Pursuing a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering: My Research Journey

This paper outlines the researches that I have learned and the reasons why I am the right one for doing the research work so that I can apply for the Ph.D. program in chemical engineering.

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As we were growing up, many people asked us what we wanted to become in the future, and most of the children said that they wanted to become scientists. Many of the children pointed out that they wanted to become scientists as opposed to what they like and careers. This is because they had little knowledge about the Chinese education structure, and they said that so they could make please their teachers, impress their parents, or even tease their classmates about their big dreams. This is because no one wanted to choose a low career such as a truck driver, or a heavy machinery operator. Surprisingly, when I was asked about what I would like to be in the future, I told the teacher that I would like to be a barber. I vividly remember how my classmates burst into laughter, and also, the teacher was shocked for a while.

Although at that time, I was young, and becoming a barber was the only thing that seemed interesting to me. As I grew older, I came to realize that I only follow my lead, and I do not do things so that I can please people. I make decisions that I believe are right and beneficial to me. Most of all, I am not afraid to be intimidated by anyone because I do something out of passion, and I know that I can achieve what I want. This is the reason why I am applying for a doctorate in chemical engineering since I have decided it is the course I want to take because I have gained an interest in it. Since my past experiences, I know it will be beneficial to me, and in 10 years to come, I will achieve great things through it.

It is astonishing how an undergraduate has gained so much interest in scientific research, but this is because, for the past one year and a half, I have been working in labs and also doing my research. Catalyst synthesis was the first project that I did, and Dr. Tj Kim guided me through it. Being in the lab for the first time got me so nervous since I knew nothing about labs, and I was trying as much as I can so that I could not make mistakes. I chose some papers where I could get information about the lab as a beginner, even though it was tough for me to understand them. Up to now, I have gone through a lot of papers and also done a lot of literature talk concerning the article, but still, it is hard for me to understand them. I have no idea about half of the content in the papers. This has led me to make mistakes in the lab and googling some terms online.

To produce an excellent publication, I have to learn from the mistakes of the previous studies. I realized that not everybody is perfect when doing researches and experiments, mistakes are made, and we get to learn from those mistakes. We correct the mistakes that we have done and follow what the experimental data expects us to do. We pursue the truth and develop science by altering the conclusions of our experiments and researches. Although this information was so useful to me, unfortunately, I studied it for one semester.

After understating the importance of experimental data, I joined Dr. Khan's polymer research group in South Korea, and I was offered a project to work on my own. This offered me an opportunity to have my name on a paper as the author, and I was so excited. I had a lot of responsibilities to achieve, so I had to read a lot of documents, get inspiration, and find better reaction conditions. I did my experiment 3 times in 12 groups with different conditions each time, and I faced some challenges. The biggest problem I went through is that I had to be very creative and makeup conditions of my own to guide me through the research. The results of my first project were not very pleasing, and my plan was cut off because they were not enough for the paper.

Even though my project was not successful, I did not feel awful because I know that I tried to do my best, and again it was my first project that I was undertaking alone. I remembered a quote that says failure is the mother of success, so I could not give up, and I had to keep trying. I knew I could experience failure in the future, and I have to be persistent. It was fun working in that group, but after the project was over, I had to leave.

Recently, I have been undertaking my research experiment in Dr. Wong's lab, but currently, our work is on VS4. We have finished our tests already, and now we are preparing for our paper. In that lab, I started from the bottom since it was a new field, and I had to humble myself so that I could learn more from my colleagues. In science, it is good to listen to other people's opinions and take notes from other papers. In this way, you will be able to understand science more, and you will be able to take your experiments easily.

Walking in the lab Monday morning feels fantastic as I smell the mixture of chemicals. Since my boyfriend joined the army, I have gone through rough times, felt lonely, but spending time in the lab has helped me so much in overcoming that lousy feeling. Since I am focused, and I love what I am doing, I have been able to stay focused while doing my research, and I know that I will succeed because I never give up. With my passion and urge to learn new things, I know that I am the perfect one to do the research. I put more hard-work in what I do, using the skills that I have learned in the past experiments so that I can become a successful scientist in the future and help to move science forward.