I have been interested in communications for
a long time. There are certain new
technologies that are emerging right now.
So basically there has been a lot of work
in
radio frequency wireless systems. That actually
drove me to working with optical devices.
I saw the breadth of electrical engineering
where you can study electric machinery and
then also micro nanofabrication and theres
such a wide range of things. Not only am I
learning and making these nano air vehicles
but also the actuators. The understanding
can be applied to energy harvesting and a
lot of different areas. Thats what really
sparked my interest. Im building something
I can actually see and actually put my hands
on. Ive been working on the fractal approach
which is a more mathematical model. Ive
been working on the electromagnetic models
and now Im working on the chemistry models.
All scientific principles start with the thought
of whether it is possible or not and
then you do experiments and find out how much
you can do with it. Penn State, in this
particular field, is definitely is a major
contributor to the knowledge. When I first
joined the lab, it was intimidating. I was
like wow. Little me is here, and you dont
know what the expectations are and youre daunted
by the task. But as it becomes more of
your home, youre like wow, you feel like you
have someone behind your back. This is Penn
State. This is my group. It is a matter of
opportunities. Everything that is offered
to a
student to study is just amazing. Think about
just access to papers and publications. I
had the opportunity to talk with other friends
in various universities in the U. S. and
Europe and I have regularly received requests
from friends saying can you get me this
paper? because we have an amazing database
and tools to search for them. We have people
from all different nationalities coming over
here to study. Im in a lab with two other
French and a Chinese guy. My friends are from
Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, China, Malaysia,
Africa, Brazil, Argentina. I dont even ask
myself the question, Is Penn State
international? It is. It simply is. This is
a little cosmopolitan kind of city where you
see a lot of people from different countries.
Being here in the atmosphere of State
College, just everything has had its hand
in reshaping who I am as a person. Getting
the
Ph. D. is a piece of paper that shows you
have this lifelong passion for learning
basically. It shows youre willing to put the
work in to do something you really care
about. This perpetual challenge, in terms
of both imagination and adaptability, is
really what is meaningful to me. You have
to go through the steps to find out what is
possible. But it is possible to go a long
distance. The research that we do here will
impact everyone globally.
