Personal Statement

"I have a lot of dreams."
"If we dream, everything will be possible."

In retrospect¹, I have much to be proud of. As a 10-year-old teenager, I was already obsessed² of painting the concrete forms of my dreams with the brush in my hand. At such a young age, I had already learned the necessity to practice painting deep into the night in order to achieve constant improvement in the sophistication of my brushwork. My endowments and my dedication³ helped me secure three major prizes at international adolescent fine art competitions. My substantial progress in practicing fine art also opened the door to developing my perceptive⁴ horizon and to tapping my tremendous potential. As a result, I handled my studies with much facility, especially in mathematics for which I had a particular penchant⁵. No matter how difficult the courses in my high school were, I could almost invariably achieve full marks in all of them. Apart from virtually perfect performance in the scholastic⁶ aptitudes⁷ at my school, I achieved remarkable⁸ scores in a variety of national contests for high school students in mathematics, physics, and chemistry. Those distinguished⁹ achievements resulted in my being enrolled¹⁰ by Tsinghua University, exempted¹¹ from entrance examination. In China, this could properly be deemed the highest honor that a high school student could possible attain¹².

"On the way to the realization¹³ of your dreams, there is no substitute for hard work"
"Teamwork fulfill¹⁴ your dreams easily"

Upon entering this most prestigious¹⁵ university in China, which is Tsinghua University, in my usual spirit of dedication and perseverance¹⁶, I once again embarked¹⁷ on my journey of industrious¹⁸ study in the Department of Automation. My exceptionally solid foundation in mathematics provided me with a stepping stone with which I proceeded onto the exploration of other sophisticated and erudite subjects. As a freshman¹⁹, I taught myself such mathematics courses as Real Analysis and Advanced Numerical Analysis that are only scheduled for senior students. My performance in all the specialty-related coursework not only enabled me to secure the second highest GPA ranking in my class but also furnished me with a powerful instrument whereby to materialize my dreams in the research and development of computer and network technology.

In the scorching²⁰ summer of 1999, with an entrepreneurial passion that was much more vehement²¹ than the scorching sun, two classmates and I commenced to establish our own business and to operate our own company. By any imagination, it was a challenging undertaking²². We focused on the development of online multimedia²³ entertainment platform and on the research and development of virtual reality (VC) technology. In the process of developing the software for the VC products, we encountered the major obstacle of how to realize globular equation of the pictures actually taken of the real objects.

Under my organization and leadership, the task team, which consisted of a number of senior undergraduates and graduates, consulted a huge amount of technical literature, solicited²⁴ professional guidance from specialists in the field, conducted surveys and interviews, analyzed²⁵ feedbacks, and wrote business proposals. It was common for me to sleep only four hours a day. We worked under the conviction that, even if we failed 99 times, we would be ultimately victorious²⁶ if we could succeed in the 100th trial. Any notion of defeatism would cause one to relinquish²⁷ and end up in eternal failure.

Within two months, we eventually succeeded in developing the semispheric equation algorithm whose effect could perfectly²⁸ parallel the globular equation algorithm of the software. In autumn, the season of harvest, we won the Prize for Excellent Original Conceptualization at the annual Entrepreneurial Competition with the business proposal based on this project. In the meantime, we succeeded in attracting a risk, investment worth 5 million RMB (approximately 600000 US dollars). The immediate²⁹ infusion³⁰ of the cash into our company guaranteed the overall inauguration³¹ of our company.

In the initial stage of establishing our business, we foresaw that the VC technology would make tremendous headway in the future network application. The problem we faced at that time was the limited bandwidth of the network, which in turn circumscribed³² the development of VC technology. After nearly one-year development, our technology has become increasingly mature. Furthermore, our collaboration³³ with Britain's Rotography Company has acquainted us with some refreshingly³⁴ constructive³⁵ concepts. With the continued improvement of the China's domestic network environment, we have formally initiated³⁶ serial³⁷ services to our clients in the application of VC technology. In this process, our company's website for supplying technical service www.senex.net was consummated³⁸. So far, many manufacturers availed themselves of our VC solutions, including Beijing Garment Manufacturing Factory, the largest of its kind in Beijing. Meanwhile, I participated in a seminar on the development of network virtual passage "VPN" project jointly³⁹ undertaken by Zhejiang University and NingPo Golden Leave Information Technology Company. By conducting a survey of U.S. VPN market and by studying VPN technology, I presented some unique insights of my own at the seminar, which were positively⁴⁰ evaluated by computer specialists from Zhejiang University.

With our products started to increase the market share, the reputation of our company became increasingly widespread. As a burgeoning⁴¹ company, we managed, through fierce bidding, to secure a project of Demonstration⁴² System from Sony Company. Though finally the project did not take long to complete, the success of winning the first project through tender excited the whole group of young entrepreneurs. At present, in reaction to the strong demands for information concerning rubber market by more than 20000 manufacturers and related enterprises, our company is cooperating with Reuter Agency and Information Headquarter of China National Rubber Industry in developing and designing "China Rubber Business Website", which aims at providing the most updated global rubber information for domestic rubber manufacturers and ultimately realizing the B2B business platform for China's rubber industry. This is a newly-emerging field which integrates conventional industry with IT industry, thus requiring rich professional knowledge and experience in conventional sector⁴³ as well as powerful and comprehensive analytical⁴⁴ and problem-solving capability⁴⁵. Under such circumstances, I am forced to augment⁴⁶ my knowledge in a totally strange profession within the shortest possible time. But I know that with, my usual confidence, I will surmount⁴⁷ this challenge.

"If we can dream it, we can do it."
"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."

Now I have a dream to become a well-trained engineer so that I can enjoy myself in the field of technology application as well as in the field of theoretical research. Furthermore, I love the feeling of being challenged. Only by plunging⁴⁸ oneself into a challenging environment will one be able to keep on scaling new heights. For me, this challenging environment that fascinates me most is Harvard University, the ideal university to undertake my Ph.D. program.

In my prospective⁴⁹ degree program, I would like to concentrate on the following fields: (a) VLSI & Microelectronics; (b) Systems and Control; (c) Robotics and Computer Vision; (d) Communications & Signal Processing; (e) Operations Research & Systems.

I am convinced that the advanced training in your established graduate program will help develop me into a successful professional in my chosen field. In the highly challenging academic environment of Harvard, I will rely on two effective strategies that I have consistently employed in my heretofore studies and business operations: competition and cooperation. I can imagine that, with the international perspective and professional expertise⁵⁰ developed at Harvard University, I will be best assisted in bringing my tremendous potential into full play in my future efforts to blaze new trails in the virtually unlimited⁵¹ future world.