admitted in [name of graduate university], [name of country]. I am currently a student of [name of graduate university] and hopefully, will be graduating in June, this year. During my master studies not only I have learnt about halftoning, rasterization and image setting but also in general about computer graphics, image processing, image analysis and visualizations.

My student life at [name of graduate university] is very vivid and fascinating; I challenged my capabilities by participating in a range of extracurricular activities and community service, both inside and out of campus. I was elected by student vote to be the vice president for [name of student association], a registered entity with [name of country] government, with the aim of helping the student community. I was also an active member of Media Technology Days (MTD) group which was responsible for arranging a two day event in which an exhibition is organized and guest lectures are held. I was also selected as a student volunteer for EuroGraphics 2010 conference, second largest in computer graphics industry.

Focusing my interest in the area of digital image setting and halftoning, at [name of university], I had the opportunity to work with most erudite researchers in this field, [name of Prof.] and Dr. [name of Prof]. I was involved in a research project with them, which was later accepted as my final thesis work, titled 'Hybrid Color Halftoning'. This project also yielded a research paper at the TAGA 2010 conference. In this thesis work all possibilities of combining two different methods of halftoning were explored and then a new approach was presented for halftoning color images.

Stimulating research environment at [name of graduate university] and successful completion of the research project spurred me on to continue my studies towards a PhD. Deciding the university was the next step. Luckily, during my TAGA conference participation I came in contact with Prof. [name of Prof.] and Prof [name of Prof] and learned about the Centre for the Advancement of Printed Electronics (CAPE) at your university. I checked the website, visited the department and met the distinguished faculty. I was really impressed to see all well equipped labs and exciting range of courses that are offered. The faculty also seemed excited about working with me. The state of the art research done at CAPE and [name of department] department makes it a perfect arena for my doctoral studies.

The part of the world where I come from, advanced higher education is a very scarce amenity. No institution in [name of country] currently offers specialized degree in the field of printing or printed electronics. In future, as an icebreaker to this situation, I plan to propose such a program in existing engineering schools of the country, so that the need of the country, to have trained professionals in these fields, is met. I also plan for similar training programs to be introduced to existing engineering and research firms so that they find themselves better prepared to venture into this emerging technology. Pursuing a doctoral program in the said field and academic exposure, as a student at your university, will vastly empower me with the knowledge required to become an acknowledged professor and eventually meet these objectives.