I am A.H.M.

Ashfaque Uddin, an MPhil student in Micro- and Nanotechnology Enterprise at the

University of Cambridge. My ultimate career goal is to be an accomplished researcher in
Nanotechnology. With that aim in view, I would like to pursue the PhD program in EECS at MIT. I
outline my academic and research accomplishments, career objectives and motivation below.
In the year of 2002, I was admitted into the undergraduate program in Electrical & Electronic
Engineering at Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology (BUET), which is recognised
as the best Engineering University in Bangladesh. I was ranked among the top 0.2% of
approximately 150,000 students who appeared in the University Entrance Exam. After a semester
at BUET, political circumstances in Bangladesh forced me to transfer to the bachelor program in
Electronic & Electrical Engineering at the University of Leeds, one of the top-rated Engineering
Universities in the UK. My education at Leeds was an eye-opener for me. I found Electronic &
Electrical Engineering even more interesting and challenging than I had ever imagined. Right from
the time I joined, I took genuine interest in the core concepts underlying every phenomenon.
The stimulating environment at Leeds spurred me on to pursue a research project during the
summer after my freshman year. I personally approached Professor Giles Davies, a former
Cambridge professor and a pioneer in Molecular Nanotechnology and Terahertz Electronics, to get
involved with his research group and was awarded the opportunity to work on a project at the
Terahertz Electronics Laboratory of the University of Leeds. There I investigated the optical
properties of different solid and liquid materials, e.g. Human Cortical Bone, Polyamide Plastic etc,
by using Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy. The project was an effort towards the development
of Terahertz technology for physical, biological and medical imaging. This experience was
invaluable for me because it helped me to learn the basics of practical research and appreciate what
it is like to be a member of a research group. Following my work at Terahertz Laboratory, I coauthored a paper entitled ?A Terahertz Time-Domain Study of Human Cortical Bone? which was
presented at 'The IEEE Joint 29th International Conference on Infrared and Millimetre Waves &
12th International Conference on Terahertz Electronics' in Germany. Subsequently, the research
paper was published in the June 2005 issue of the Institute of Physics journal 'Physics in Medicine
& Biology'. As an undergraduate, I felt really proud of achieving such research accomplishments.
In the summer of 2005, I was placed in an internship with Pace Micro Technology PLC, a leading
developer of Digital TV Technologies, via the International Corporate Leadership Program (ICLP)
run by the University of Leeds. This yearly scheme takes the two most research oriented and
academically successful penultimate year students from each engineering department and places
them in an industrial internship. At Pace, I joined the R&D department and spearheaded a project
which involved the design and development of a wideband upconverter. The project enabled me to
acquire an in-depth knowledge on various design aspects of Communications and RF Engineering,
e.g. the design methodologies of PLL Oscillator, Quadrature I/Q Modulator, RF Mixer, Filter etc.
Moreover, working in such a well-established company helped me to gain commercial
understanding and awareness of practical environment.
The following year, I completed my final year undergraduate project with Pace Micro Technology.
The project involved the evaluation and improvement of the phase noise performance of a dualconversion system for a Digital Set Top Box and investigation of the feasibility of the system for
QAM-256 modulation scheme. My performance in the final undergraduate project was recognized
with 'The IEEE Best Final Year Undergraduate Project Prize' and 'Rinicom Limited Prize'.
Academically, I graduated second among 129 undergraduate students in my department with a
final cumulative average of 85.2% which is 15.2% above the threshold for a first class honors
degree. I received the prestigious 'Professor Carter Excellence Scholarship' in each year of the
undergraduate program for my academic performance and was included in the 'Dean?s Honors
List' in each semester.

During my final undergraduate year, conversations with Professor Giles Davies inspired me to
explore the multifarious applications in the field of Nanotechnology. I began to follow the recent
research and innovations in the field by going through relevant journals, periodicals and websites.
My inquiries helped me to appreciate the degree of impact that Nanotechnology will make on
people?s lives in the not-too-distant future. Upon graduating from Leeds, I decided to embark
upon a career in Nanotechnology. As a stepping stone towards my aim, I secured admission to the
MPhil in Micro- and Nanotechnology Enterprise sponsored by 'The Cambridge-MIT Institute' at
the University of Cambridge. In this program, I am currently undertaking a wide range of
interdisciplinary courses that will help me build a strong foundation in Micro- and
Nanotechnology. At the moment, I am gaining hands-on experience of different characterisation
and fabrication techniques of nano-materials such as AFM, SEM, TEM, E-Beam Lithography,
Focused Ion Beam Lithography etc., which are used in the Nanotechnology world on a day to day
basis. I am also working on a project at The Nanoscience Centre under the supervision of Dr.
Ashwin Seshia on the development of a high-precision silicon micro/nanoelectromechanical
resonator oscillator generating frequencies in the 10-1500 MHz range. The extraordinarily small
size and high level of integration that can be achieved with silicon MEMS/NEMS resonators
appear to open exceptional possibilities for creating miniature-scale precision oscillators to be used
in e.g. mobile communications and navigation devices. In the long term, such oscillators could
realize nano-electro-mechanical processors that, combined with traditional CMOS, could create
new alternatives for signal processing in VLSI.
I plan to spend the coming years completing a PhD in the field of Nanotechnology. My intent is to
implement Nanotechnology in electronics, biology or in the interface of these two disciplines.
After my PhD, I will continue doing research either in academia or in industry towards developing
new ideas and concepts in Nanotechnology and contributing to its immense development. I would
also like to contribute my share of knowledge to the economic and technological advancement of
my country. The distinguished faculty, exciting range of courses offered and state of the art
research at MIT would make it a perfect arena for my graduate studies. At the EECS department of
MIT, my research interests coincide with those of Professor Tom?s Palacios, Professor Jongyoon
Han, Professor Henry I. Smith, Professor Sangeeta Bhatia, Professor Vladimir Bulovic, Professor
Joel Voldman and Professor Mildred Dresselhaus. Infact, I have been in contact with several of
these professors and they seem excited about working with me.
It would be a privilege to pursue graduate studies assistance at Massachussets Institute of
Technology. I am confident that, given an opportunity to study at MIT, I will emulate the high
standards set by your graduate community.