Technology Personal Statement Essay, Research Paper

The progression of technology and the effects it has had on civilisation

has always fascinated me, and generated within me a profound interest in the

Sciences. More recently, I have begun to excel more in Biology than Chemistry

or Physics, and this is where I wish to continue my studies. In my opinion,

Biological Technologies are an important resource, and are fast becoming more

important to industry and medicine, as fields like Bio-Materials and Genetics

are developed. I believe that there are still many new and exciting discoveries

waiting to be found, hidden within nature, and of beneficial use to humans and

the environment. I want to be a part of the next discovery. It is possible that the roots of my fascination

with science come from my first trip to the library. As dull and as eccentric as it may seem, the book that I chose in

the five minutes before closing time was one on Fungus of the British Isles.

After that, I read a lot of the Eyewitness Guides series, detailing the

advances in technologies from the Stone Age to the present day. What I enjoy

reading now, in magazines like New Scientist, and on other science websites, is

how new innovations can be put to practical use to solve modern problems. For

example, how genetic fingerprinting can be used for identification purposes, or

how gene technology could be used to incorporate new characteristics into

plants that enable them to grow in damaged salt farmland. Then there is the

possibility that biomass, and other renewable biological fuels could be used to

at least partially replace the fossil fuels that are beginning to run out, and

have been damaging the environment for a long time. Lastly, I find it amazing

how spider silk is stronger than steel cable, weight for weight, and that in

countries like China, bamboo is strong enough to be used for scaffolding that

we in the western world have to use steel for. In facts like this, I believe

lies enormous potential. In nature and in society, where I believe just about

everyone and every thing has a place and function, the possibilities are

endless. I have only had two jobs to date.

I have worked as lead waiter in a small restaurant, and now as a cinema

employee. Other than skills of handling money, or responsibility to do a job

properly, the most important lesson I think I have learned is the importance of

teamwork. The thing I have learned is that every single person has different

abilities, skills, tolerances, likes, and dislikes. The trick is seeing where

they fit, like the pieces to a puzzle. After finishing my education, I have

considered research as a career. It would be a nice dream to make a famous

discovery and go down in history, but I have not made any plans set in concrete

yet. I would rather consider all of my options before I go ahead, as glory will

not put food on the table. Outside of my studies, I don’t read books about

fungi any more, but I socialise with friends and meet new people, I play

computer games, use the internet, and apart from my science reading, I like to

read novels – usually of the medieval and fantasy genre. I also have an

interest in film, and working at a cinema, I am able to watch quite a lot of

movies. The strangest of my interests, is that I take medieval martial arts

lessons with a group called The Exiles. They translate manuscripts from the 15th

Century, and as a group we interpret what they mean, and learn how the

techniques shown actually work. We work with different weapons, like long

sword, dagger, and spear, but as the basis of the system stems from unarmed

combat, there is a lot of body mechanics involved, and I have learned a lot

about the dynamics of body movement. Even though fighting with medieval weapons

might not be the most often used skill in today’s world, it is an interesting

experience nonetheless.