Although the rapid progress in science and technology has been freeing the human beings from traditional bandage to nature greatly, a basic fact has astonished me for a long time. According to a 1983 study by the U.S.A Department of Commerce, materials failure costs Americans roughly 4% of the gross national product. Such case may be more severe in developing countries. Out of question, mechanics plays a key role in this field. So, mechanical engineering was my first choice when I entered Peking University. In Peking University, I got scholarship every year, including the "Climber of Mechanics" award in 1997. Just two outstanding undergraduate students got this honor in Peking University every year. In 1997, I received my B.S. degree and was admitted into the master's program of Mechanical Engineering in Chinese Academy of Sciences.

While pursuing my degree, I have been participating in the National Fundamental Research Project "Nonlinear Science" and the key project of National Natural Science Foundation of China in the 9th "5 Year": "Macro-micro Mechanical Behavior of materials and Their Design for Strength and Toughness" (No. 19891180). I have finished 9 papers and 6 of them have been published. I became the only one who got the first class of Yonghuai Kuo Award among over 100 competitors in the Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in year 2000.

My current work is about mechanical behavior and nonlinear physical properties of inhomogeneous materials. Mechanical behavior of materials in multi-scale (under different conditions) is my next interest. With the development of technology, the smaller the units, the more important the surface effect. To evaluate the mechanical behavior of materials in small scale, especially in nano-scale, is the focus for the society of material, mechanics. How do the cracks propagate in materials with microscopic impurities and dislocations in their crystal structure before a crack cleaves the material clearly? What is the best structure for a concrete material under given conditions? Mechanical Engineering has so many challenges in the new century!

I hope to become a successful teacher or a researcher in this arduous but exhilarating field. The significant progress achieved in mechanical engineering in MIT, combined with the extraordinary cultural and intellectual sources in your university, has attracted me greatly. With the study in Peking University and the research experience in the best scientific organization in China, I am sure that I am qualified and would be an outstanding Ph.D. student at MIT. With the advanced courses, balanced program and distinguished faculty of your department, I would get a solid background for my future academic career.