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To pursue a Ph.D in University of Michigan, for me, was a part of my dream to become an outstanding chemistry researcher, which is a deep yearning from my heart. Now it is presented by this simple statement which is possibly common to you, yet has taken me more than seven years to write.

Back to my study life in high school, my interest in chemistry originated from my chemistry teacher who was a graduate student. I always discussed with him about the contents of the lesson. Impressed by my passion in chemistry, he introduced me to his lab in the Department of Chemistry in East China Normal University, where I worked as a research assistant helping him with the study of the magnetic fluid applied to water-oil separation. With his encouragement, I studied most college chemistry courses by myself in order to improve my academic level. My hard working eventually paid off when I published my research results and won the first prize in Youth Science & Technology Innovation Competition. Due to my excellence in academic performance and creativity, I was enrolled in the Department of Chemical Engineering in XXX University without entrance examinations.

My passion for chemistry makes all the courses an enjoyable experience and in turn what I learned in class deepened my understanding of chemistry and polymer science which is my major. Moreover, I have developed a strong academic ability. I’m good at catching the key point of the course and making the study interesting and vivid. I learn organic reactions by organizing and classifying the mechanisms and trying to explain the distracting of the electron instead of memorizing a large number of reactions mechanically. And I also learned the disciplines by further reading, especially reading foreign textbooks, such as “Physical Chemistry” by Atkins and “Principles of Polymer Chemistry” by Flory. I have done more than what my peers do in studying the coursework. These efforts are reflected in the excellent grades I received. I ranked No.1 out of all the students in the most of my professional courses and my GPA ranked 2nd in 33 students in my class.

My excellent academic performance and strong aspiration for researching earned me an opportunity to join the Professor Xiaogong Wang’s group, who is the director of the Institute of Polymer Science and Engineering. There, I studied the synthesis and self-assembly of novel polymers and researched the surface relief gratings used as liquid crystal alignment layer. In the initial part of my research project, I had to start with the synthesis of the monomer and then polymerize these monomers into hyperbranched polymers by myself. The typical reaction time of this process is above ten hours, and constant attention to the reaction such as adding ice to maintain a low temperature is required. A final filtering process at the end that takes two or there hours does not make this any easier. At first, I felt somewhat bored and frustrated. Nevertheless, after I carefully examine the schedule, I found that it really is an art about how to organize all those procedures. I listed the weekly research tasks, estimated the time I would use, and arranged the time properly. I no longer feel bored about the time-consuming research task and it gradually becomes an indispensable part of my study life. However, the research task itself was also not successful at the beginning. After I synthesized the monomer, I found that the H1-NMR spectrum of the synthetic monomer was not exactly correct. It showed an incomplete reaction of functional groups. I spent a whole week in looking up materials and doing experiments both in the library and the laboratory. Finally, I attempted to change the conditional of the reaction, using a weaker acid instead of the original acid, and it solved the problem. When I got the correct spectrum, the previous frustration, anxiety and strain disappeared thoroughly. From then on, every time I meet the frustration, I can always face it imperturbably, and try to solve it teeth and nail. The research work not only brings me a great deal of experience and the research ability, but more importantly, strengthened my forever loyalty and passion for chemistry and polymer science.

I derive great satisfaction and pride from my research. Thus, I want to continue my research at a higher level, aspiring to become involved in the area of polymer science. A Ph.D is the essential and crucial conjunction between my past achievements and my future progress and an opportunity to make an impact and build a heritage for the academia. I hope to take this important step at Michigan.

I have a couple of reasons for my choice. Above all, Michigan is an energetic community of students, scholars, researchers, scientists and artists. With the broad way of communication and close relationship between students and professors, I can develop life long friendship with the highly intelligent research mates and outstanding professors while contributing and enhancing the close-knit environment of Michigan. Moreover, Dept. of Chemistry in Michigan has a long tradition of innovation. Especially in Organic Chemistry, many great achievements which are the milestones in the history of Chemistry have been achieved in Michigan. Last but not least, the Macromolecular Research Institute founded by Charles Overberger gives strong support to the research of polymer science and organic chemistry, which leads Michigan to the most attractive place of research for me. I hope to work closely with Prof. Zhan Chen on Biomaterials and Polymer Surfaces, and as well as other Professors in the Surface Chemistry Research Group. The research areas on which Prof. Theodore Goodson and Prof. Rasmussen focus also interest me.

I know that there are full of challenges and opportunities on the way to my dream, but all these will fuel my passion and urge me on to explore the unknown domain in chemistry.