It intrigues me that the ubiquitous handheld phone can send messages instantly, play videos and be activated with nothing more than one’s voice. When I broke my smartphone at 12, a peek inside revealed an entire universe of wires, transistors and chips. It fascinated me that man-made electrical constructs are not just insanely useful, but also stunning in their assembly. It is my ambition to be among those creating such marvels of technology and studying electrical engineering will give me the foundation to do so. Being in a university with a culture of creativity and inventiveness and being surrounded by like-minded individuals will help further my dream.
In my final year of IB, I dedicated most of my time to Higher-Level Mathematics and Physics. I found great satisfaction in solving complex problems, while also developing a deeper understanding of what we had already been taught. In Mathematics, I did an exploration on Euler’s formula and trigonometric integration, topics that we had learnt in school, and then combining them. This assessment taught me more about the Maclaurin series and functions in integration, alongside non-conventional ways of solving trigonometric integration. My passion allowed me to be 1 of 3 students who were nominated for the Mathematics award. In Physics, I conducted an experiment on lift force, (a topic outside the IB syllabus) by deriving knowledge from Newton’s third law, as well as studying aerodynamic structures and the coefficient of lift changing due to angle of attack.
My interest in science goes beyond academia. Having read Physics of the Future by Michio Kaku as well as Ray Kurzweil’s predictions from the 1990s to 2000s, seemingly wild predictions – such as AI doctors and bloodstream nanotechnology – may seem like an impossibility, but so must have the Kasparov-defeating Deep Blue and computer simulations able to predict complex molecular behaviour in the 1990s. Think Like An Engineer by Guru Madhavan explains how we use our world’s problems to build solutions, and how these applications may be used in other fields: LEDs to scan bar codes at supermarkets can also be used to track marathon runners during a race. My visit to CERN mesmerised me in its awe inspiring utilisation of engineering. The various data collection points had large processors crunching enormous amounts of data from collisions happening at nearly the speed of light using electromagnetic fields, building the foundation of the standard model, such as the discovery of the Higgs Boson. At CERN, we conducted radioactivity-based experiments, namely cathode ray oscilloscopes and cloud chambers, and that helped further my knowledge of particle physics.
I am currently serving in the military as a combat engineer, and even this vocation has opened my eyes to various applications of modern physics and engineering. These include wired or wireless detonation of explosives from a distance and the assembly of a tank bridge that ensures the correct propagation of stress. Moreover, this unfamiliar environment has allowed me to learn to work practically, as part of a team or on my own, under tense conditions. I continue to devote my weekends to providing mathematics tuition for IB students to sharpen and improve upon my skills as both science student and teacher. I look forward to university life: as a foreign student, studying in the UK will be the adventure of a lifetime; as an aspiring engineer, being surrounded by talented individuals, where the only boundaries to our ideas are the ever-expanding limits of technology, will surely inspire innovation.
Fabulous Formulas 