Cornell Engineering Essay (elegant compromise)

Prompt: College of Engineering:
Engineers turn ideas (technical, scientific, mathematical) into reality. Tell us about an engineering idea you have or your interest in engineering. Explain how Cornell Engineering can help you further explore this idea or interest.

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Engineering means many things to me, but over the years I think I`ve found its defining feature: elegant compromise. I began with the idea that engineering was building, after all my entire experience in my computer engineering class appeared to revolve around following a set of instructions word for word. This idea then changed after a few group projects and a whole lot of math, physics and problem sets into something that almost discouraged me from the field. At that point I believed it was all math, all calculation and no creativity. However, I realize now that engineering is a seamless arrangement of the two.

Through my senior year at my high school, physics labs have taken over my life. After school and before school my life has revolved around these labs. From modelling pendulum perturbations, to modelling magnetic fields and finally to building a hygrometer I have been able to experience the importance of both the mathematical and the design aspects of these engineering challenges.

The idea of a perturbation function itself argues against the notion that engineering is purely math. Of course a physical pendulum is subject to a wide array of forces and it is almost impossible to model them all especially when the pendulum is swinging in an open classroom. The perturbation lumps everything, whether drafts or drag or friction or even someone talking nearby, into a function that expresses deviation from the theoretical.

This was the same with my magnetism lab and ultimately in my hygrometer project as well. Each time the solution was clever and efficient and I had tremendous pride in finding them. However through my work as a lab group I have found another aspect of engineering that is equally important: teamwork. There was absolutely no way the labs would have been done if no collaboration existed and through my role as leader of the group I've realized the difficulty in coordinating and managing my group members. At Cornell the rigour of its engineering program coupled with its undergraduate research program and student project teams makes it a perfect place to pursue my own research projects as well as developing my skills.

I have been a leader in a variety of clubs and projects, but funding and support has always been a problem. With opportunities at Cornell like the Kessler Fellows program there will be no shortage of support when innovation and great ideas are present.

Interdisciplinary education is important to me Cornell realizes that engineering is the catalyst for bringing these disciplines together. Through the twelve academic units within engineering Cornell and its co-op and career services Cornell will offer an unparalleled educational experience and will ultimately allow me to grow and flourish as an engineer.

Use a dash:

At that point I believed it was all math -- all calculation and no creativity.

During my senior year at my high school , physics labs have taken over my life. After school and before school my life has revolved around these labs. From modeling pendulum perturbations, to modeling magnetic fields and finally to building a hygrometer I have been able to experience the importance of both the mathematical and the design aspects of these engineering challenges.

Interdisciplinary education is important to me, and Cornell presents engineering as a catalyst for...

Alright, good ending, too!

I believe that a better way to phrase that would be "From modelling pendulum perturbations and magnetic field to building a hydrometer"

However{,} through my work as {in} a lab group {lab groups} I have found another aspect of engineering that is equally important: teamwork. There was {is} absolutely no way the labs would {could} have been done if no collaboration existed and through my role as leader of the group I've realized the difficulty in coordinating and managing my group members.