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nukapprentice
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Here is my statement of purpose rough draft. Please be brutally honesty in critiquing it please.
I, __________, am applying for the PhD degree in nuclear engineering with a concentration in nuclear materials. After achieving this long-anticipated goal of receiving my doctorate, I will apply the skills and knowledge I learned in industry or working for a national laboratory.
I recently received my bachelor’s and master’s in nuclear engineering and engineering physics from the ___________ through the 5 year dual degree program. For my Master’s I worked under Professors _____________ where I completed my thesis entitled, ”DEVELOPMENT OF DIFFUSION BARRIER COATINGS AND DEPOSITION TECHNOLOGIES FOR MITIGATON OF FUEL-CLADDING CHEMICAL INTERACTIONS”. Here I conducted research on the electrophoretic deposition of nano particle coatings composed of titanium, zirconium, vanadium and their respective oxides. While conducting research I perfected methods of coating Titanium coatings to T-91 steel substrates. Furthermore, I was able to solve a two year old problem associated with the difficulty of coating vanadium oxide. Namely, the suspension was unstable which caused the vanadium oxide to sink to the bottom. After many experiments, I found that increasing the concentration of iodine in suspension led to stable solution, which allowed for a uniform deposition.
While working towards my M.S. and B.S. in nuclear engineering, I also earned additional majors in applied mathematics and physics. Among the courses I took were electromagnetic fields, quantum physics, partial differential equations, complex analysis, plasma physics and solid state physics. My curious nature is another reason why I am well suited for a PhD program; I know that a thorough understanding of nature is what propels new discoveries in industry and academia. Moreover, I enjoy analyzing data from experiments and coming to conclusions based on sound knowledge. If accepted into the PhD program I would like to further explore my curiosity as I am currently working on a mathematical model for the time dependent surface heat flux of a nuclear fuel rod.
This curious drive is further amplified by my work ethic. I spent four years in the Marine Corps where I earned two meritorious promotions, served time in Iraq, and was honorably discharged with the rank of sergeant. This drive transitioned over into my academic career where I came in on weekends in order to ensure results were completed on time. I also made sure to document all of my work which is contained in seven notebooks spanning over 900 pages.
During my time at the university I attained many applicable skills while conducting research. Here I developed skills in scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), mechanical scratch testing, usage of a magnetic thickness gauge for taking thickness measurements, and micro-hardness testing. I also learned how to program in MATLAB and fortran.
This synergy of curiosity, work ethic and drive led to a best student poster award at the June 2012 NFSM conference, and four papers on the electrophoretic deposition of nanoparticle coatings. The first paper, which is already published, I am the sixth author, while I am the second author of the other three which are currently being reviewed. Furthermore, while I was a Master’s student I earned experience writing NEUP quarterly reports on the progress of my research. I also have kept my mind sharp and reinforced my knowledge by tutoring mathematics, physics and chemistry for over 5 years at the local technical college. Here I earned a Level I CRLA tutor certificate.
At this point, I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my statement. If accepted, I will work hard and do my very best while a research assistant at _____.
I, __________, am applying for the PhD degree in nuclear engineering with a concentration in nuclear materials. After achieving this long-anticipated goal of receiving my doctorate, I will apply the skills and knowledge I learned in industry or working for a national laboratory.
I recently received my bachelor’s and master’s in nuclear engineering and engineering physics from the ___________ through the 5 year dual degree program. For my Master’s I worked under Professors _____________ where I completed my thesis entitled, ”DEVELOPMENT OF DIFFUSION BARRIER COATINGS AND DEPOSITION TECHNOLOGIES FOR MITIGATON OF FUEL-CLADDING CHEMICAL INTERACTIONS”. Here I conducted research on the electrophoretic deposition of nano particle coatings composed of titanium, zirconium, vanadium and their respective oxides. While conducting research I perfected methods of coating Titanium coatings to T-91 steel substrates. Furthermore, I was able to solve a two year old problem associated with the difficulty of coating vanadium oxide. Namely, the suspension was unstable which caused the vanadium oxide to sink to the bottom. After many experiments, I found that increasing the concentration of iodine in suspension led to stable solution, which allowed for a uniform deposition.
While working towards my M.S. and B.S. in nuclear engineering, I also earned additional majors in applied mathematics and physics. Among the courses I took were electromagnetic fields, quantum physics, partial differential equations, complex analysis, plasma physics and solid state physics. My curious nature is another reason why I am well suited for a PhD program; I know that a thorough understanding of nature is what propels new discoveries in industry and academia. Moreover, I enjoy analyzing data from experiments and coming to conclusions based on sound knowledge. If accepted into the PhD program I would like to further explore my curiosity as I am currently working on a mathematical model for the time dependent surface heat flux of a nuclear fuel rod.
This curious drive is further amplified by my work ethic. I spent four years in the Marine Corps where I earned two meritorious promotions, served time in Iraq, and was honorably discharged with the rank of sergeant. This drive transitioned over into my academic career where I came in on weekends in order to ensure results were completed on time. I also made sure to document all of my work which is contained in seven notebooks spanning over 900 pages.
During my time at the university I attained many applicable skills while conducting research. Here I developed skills in scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), mechanical scratch testing, usage of a magnetic thickness gauge for taking thickness measurements, and micro-hardness testing. I also learned how to program in MATLAB and fortran.
This synergy of curiosity, work ethic and drive led to a best student poster award at the June 2012 NFSM conference, and four papers on the electrophoretic deposition of nanoparticle coatings. The first paper, which is already published, I am the sixth author, while I am the second author of the other three which are currently being reviewed. Furthermore, while I was a Master’s student I earned experience writing NEUP quarterly reports on the progress of my research. I also have kept my mind sharp and reinforced my knowledge by tutoring mathematics, physics and chemistry for over 5 years at the local technical college. Here I earned a Level I CRLA tutor certificate.
At this point, I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my statement. If accepted, I will work hard and do my very best while a research assistant at _____.
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