Statement of Purpose

My initial interest in Physics and Mathematics began when I enrolled in high school. The introduction to a higher level of Physics, and Math excited me and I had to learn more. That is why my major is Physics and my minor is Mathematics. After obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics, I plan on attending graduate school to receive a Master's degree and later a Ph.D.

I have been fortunate enough to become a researcher in the Office of Naval Research (ONR) program. ONR focuses on increasing the number of minority students pursuing careers in science, mathematics, and engineering. They focuses on increasing the number of minority students through:

• Undergraduate Research Experience (URE)
• Graduate School Preparation
• Contact with outside scientist and researchers
• Academic year research training and mentoring by faculty
• Travel to appropriate undergraduate research forums

The program has provided student travel funds, support from faculty research, and over one million dollars in scholarships. ONR gave me the opportunity to learn how to write papers in a two column format, design WebPages, learn about UNIX, Globe, Multimedia, Remote Sensing, Networking, and many more.

I was given the opportunity to be not only a member on the Remote Sensing team, but also an assistant for our mentor in ONR. With the help and encouragement from Dr. Linda Hayden, Principal Investigator, Dr. Malcolm LeCompte, mentor for Remote Sensing, and faculty and staff members, the Remote Sensing team will successfully study and learn more about upwelling and ocean color and will be introduced to SeaDAS. We particularly will import the SeaDAS software to enable analysis of data for the summers of 2000 and 2003 during which upwelling correlation can be established between Chlorophyll-a levels and Sea Surface Temperature in coastal waters.

After being on the Chancellor's and Vice-Chancellor's List for four consecutive semesters, I had the opportunity in conducting research with the Undergraduate Research Experience in Ocean and Marine Science (URE OMS) at NASA Goddard Space Center in Maryland. The title of my project was" The Creation of Educational Module for GES DISC Laboratory for Ocean Color Users (LOCUS) and Enhancement with SeaDAS investigation."