<p>Would it show that you are more mature, focused, and passionate, or should essays talk more about general experiences, etc.?</p>
<p>the hell is an REU essay</p>
amarkov
February 20, 2010, 11:30pm
3
<p>Is the essay prompt “Please write a research proposal”? Because otherwise, yes, sounding like a research proposal is bad.</p>
b_r_um
February 20, 2010, 11:34pm
4
<p>Your essay should convey two points: that you really want to participate in this particular program , and what you can contribute to the program in return. For example, if you have some relevant technical experience that many of your peers would not have, that’s worth mentioning.</p>
<p>The exact format of your statement should depend on the format and goal of the program you are applying to. If you are applying to an REU with individual student projects, an application essay that sounds like a research proposal might be very appropriate. If you would be working with a group of students on a project assigned by a professor, there’s really nothing to “propose.”</p>
<p>it’s also like “write about your interests and career goals”…</p>
<p>I don’t really know how to explain my career goals beyond saying that I like scientific research a lot and explaining the importance and significance of my research interests.</p>
<p>No, it says that you are incapable of understanding instructions and making basic decisions on your own.</p>
<p>how would you write about your research interests? I mean, it doesn’t sound like a research proposal research proposal. I keep my language accessible. What I mean is that the focus of the essay is rather like one in the sense that I’m trying to convey my passion for research and scientific investigation and you should allow me to join this program because I will be making contributions in these highly valuable but understudied areas.</p>
<p>sometimes I toss in a little childhood story in there (length permitting) </p>
<p>still my essay tends to be idea-dominated rather people-dominated… like I’m really into concepts and less into “so this is what I did when I was x years old…”</p>
<p>seriously could someone enlighten us plebes on what an REU is?</p>
<p>research experience for undergraduates</p>
<p>it gets funded by the NSF</p>
<p>ok how does this essay sound</p>
<p>
I have recently taken to the hobby of molecular gastronomy, corresponding with both chefs and food chemists alike on the web; the investment required is cheap and the rewards can be immediately put into the stomach. Starting out with attempts to improve texture and solubility, I became interested in such topics as modifying Maillard glycation products and the many syngergistic inhibiting/stimulating interactions of glutamate with other flavours. I would like to turn my curiosities into actual experimental research. In 2004 the FDA approved the use of adenosine monophosphate (AMP) as a food additive that inhibits bitter sensation and its current main application is to block bitter tastes in medicines. In addition to studying the biology of AMP’s perception I would like to investigate its interactions with other bitter food ingredients such as alcohols, alkaloids and herbs.</p>
<p>I am interested in MLBS’ REU experience because I have a long-running interest in evolutionary history. I would also like to learn how evolutionary models are developed and how they are derived mathematically. I know from the systems that MLBS studies can become complex, involving many interactions and hidden variables. In the summer of 2009 I helped Peter Fields (in the Taylor Lab at UVA) PCR large quantities of S. latifolia individuals and we frequently discussed his model of multilevel selection and how he analysed his data in the field. This year I would like to gain more experience in collecting empirical data, especially molecular data, modelling and studying complex systems, and learning how to tackle a complicated scientific problem through analysis by parts. I also desire the close collaboration and friendship that fellow investigators develop. The skills I will gain here will not merely enhance my confidence in evolutionary analysis but also help me analyse other equilibrium-based systems I wish to study, such as the molecular equilibria of circadian clocks, biosynthetic pathways and multicomponent phase transitions.</p>
<p>Evolution connects my interests in gestation and linguistics. An understudied but well-attested phenomenon I wish to study is creolisation, where communities of children are essentially able to spontaneously create entire languages called creoles from disorganised language input. (These tend to be created in plantation or colonial environments.) These are full-fledged languages full of complex and sophisticated grammatical rules and often have many innovations not present in their parent languages. Their creation is intimately linked to the development of human languages (in both the biological and anthropological sense), in the same way that historic evolution mirrors contemporary gestation. An updated theory of creolisation would require the study of how the brain processes sound and language input and filters constant noise – a problem involving linguistics, biology, physics and computer/information science. </p>
<p>I am also interested in tissue regeneration and the building of electronic interfaces with the nervous system; the applications could improve the standard of life for patients suffering from atrophy, amputations or disabilities. I am fascinated by large systems with multiple feedback loops as this describes the human body in homeostasis; I would to use such knowledge to investigate methods to trigger gestation pathways in adults to restore damaged tissue or rebuild nervous system pathways, starting with simpler model organisms. People often protest to me that there appears to be no close connection with ecology; yet field ecology must often describe and investigate systems of dynamic, evolving agents interacting and self-organising by a large variety of cues. Studying such systems I believe, will help me study the development and self-organisation of human tissues.</p>
<p>I plan to apply to MD/PhD programs or graduate school for chemistry. Any future position I consider must have lots of opportunity for research and innovation, whether the position will be in food industry, drugs, materials or a university or research hospital, and I eventually wish to open my own research lab. Because one job will probably not be enough to cover all my research interests, in the future I am the type of person who would either hold two jobs or actively pursue these research interests when not in work.<br>
</p>
<p>I’m a second-year by graduation date but fourth-year by credit standing… actually I don’t know whether to mention this or not.</p>
<p>ok thanks for the contribution</p>
<p>Why not just ask one of the professors that’s writing you a recommendation to read through it and get their opinion.</p>