LianoBOY

In my family there is a tradition of interest in science: my grandmother was
college professor in chemistry and physics, and both my parents were trained as
mechanical engineers in college. When I was a kid, my mom showed me a box full of
extremely tiny gears – those that table clocks are made out of – and told me what each
part was for, and I remember thinking ―this is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen!‖ I have
been interested in mechanical structures and the inner working of human-made and
natural things ever since.
My interest in natural structures and systems began with photography. I find it an
almost magical technique of preserving any natural phenomenon from large to small. It
also gives me a chance to look at things very closely and wonder about them for as long
as I like. I took photographs extensively when I travelled in China, and later in my first
year of college. My interests intensified and went beyond just apparent forms, when
during my first summer in college I read about linear and nonlinear dynamics, emergence
behavior, game theory, neuroscience and spatio-temporal pattern formation in books
intended for undergraduate students or the general public. I decided that my appreciation
for nature would only deepen and advance if I learned about the underlying theory of the
nature of beauty, instead of just the beauty itself. I’m also more and more convinced that
we can gain insights into the very large structures in our universe by looking at smaller
structures like cellular pathways or subatomic particles.
In order to understand the physical world further, I enrolled in both physics and
mathematics programs. Even with the strong theoretical emphasis in my curriculum
choice, I still find physically touching, seeing and manipulating things among the best
ways to understand them. I enjoy doing lab works in physics, and I have worked in a
machine shop, sculpture studio, art museum, and taxidermy studio. However, the
elegance, simplicity, and power of theory are even more appealing to me as a scientist.
As I acquire more and more background in mathematics, I realize what a powerful
language and metaphor it is to science. I enjoy engaging myself in philosophical
arguments about the nature of mathematics and physics with my physics and astronomy
professor Dr. Robert Harmon and my best friend in college who is a neuroscience student.
My research project last summer was on an eclipsing binary star system, LV
Hercules, which has high orbit eccentricity. From the beginning of the project, I was very
enthusiastic about teaching myself observational astronomy from scratch. The project
was sponsored by the Arkansas Center for Space & Planetary Sciences at the University
of Arkansas, a new research center consisting of mechanical engineers, chemical
engineers, astronomers, biologists and cosmologists. I enjoyed the interdisciplinary group
dynamics during weekly seminars, while at the same time working in the physics

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