break

Long time, no blog. I wouldn't say that uni work has become a big, all consuming monster just yet, but it has done enough to keep me from feeling entirely comfortable with spending my spare moments writing in here.

At the moment, I'm filling out forms to apply for PhD scholarships. One of my old supervisors from an industrial training placement is pretty keen on me heading down to Canberra to do a PhD. The Research School of Chemistry at the ANU does look like a place in which interesting, good quality work is done. Nobody there does any teaching, so the entire focus is on research. Still, Canberra...

And one of my lecturers is pretty keen on getting a new PhD student in next year, so he's been pushing me to apply for scholarships so that I can study here. If all goes well with the scholarship applications, maybe I'll be tempted to stay in UNSW for 3 more years.

I must say, the thought of doing a PhD has grown on me over the course of the year. At the moment, doing research sounds a lot more appealing to me than going somewhere and getting a job.

I've mentioned several times in this blog that writing in a public space provides a good means for me analyse my own thoughts... maybe I'll use this blog to help me fill out one of my application forms. What attracts me most to the Faculty of Engineering Research Scholarship?

During my time studying as an undergraduate, as well as through my various industrial training placements, I feel that I have gained a better understanding of how scientific knowledge builds up. I have come to realize that scientific progress is heavily dependent upon a foundation of work created by others, and I find the possibility of actively interacting with and adding to this foundation of knowledge to be very exciting.

In addition to this, my experiences over the past several years at university and in industry have shown me that though there are objective truths to be found through scientific research, the perceived implications of these scientific facts, as well as their influence, are very much dependent upon the ways in which we interpret them and the context that we place them in. Observing scientific facts that lead to a re-evaluation of received beliefs, requiring the known body of knowledge to be interpreted in a meaningful new context is a very appealing concept to me.

I would find it exciting to be actively involved in such a generation and interpretation of scientific knowledge in a field which has the potential to genuinely contribute towards the well-being of others.

For the above reasons, I would love to become involved in scientific research, and the most attractive aspect of the Faculty of Engineering Research Scholarship would be that it would provide a realistic means by which I could become actively involved such research.

How's that sound? Funny, I think I actually believe what I wrote... research does sound exciting.