Undergraduate / Physics&Astrophysics /ANL/KICP/Culture/Curriculum; Why UChicago? [4]

Hey everyone, I have already submit this but please share your comments as to what you think :)
Why UChicago?
In the large jigsaw puzzle called, Cosmos, I want to help humanity piece as many fragment of knowledge as I can. The path of contribution that I have chosen is through physics and astrophysics. I wish to immerse myself in this ancient and ambitious inquiry promptly. University of Chicago manages two national laboratories, the Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) and the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL). UChicago is also home to the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics (KICP).Through the university's Jeff Metcalf Internship Program, research opportunities at ANL are offered; similarly the FNAL and KICP, both offer internship opportunities for undergraduates. Aside from the facility, UChicago is heralded for it receptive faculty who warmly welcome and encourage undergraduates' involvement in research activities. Whether it is conducting a research in particle physics at FNAL, or a research about climate change at ANL or a research about dark energy and dark matter at KICP, or a research with faculty member, UChicago provides me with ample opportunities for me to begin piecing the fragments of knowledge.

Motivated by my desire I am pursuing a future in the field of science, in astrophysics particularly. My aspiration of becoming an astrophysicist would not be sufficed just by the conventional knowledge of the field. The field of science requires its pursuers to have curious and questioning minds and have the ability to skillfully answer the questions that concern their surroundings and the Universe. The Common Core, associated with UChicago's highly academic culture, aids students in directing their own process of scientific inquiry, critically evaluating data, and clearly communicating their idea and developing skills fundamental to scientific pursuit such as innovative problem solving, articulate communication, and critical thinking. More importantly, the Common Core builds the most fundamental skill in science, the ability to continue asking questions. The skills and abilities acquired from the Common Core curriculum are the few skills which will be the most important skills and abilities that I will have in the future.

Aside from the myriad of opportunities and the brilliant Core curriculum, UChicago fosters an intellectually active and diverse community. This environment, which exposes me to new ideas and perspectives and refines my views and thoughts through the process of questioning and defending, strengthens my mental faculties. UChicago with it free and open inquiry nature fosters thought leadership by challenging conventional thinking and accepted wisdom; every ideas regardless of its speaker are judged on merit alone. UChicago's undergraduate community, made up of just more than 5000 students from all over the United States and the world, houses diversity of perspectives, experiences and opinions. With fewer 20 students in 80 percent of classes, these diverse ideas and perspectives lead to thought-provoking debates among students and their professors. Surrounded by this environment I hope to defend ideas, explore new notions and expand my thinking in order to strengthen my mental faculties which will aid me in my inquiry.

Carl Sagan, who I deeply admire and introduced me to UChicago said, "Extraordinary claim requires extraordinary evidence," thus my reasons above are my evidence for my desire to be an UChicago student.

Optional
God Delusion by Richard Dwakins is one of my favorite books because of the philosophical value it holds to me. Although I have yet to immerse myself in the works of philosophies of the greatest philosophers like that of Plato's, Kant's, Descartes' and others, the book, God Delusion, has certainly made impact on my disposition towards my surrounding and my methods of thinking. God Delusion's impact can be summed by the quote, "Do not indoctrinate your children. Teach them how to think for themselves, how to evaluate evidence, and how to disagree with you." The author, Richard Dawkins, discourses about the impact of religion on humanity in its entirety and its individuality, probes and criticizes the arguments of religion and then discusses the issues of religion and morality. Although the completion of the book did not produce Dawkins' desired outcome of abandonment of my religion, Hinduism; the seeds of new notion of questioning and skepticism did eventually did lead me to that outcome. I grew up in Hindu family, albeit a very moderate one, and when my family and I came to United States I would proclaim myself to be a Hindu when asked. Dawkins made me realize that my proclamation did not arise out of my own consensus but rather it was forced upon me by my environment. The biggest implication that Dawkins provided in God Delusion was not to abandon my religion but to be a skeptic and to question authority.

Cosmos: A Personal Voyage is my favorite television show because of the impact it has had on me. Cosmos introduced me to and deepened my interest in the field of astronomy through the voyages that it took me on. With Cosmos, I traveled to Mars one episode, then to Andromeda Galaxy on next episode and then to the beginning of the Universe when the Universe was just a single point in another episode. My young mind could scarcely begin to comprehend the new ideas, phenomena and objects so I watched in a complete awe. Like any human being when presented with new and previously unexplained object or phenomena act afterwards out of sheer desire driven by curiosity to understand and explain the new object, I too was motivated to look further and understand what I had seen. After countless hours of rummaging through myriad of astronomy books, I began to see the universe in a new light, and bathed in this new knowledge and I desired to further understand and discover more of the Universe. Cosmos and Carl Sagan, the creator and host of Cosmos, showed me that the universe is far more mysterious and magnificent than previously thought. Carl Sagan said, "We are a way for the cosmos to know itself." Inspired and attracted subtly, I desire to learn more of the universe in which we all inhabit.

Undergraduate / Dr. Waldo made a sudden appearance - U Chicago/ Where is Waldo, really? [10]

Hello everyone. Please help me proofread my essay and feel free to critique it to your heart's content

uchicago - about Dr. Waldo

Galactic Bureau of Investigation Case Report
Case Overview:
Waldo, better known as Dr. Waldo, is a very prominent scientist in the field of physics and astrophysics. Dr. Waldo is known for his penchant of playing hide-n-seek only to be found later on by his colleagues. Dr. Waldo's most recent feat led him to be unseen for 18 months and 27 days. The Galactic Bureau of Investigation (GBI) was asked by his colleagues to find and capture him; I was then assigned to this case on 3010/07/10.

Case Date and Observation:
Dr. Waldo suddenly made an appearance on the surveillance system on the planet Earth on 3011/10/01. He was immediately recognized by his trademarked dress up of a blue pants, a red-white strip shirt and a hat, and a circular glass. Dr. Waldo was then not seen until 28 days later. Reports came in on 3011/10/29 saying that Dr. Waldo was seen in Sagittarius Sector's (or Constellation's) Ascella star system's Zeta Stellar Research Station. Dr. Waldo soon left the station and the star system. After 4 days later, Dr. Waldo's appeared on the same sector's Kaus Australis star system's Stellar X-ray Research Base on 3012/10/02. Likewise he left the station and the star system without being caught even though all the stations and bases had been informed of Dr. Waldo's status. His next appearance was again after 4 day in the same sector's Alnasl star system's research station and then 4 days later Nunki star system's research station. Dr. Waldo then disappeared for 28 days and then reappeared in the Canis Major Sector's Sirius star system's research base, then Mirzam, Wezen, and Adhara star systems' research station each 4 days apart from the previous one. Dr. Waldo from there visited many other sectors and their respective stellar system in the order shown:

just some constellation and list of star
After series of appearance over Ursa Major Sector's numerous star systems, trip's locations and timing patterns had been discerned. Dr.Waldo's trips were primarily relegated to star system with traditional names in Greek or Arabic language and their research stations. Also Dr.Waldo's trip to new star system always took 4 days while a trip to new Sector took him 28 days. Unfortunately no further actions were taken in order apprehend Dr. Waldo due to the lack of predictive abilities. Dr. Waldo then traveled into many other sectors until he reached Cygnus Sector. Dr. Waldo's last known location was Albireo Star System on 3013/02/04.

Case Data Analysis and Conclusion:
As of 3013/07/10, there have been no sightings of Dr. Waldo. Meanwhile, the analysis of the data has linked up to an extraordinary discovery. Dr. Waldo's trips seemed analogous to a game called "Connect the Dots," with the star systems analogous to the dots in the game. A problem that was encountered when testing the hypothesis concerned the star systems' orientation but this was solved immediately when the meaning behind Dr. Waldo's appearance on Earth was quickly realized. Setting the orientation from Earth on pattern recognizing software rendered letters and numbers: U-C-H-I-C-A-G-O-1-3-1-7. Each trip in a sector represented a letter or a number. According to the rendering Dr. Waldo will present at UChicago, or the University of Chicago, on the time interval of 3013 to 3017. Further analysis of data provides evidence supporting the location and the time interval. Dr. Waldo's hiding period, before he made appearance on Earth, converted into months is 18.9 or 18.90 months and with the decimal point removed, then the new number is 1890, which is UChicago's establishment date. The date of reappearance 3011/10/01 is likewise related to 1892/10/01, which is date when the first classes were held at UChicago. Dr. Waldo's trips' time always had pattern of 4 days or weeks and the number 4 is also the difference between the years 3017 and 3013. Hence Dr. Waldo's visit to University of Chicago will happen on the time interval of 3013-3017 starting on 3013/10/01, when the classes resume. With these evidences, I hereby request to be sent off to University of Chicago from 3013 to 3017 starting on 3013/10/01 to find and apprehend Dr. Waldo.

Undergraduate / 'College is a very important part of life' - CU-BOULDER -- Evaluation and Comments [2]

I will be the first person from both of my mother and father's side to graduate from an American high school and then attend college as a resident of USA. My family and I come from the country of Nepal, we moved to United States in March 2006. I have always enjoyed the field of science and coming to USA has helped find my future aspiration, to become a scientist in the field of astrophysics. The ancient Chinese philosopher, Laozi, once said, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step," I hope University of Colorado at Boulder (UCB) will be the first step that I take in my journey of becoming an astrophysicist.

The word diversity means a lot different things to me. I am a person who has lived majority of my life outside of the United States and belong to a minority group but I am also a person who holds diverse perspective on many matters, and those perspectives are not necessarily influenced by my background. After coming to USA, I loved all the existing cultures and the cultural fusion that has been occurring here, and so I became a cosmopolite, who enjoys cultures all around the world. As a result, I tend to favor global views instead of nationalistic views and believe nationalism as a respite in the universal civilization based on ration and knowledge. The open environment created early on by my family started the fusion of scientific thinking and aptitude in my mind and with the help of scientist like Carl Sagan, I started utilizing my critical thinking faculty for scientific purpose and questioning authority. All these events have led me to hold rational, open, and agnostic atheistic views and to follow secular humanistic principles. My perspectives would be lying in a waste if my love discussion or debates did not exist. I believe debating or discussing one another's viewpoints contributes towards creating a more knowledgeable being and that it is essential in order to understand each others' viewpoints. I hope to have a mutual transference of ideas and perspectives between my future colleagues and me in order to learn, understand and correct one another's ideas and perspectives at UCB.

College is a very important and integral part of life, the experience and the knowledge that is gained there will be carried on for the rest of the life. I have many hopes for my four years at UCB; I hope to make those four years to be one the most memorable and most helpful towards my future. UCB is known for its large funding from NASA, Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics (JILA), and its Nobel laureates and MacArthur Fellows. During my time in UCB, I hope to take advantage of REU and internship opportunities, be involved in clubs such as the Badminton Club, and enroll in the university's Honors Program. Last but not the least I hope to meet new people with whom I form some lasting relationships.

Thanks in advance for you help.