Statement of Purpose

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Hi folks, this is the Statement of Purpose which brought me to the Lund University, MAX-lab. I wrote this in around 3 hours, I'm publishing it here, so you don't bother writing a new one ;). Also I want to thank Alper Çelik, because I have taken couple of sentences from his S.o.P.

When I learned how to read and write at the age of 4, I met the joy of learning things. After that, my life has been all about asking questions and learning. When I started to study at the age of 5, two years earlier than normal school age in Turkey, my passion of learning got even bigger. When grow-ups asked me about what I am going to be in future, the one and only answer I gave them was "scientist". I was caught by excellence of the science.

After the University Entrance Exam, all of my choices were chemistry or other natural sciences. Then, in the first year of university, I had a chance to get in the modern physics world. I must admit, I was impressed. In next 3 years, while I am studying chemistry, I was trying to keep up with the developments in modern physics. Here I have to say something really bothered me. In my 3rd year, I wanted to improve my skills in modern physics by following lectures in our Physics Department. However, a lecturer, who gives the Introduction to Particle Physics course, did not even let me listen his lessons, and gave me no reason. What would one do in that case? I went home and prepared a presentation. The title was "Particle Physics and Standard Model". The only person I invited from our Physics Department, the one and only member of CERN in our university, said he is totally impressed.

In summer 2008, I had to work as an intern in any field related to chemistry. I choosed the best possible place to work closely with Nuclear Sciences, Cekmece Nuclear Research and Training Center. After my obligated one month work, A. Fadıl Akgun, a general advisor there requested me to stay another month to work with him. Of course, I eagerly accepted this request. Besides, in that summer I attended to 4th National Summer School on Particle Accelerators and Detectors in Turkey, organised by Turkish Physical Society and that's where I met the Synchrotron Radiaton, its applications, FEL's and many more concepts about accelerators. I guess there is no need to mention I was the only chemist there. It was the event which introduced me to MAX-Lab.

MAX-Lab, the only laboratory of its kind in Sweden, looked as a very amazing place to study - or work - for me, because I have been to Sweden twice before and I was already impressed by the people living here. Their respect to each other, their respect to nature was showing that the people here are living in a great harmony. Also I must say I have a belief that studying at MAX-Lab as a Master's Degree student would be a unique opportunity to enrich my knowledge in the fields of my interests and to continue the career path I have started in an academic environment and I intend to follow this up with a Ph.D.

In Fall Semester 2008, I was an instructor in the laboratory of Nuclear Chemistry I course. My thesis advisor Prof. Turan Unak had troubles with finding Ph. D. students with enough experience in Nuclear Chemistry, then I came up with an idea, I said I could do it because including this Nuclear Chemistry I course, I took three courses from Prof. Unak before. He accepted this proposal and then as 7 diploma work students of his, we assigned to work every week as an instructor for 3rd grades in the course. As the course ended last week, students kept telling me they really like my experiments. It was a delightful job to me, actually it was everything to me but a job. Nowadays, we are working intensively on our diploma works with my friends and Prof. Unak. My specialized subject is about coding a computer software which can calculate the behaviors of F-18 radioactive isotope in a cell using Monte Carlo calculations and its consequences. Other research areas of us includes new aspects in PET imaging, using F-18 isotope with novel studies and so on.

Since we dont have any research objected particle accelerator, studying in the field of Synchrotron Radiation Based Sciences is nearly impossible in Turkey. MAX-Lab gives me the opportunity for studying in a cutting-edge research field. Including Sweden's countless chances for scientists working there, I am very ambitious about working in MAX-Lab Synchrotron Radiation facility. I have to say that science is the job I can do until I die. I remember Alfred B. Nobel once wrote in a letter as an answer to a question asking where he lives; "Home is where I work, and I work everywhere". Taking all these benefits of Sweden and my addiction to science into account, I eagerly want to study in MAX-Lab und jag önskar innerligt att Sverige skall bli mitt nya hem.


Ümit Selahattin Öner

1 comments:

Tracy Kauffman said...

Wow! Your life is amazing, Ümit! Learning and discovering things can really be a great trait of a leader. And I think it would be useful when writing phd dissertation, as it requires a lot of data and knowledge that you learn in your life. Anyway, I hope that you have many more things happen in your future life.