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I have never doubted that I can not only be a competent student in engineering, but also play a leading role in the future automotive industry, because I am equipped with a strong will for success, practical experience in this field, and an insatiable desire to extend my knowledge.
My burning interest in machinery dated back to my childhood when I always saw my father, a mechanical engineer, occupying himself with mechanical drawings and repairing some equipment at home. This sparked my natural inquisitiveness in the design and operation of machines.
At the age of nine, I got my own tool box as a birthday present. From then on, I started to repair my radio and bike, which improved my operating ability and hands-on skills. I even made a mini four-wheel drive vehicle that finished the first place in a 4WD race of a club. Ever since then, I’ve been dreaming of driving a real car made by myself, and automotive engineering became my natural choice of major in university.
◆ Triumphing over adversity has become a way of life in the course of pursuing my study.
I developed a variety of interests in middle school. I have always excelled at mathematics and enjoyed taking up the challenges constantly presented in this most appealing subject as it provides intensive training on the way one thinks.
I took part in the 20th National Mathematics Competition and won the first prize. I was also engaged in traditional Chinese painting and pencil sketch, as well as playing the piano, which brought me two gold medals and a silver one in national competitions. No pains, no gains. In the memory of striving for my personal best, I was confronted with difficulties that ordinary people could hardly imagine.
Just two month before the math competition, I was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome, a severe nervous disease signaled by muscle paralysis. Completely deprived of my limbs’ functional capacity, I almost sank to the depths of despair at first. However, increasing optimism took over soon, thanks to the encouragement of my mother who simply told me to hold on to the last minute. So I struggled to resume writing and standing like a new-born baby.
With unremitting efforts, I could walk without others’ help three weeks later. Moreover, despite that my hands were not nimble enough to use the pen well, I still worked hard on the sickbed to prepare for the competition. The first prize acted as a powerful incentive for me to strive on. With moving ability fully regained, I persevered in body building for the next six years.
My university days witnessed continuing honors, owing to a resolute heart longing for success. In everything I did, once a goal had been set, I remained unwavering in my conviction, no matter how hopeless it seemed at the beginning. In the final exam of Physical Education last year,
I ranked the first in the swimming course among all the sophomore students in our university. Besides, I have competed with talented people to be the first in academic studies of our major. I also challenged myself to choose the road less taken by my classmates to go abroad for further study. The experience shaped my mental toughness - few things are impossible in themselves, it is the want of will rather than the unfavorable conditions that blocks one’s way to success.
◆ My confidence to surmount challenges in future automotive engineering studies not only arises from my solid theoretical foundation but also from my practical experience.
Knowledge just from books was far from quenching my thirst for the truth. As the Outstanding Student of XXX University (awarded to xx% students), I was chosen by a professor in the junior year to assist him in the research on Hybrid Electric Vehicles. The experience deepened my understanding of control strategy and simulation.
With a solid basis of math and the C programming language, I learned to make flexible use of MATLAB and SIMULINK in merely two months, compared with no less than four months on average for the postgraduates. The research on Model Predictive Control of Hybrid Electric Vehicles broadened my purview from cars’ control system to ITS (Intelligent Transportation System) and led me to the world of future vehicle.
Aside from that, as huge amount of information should be transferred and calculated in around seconds, I realized that the convenience of MATLAB was impeded by its limitations - not fast enough for the immediate calculation which was the advantage of the C language.
With the eagerness to make a real vehicle, I participated in the Honda Motor Energy Saving Competition (which was the first time for our university) with five partners. Our goal was to create a car with a 4-stroke engine sent by Honda, the only power source. The car using the least oil to finish a race would be the winner.
As pioneers, we had no experience to refer to and had to struggle our own way. I was in charge of the engine and oil support system which is the most challenge part of making the eco-car. Since the engine had to work under the conditions of running and stopping alternately to save gasoline, I covered the intake manifold and cylinder with isolation so that the weak mixture can still burn sufficiently. I also installed an electromagnetic valve between engine and carburetor so that the fuel wouldn’t overflow when the engine was off.
◆ It is both a necessity and an aspiration for me to expand my horizons abroad.
However, frankly speaking, taking part in these researches has made me fully aware of my limitations in the scope of fundamental knowledge in automotive engineering. To attain my long-term goal – a prominent vehicle engineer - I still have a long way to go. I, therefore, made the decision to go to USA to obtain deeper insights of automobiles. HEV, especially PHEV is the field I am most interested in. I plan to make a further study on Dynamic Systems and Controls in MS program, especially the following aspects:
Modeling, Simulation & Control of HEV
Energy Analysis of Hybrid Vehicles
Fuel Cell Systems for Automotive Applications
These are, in my viewpoint, the key technology of future vehicle which is smarter and more energy-saving.
XX University attracts me for three reasons.
First and foremost, the programs on eco-car and Venturi Buckeye Bullet 2 in CAR have long riveted my attention. I am keen to learn more about them.
Second, the goals of the Center for Automotive Research - to design car of future and to train innovative thinking in automotive systems – fits the very dream I’ve cherished since childhood.
Last but not the least, the world-famous institute is located near the Great Lakes where I long to visit. I am confident that, with my perseverance and substantial application of MATLAB and SIMULINK, I can stride to success and stand on the cutting-edge of the technology.
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