Statement of Purpose
I could well begin introducing myself by making the most extreme statement and saying that I have always been interested in attempting to find the profound truth about working principles of various machines such as lathes, milling and welding machines during my trips to workshop in which my father has been working, but I will not. Rather, I will simply explain my professional interests and where I plan to go from here.
My ambition to become an engineer began indirectly in my high school days. During high school years, my success in Chemistry led me to attend the training programs of Nationwide Chemistry Olympiads. I was able to pass the exams and entered the best 20 students among the 5000 favorable, hard-working, best students in Turkey. I took classes, in which I was dealing with advance chemistry subjects from university professors. This helped me to gain self-confidence and made me realized that I was able to study and deal with something academically from my high school days which brought me to the opportunity of studying and analyzing the working principle of machines and robots in the future.
To fulfill my aim and assume a career in mechanical engineering; I was able to hold a place on the top 0.8% of about 1,500,000 graduating high school seniors nationwide in the National University Entrance Examination Test. I got accepted to the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Turkey’s most prestigious university, Middle East Technical University (METU), whose language of instruction is English.
During my studies at METU, it was a pleasure forms me to learn about the different aspects of mechanical engineering. The most important contribution of undergraduate education to me is that it gave me an idea about the depth of knowledge that underlies this area of specialization. But the strength, vibration and machine element courses that I took during Junior and sophomore level interests me to the solid mechanics subject. The projects that I have already achieved in these courses ‘Design of Lifting Mechanism of Low Truck’, Design of Friction Power Screw’,’ Compact Tractor Gear Box Design’ and the one now we are working on as a group is the ‘Window Glass Cleaning Robot’ in which the robot has to move on the glass without the help of a chain or a rope inspired me to the further study of solid mechanics. To become familiar with these wide topic, Now I am taking Metal Forming course to focus on the scientific fundamentals of metal forming processes and the technology of metal forming and by using the MSC Superform® software , I can easily simulate all forming processes. I have been also studying the Finite Element course in which I have opportunity to learn about the finite element analysis in solid mechanics by using the program ANSYS. In the second term of senior level, to fulfill my interest about solid mechanics I intend to take “Advance Strength Course” and “Thin Walled Structures” to expand the background of mechanical designers or analysts with respect to understanding the internal behavior of mechanical elements under the action of applied loads and to understand the concepts and methods for the analysis of deflections and stresses in thin walled beams, plates and shells. Furthermore, I made my internship in TUBITAK-SAGE (Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey-Defense Industries Research and Development Institute) in which I had a chance to see Structural mechanics and materials units Linear and non-linear elastic and plastic structures, composites, dynamic, contact and heat transfer analyses. In my M.S and Ph.D, I want to study on the subject of Solid Mechanisms and improve my self in the Finite Element Analyses.
I want to further expand my knowledge on Mechanical Engineering by pursuing a M.S and then Ph.D. degree. However, I do not want to continue my education in METU, since I strongly believe that a new university, new people, and new research facilities will widen my scope much more. On the other hand, I know that I must choose a university which presents the facilities and research areas that I am interested in. I believe that Indiana University- Purdue University is one of the best universities in United States to achieve my objectives. The Department of Mechanical Engineering offers its students a wide opportunity for research and study areas with the supervision of experienced faculty members and this influenced me to select it as a graduate program.
In June 2005, I will leave METU with hard-earned skills, the intellectual ambition to obtain a M.S, and the dream of being one of the main contributors in tomorrow’s challenging world of mechanical engineering. I am ready to fulfill my potential as a M.S. student, and I am eager to begin at Indiana University- Purdue University.
Murat Demiral