[Sent 3 February ... ] 


I went to Francis Lewis High School, Queens, New York but I grew up
mostly in Bangladesh.  I am a Biomedical Engineering major here at
Stony Brook University, hoping to minor in a non-scientific field, if
scheduling permits. The WISE program activated introduced me to
diverse fields in science and engineering, particularly research
fields where I can accumulate, enhance, and elevate my knowledge of
basic science to applied levels. I am looking forward to learning
about MATLAB, designing in MEC 203, but most of all - to all the
correlations between my classes: thermodynamics in Honors Chemistry
II, electricity and flux in Physics 127 and the entirely new field of
research.

My interest in science started quite early but during 8th grade I
actually became involved in the scientific field. I enrolled in a
Saturday course at The New York Hall of Science - Youth Scientists
Hayden Program. I was exposed to field studies and science materials
outside of the textbook. Eventually the program evolved into a career
ladder where I had the chance to be a museum staff. For two years, I
volunteered in the museum and helped young visitors - grades K-6 -
understand common science concepts using exhibits. Later I returned to
work junior year of high school as an explainer for the museum. The
intense training, teaching and interacting with visitors regarding
science helped me grasp common theses. Upon entering college, I
started to realize how complex theories and computations relate to
simple everyday lives. Being part of the museum and having access to
hands on exhibits greatly stimulated my interest in science.

Aside from the extracurricular involvement at the museum, in high
school I participated in both science and math field. During freshman
year of high school I aimed for entering the Science Research program
where the first year was spent on bench research, then I participated
in research programs in order to compete in city, state and
international poster-board competitions. Once I was in the program, I
remained involved and enrolled in all regents and few AP science and
math classes. By the last year of high school, I participated in
numerous in school and city-wide competitions but best of all was my
involvement in our publication - annual school science journal and
symposium.

For two summers - junior and senior year - I researched in the Mount
Sinai Hospital Pediatrics Allergy and Immunobiology Department as part
of a Summer Research Program in the School of Medicine. My research
was to modify an alternative medicine - anti-asthma herbal medicine
intervention (ASHMI) - which is capable of inhibiting chronic
allergic responses. In this study I used HPLC, TLC, and ELISA
(in-vitro) experiments to analyze ASHMI and note the impact it has on
level of eotaxin - an asthma biomarker, found in human fibroblast
cells. These data are being used for improving asthma treatments and
for FDA approval of the herbal medication.

My concentration was never on one particular field of science but I
did have a weakness for physics. Though I am stubborn about accepting
intangible scientific notions (for example, electric field lines,
flux, etc.), I never gave up on physics. Until recently, I did not
realize that there are infinite examples of physics everywhere. My
interest in physics is inevitable as long as I have proper guidance
and patient teachers who are willing to answer my endless questions.
In biology or chemistry, there were times for colloquium but until
now, most physics classes were generalized, limited and monotonous.
Once I began to interact with museum staff who designed physics
exhibits and with the physics staff in Stony Brook, I began to
gradually visualize the potential of physics. This is why I am eager
to enter the realm of physics.

Currently, my favorite field of physics is biophysics and forces. My
goal is to better understand the use of lasers - especially for laser
cooling - and optics, since parts of it relates to biology and I
hardly have any thorough understanding of its applications. The only
way to improve my understanding is to divulge in the unknown areas of
science. With the guidance from the professors and one-on-one
mentoring, I will find physics more interesting and derive more
questions.

In my free time, I love to sketch, sing, water color and pastel
painting, photoshop and photograph, and read Agatha Christie's Hercule
Poirot series. I do have a set of hobby which relate to science - I
like keeping a notebook of random facts about science and this is why
I enjoy asking questions and keeping a record of different facts. I
also collect stamp, stickers, news articles, and write down famous or
interesting quotes. Like all teenagers, I do love surfing the net and
watching T.V. particularly watching Law and Order: SVU, Monk, Psych
and Mythbusters (which again helps with hobby of collecting random
facts). The oldest hobby I had was collecting international comic
books which include: Marvel comics and Tintin by Herge. Two of my
favorite books are Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom and The Hound
of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

In the future, I hope to have a collection of categorized novels and
books on lectures of physics, chemistry and biology. I hope to travel
to third world countries or focus on underserved areas of the United
States. For now, my main goals are to learn as much as I can about
lasers and optics and maintain a standard academic record for pursuing
higher education in graduate school or professional degree (medical
school). I would love to continue researching and remain involved in
the scientific field.