My country, Iran, as a result of its relative isolation, especially from the West, has largely developed a technology of its own. I am very much engaged with the way that technology is always based on physics, the foundation of science. I want very much, however, to become a world-class physicist who is trained not just by the physics professors of my own country—many of whom are marvelous—but also the best of the West. I especially admire the research taking place at your university in the area of ______, most particularly the work of Dr. ____ because of the way that his research helps me to work towards making important contributions of my own to research in the area of ____. Thus, your program is my first choice for graduate school.
My own areas of primary research interests span a broad continuum from Quantum Field Theory and Quantum Mechanics through Condensed Matter. I have a special interest in the Casimir Effect and hope very much to be engaged in research in this area in future. I completed both my BS and MS degrees at Azad University in Tehran. The central focus of my undergraduate education was Solid State Physics. In my Master’s program, my central focus was Atomic and Molecular Physics.
My father has been my central hero all my life, my most positive and influential inspiration. He graduated from Manhattan University in Mechanical Engineering and we used to have dozens of physics books around especially since he taught in a nearby high school. I was only in the 4th grade when my father died. I inherited all of his books and from that point on, I dedicated myself to physics. Within a few years, I gradually began to understand what I was reading, beginning with small phrases and working my way up. I learned English and Physics together from the very beginning and I feel strongly that this will help me to excel in your program.
When I enrolled in my first physics class in the university, I felt like an adventurer stepping upon a previously undiscovered island, curious, excited; I was absolutely thrilled. My real confrontation in physics goes back to the first year of undergrad school in 2000. I enjoyed all of my classes very much but it was Quantum Mechanics that stole my heart as an undergraduate student. For me there is nothing that compares with the joy of visualizing imagination and all of a sudden everything became possible by a certain extent of an amplitude even the hardly probable ones. Right after my second year, using some background training courses on Optics, I started my BS Degree project on X-ray, diffraction, properties and its domain of use; a heuristic method to study the structure of diffraction by sending beams of photons, ions, protons, and electrons, and etc with a similar wavelength to the atomic or molecular distant of the structure under study.
I was admitted to the Master’s Program in Atomic and Molecular Physics and soon found myself with several close friends deeply involved in the study of cosmology, which heightened my interest in theoretical physics as well. I found myself devoting large amounts of my time and energy to the extent to which time is an inseparable factor of our universe or to what extent our universe expands, and how dark matter contributes a major part of the whole matter of our universe. I became enchanted by special relativity. Given my diverse interests and my increasing dedication to interdisciplinary study, I was able to base my Master’s Thesis on inter-disciplinary objectives. I wrote my thesis on the history of the Casimir Effect, the way that this phenomenon originated from the notion of zero point energies of vacuum fields of QET. I closely examined various approaches to vacuum energies, lowest ground states of mostly quantum systems, and the calculations that are involved in the Casimir Effect. I sought to portray how the energy difference from a complete vacuum could exert a long range effect and eventually contribute to a cosmological constant. Using both negative and positive solutions instead of considering merely positive sets of Klein-Gordon equation which is called Krein space is such an intact fashion to calculate Casimir force. One of its outstanding advantages is, it automatically eliminates raised infinities throughout the calculation process .The idea of Casimir Effect via Krein space was firstly presented by Dr. XXXX whose paper I reviewed in my thesis. Subsequently, I started learning more of field theory, and I got my paper published with my advisor Dr. XXXX, “a Review over Krien Space “. Currently, I have been working on a project dealing with propagators under the supervision of my adviser.
I have also gained professional experience working in a physics lab at the same time that I completed my studies. I am most comfortable working in an international educational environment. I have been working towards gaining international exposure by continuing my studies at two international schools, an intensive program “Cosmology, Particle physics and implication for technology” at NTU, Singapore, organized by IAS and supported by CERN, Jan-Feb 2012, as well as a school of neutrino physics supported by ICTP at IPM, Iran, Sep 2012.
I thank you for consideration of my application to your distinguished program.