SOP 2nd draft-Chemistry
I posted my general SOP a while back and got some really helpful comments. It's gone through some edits and I would love to know what else could be done to it. I'm still struggling with the personal history (read: diversity) statements, but at least I've got something better for this.
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I want to make research in inorganic or organometallic chemistry my career. Though I am unsure whether I want to pursue research in academia or industry, I know I want to keep investigating the kinds of problems I have worked on through undergrad. I have done research in several different labs, some for extended periods of time, and want to gain the skills to research questions of my own. A chemistry PhD is crucial to the development of these skills.
I first considered a research career during my sophomore year, when I briefly joined Prof. 1’s organic synthesis lab. It was a short, three-week experience, but it was an excellent crash course in how to do research. I learned how to attempt and troubleshoot new reactions and purify the products with column chromatography and MPLC.
That summer, I ended up at Big Research University in the Cool Name summer research program. My interest was in biochemistry, so I worked in Prof. 2’s bioinorganic lab developing Fe3O4@Au core-shell nanoparticle systems to be used as MRI contrast agents. It was completely different research than what I had expected, but I loved it. I was able to learn techniques from multiple disciplines. In working with the nanoparticles, I gained experience with nanotechnology (particularly interpreting TEM images) and magnetism (finding relaxivity using NMR). The Au coating allowed me to study plasmonic properties with UV-vis spectra. I also worked to functionalize the particles with DNA. I liked that the work drew in knowledge from multiple disciplines and found that the unique magnetic and plasmonic properties of the metals we used were more interesting to me than biochemical properties of organic molecules.
I knew I wanted to keep doing inorganic chemistry, so I joined Prof. 3’s lab here at Small Liberal Arts College to investigate a heterobimetallic effect upon reaction of organometallic compounds with organic radicals. I spent the first semester in his lab basically relearning how to do chemistry. All of the compounds we worked with were air and moisture sensitive, so we employed basic Schlenk line and glove box techniques to run all of our reactions under Ar. By the end of the semester, I had made one of the previously unsynthesized heterobimetallics. During January and spring of 2010, I finished the synthesis of all six of the target organometallic compounds and reacted the compounds with our radical sources. I characterized and quantified the product of interest via gas chromatography/mass spectrometry using a procedure I developed myself.
I was able to present the preliminary results of this research as well as the research from the Big Research University as posters at the American Chemical Society meeting in San Francisco in March 2010. I also gave a talk at the Symposium for the My State Academy of Sciences, which was awarded best in session. I am second author on the resulting heterobimetallic reactivity paper in Organometallics (DOI: XXX). An in-depth section of the paper forms my honors thesis. In addition, I am second author on the Big Research University nanoparticle paper recently accepted by the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
I am currently finishing up my undergraduate studies and honors project a semester early to graduate in December 2010. In the spring, I will be working full-time as a lab tech in Prof. 3's lab. We have already started new work on a boron-based ligand and that is the project I will continue until I leave for graduate school.
These varied research experiences have convinced me that I want to continue doing inorganic or organometallic chemistry research as my career. Whether I decide to go into industry or academia, I feel I would be well-prepared by attending Your School. I would be interested in working with Prof. A doing X or Prof. B doing Y, building off the work I have already done in organometallics. I would also be interested in working with Prof. C doing Z, building off the work I have done with nanoparticles. What I could learn in these labs aligns well with the research I have enjoyed in the past and would give me the foundation I need to continue the research in the future.
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Any more advice would be much appreciated! Thanks!
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I want to make research in inorganic or organometallic chemistry my career. Though I am unsure whether I want to pursue research in academia or industry, I know I want to keep investigating the kinds of problems I have worked on through undergrad. I have done research in several different labs, some for extended periods of time, and want to gain the skills to research questions of my own. A chemistry PhD is crucial to the development of these skills.
I first considered a research career during my sophomore year, when I briefly joined Prof. 1’s organic synthesis lab. It was a short, three-week experience, but it was an excellent crash course in how to do research. I learned how to attempt and troubleshoot new reactions and purify the products with column chromatography and MPLC.
That summer, I ended up at Big Research University in the Cool Name summer research program. My interest was in biochemistry, so I worked in Prof. 2’s bioinorganic lab developing Fe3O4@Au core-shell nanoparticle systems to be used as MRI contrast agents. It was completely different research than what I had expected, but I loved it. I was able to learn techniques from multiple disciplines. In working with the nanoparticles, I gained experience with nanotechnology (particularly interpreting TEM images) and magnetism (finding relaxivity using NMR). The Au coating allowed me to study plasmonic properties with UV-vis spectra. I also worked to functionalize the particles with DNA. I liked that the work drew in knowledge from multiple disciplines and found that the unique magnetic and plasmonic properties of the metals we used were more interesting to me than biochemical properties of organic molecules.
I knew I wanted to keep doing inorganic chemistry, so I joined Prof. 3’s lab here at Small Liberal Arts College to investigate a heterobimetallic effect upon reaction of organometallic compounds with organic radicals. I spent the first semester in his lab basically relearning how to do chemistry. All of the compounds we worked with were air and moisture sensitive, so we employed basic Schlenk line and glove box techniques to run all of our reactions under Ar. By the end of the semester, I had made one of the previously unsynthesized heterobimetallics. During January and spring of 2010, I finished the synthesis of all six of the target organometallic compounds and reacted the compounds with our radical sources. I characterized and quantified the product of interest via gas chromatography/mass spectrometry using a procedure I developed myself.
I was able to present the preliminary results of this research as well as the research from the Big Research University as posters at the American Chemical Society meeting in San Francisco in March 2010. I also gave a talk at the Symposium for the My State Academy of Sciences, which was awarded best in session. I am second author on the resulting heterobimetallic reactivity paper in Organometallics (DOI: XXX). An in-depth section of the paper forms my honors thesis. In addition, I am second author on the Big Research University nanoparticle paper recently accepted by the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
I am currently finishing up my undergraduate studies and honors project a semester early to graduate in December 2010. In the spring, I will be working full-time as a lab tech in Prof. 3's lab. We have already started new work on a boron-based ligand and that is the project I will continue until I leave for graduate school.
These varied research experiences have convinced me that I want to continue doing inorganic or organometallic chemistry research as my career. Whether I decide to go into industry or academia, I feel I would be well-prepared by attending Your School. I would be interested in working with Prof. A doing X or Prof. B doing Y, building off the work I have already done in organometallics. I would also be interested in working with Prof. C doing Z, building off the work I have done with nanoparticles. What I could learn in these labs aligns well with the research I have enjoyed in the past and would give me the foundation I need to continue the research in the future.
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Any more advice would be much appreciated! Thanks!