Dear Professor ####:
I am very sorry to bother you and send this e-mail, but I really wish to
contact you. I am a graduate student majoring in Condensed Matter Physics
Theory in the Department of Physics, Beijing University (Beijing). I wish
to pursue a doctoral degree in Physics at your University. My desired date
of entrance is Fall, 2000. I have visited the homepage of the "Laboratory
for Nanotech". I am writing this letter to you to introduce myself and
query about the graduate programs at NCCNM. Thank you very much for
reading this email.
Born on SEP 10, 1979, I entered Huazhong Univ. of Science and Technology
(HUST) when I was 15 years old. I finished the four-year undergraduate
program in three years and achieved my degree of B. Eng. (Optoelectronic
Engineering) in June 1997 with the honor of "Outstanding Graduate". Then,
I was admitted to the Graduate School of Beijing University at the
Department of Physics. I will obtain my degree of M. S. (Physics) in June
2000. I have done much research work on the topics of mesoscopic physics,
such as carbon nanotubes, persistent currents, Aharonov-Bohm geometric
phase effects, electronic transport phenomena, etc. Such modern research
topics attract me very much in that they are associated with both
Condensed-Matter Physics and microelectronics, respectively my detail
majors for M. S. and B. Eng.
I wish to say that I am indeed interested in the graduate programs at
Physics Dept. of Princeton University, and I eagerly wish that I can join
your research group. As I have also strong research interests on carbon
nanotubes, I do believe that the doctorate-oriented study under your
direction will be of great help to me. I wonder, however, whether you do
theoretical or experimental research works? I wish to state that, although
my current research topics on carbon nanotubes are theoretical, I can also
do experimental research works, especially optical studies, due to my
undergraduate major in Optics. I hope my solid background in both physics
and engineering can meet your general requirements of entrance to Physics
Department as a graduate with financial supports. I deem it a great honor
to become a graduate of Princeton, if admitted.
Would you please consider my application and tell me whether it is
possible for me to be enrolled as your graduate with financial supports?
Thank you very much for your kind assistance. I am looking forward to
receiving your reply.
My current address is:
#######
Building Room
University
Beijing 100080
People's Republic of China
Thanks!
Yours Sincerely
#########
（1B）
Dear ######:
Thank you for the email and your interest in our research program.
I am very intersted in your application and would like to hear more. Are
you interested in Fall 2000 or fall 2001? Certianly for 2001 there should
be no problem getting research support, provided that your test scores,
grades, etc. are acceptable to the university. For 2000, it would be a
little tougher because of the short notice, but might be arranged under
special circumstances.
You asked about the nature of research here. In the laboratory, students
generally couple calculations with experiment. We specialize in
spectroscopic determinations of transport and electronic structure using
scanning probes (STM and NSOM). To gain a detailed understanding of this,
ab initio calculations must be compared with data. We have worked closely
with J-C Charlier in Belgium, A. Rubio in Spain, and X. Blase in France
using a variety of theoretical techniques including tight binding for
structural information and LDA of DFT for electronics calcs.
Our tunneling microscope is a low temperature Besoke design copied from
the Julich group. We are capable of running at LHe temperatures for good
energy resolution. We are in the process of constructing a near-field
scanning optical microscope and a photon scanning tunneling microscope.
These two new instruments should be on line around Dec.
Our group focus is to understand the quantum dynamics and optical
response of individual nano-systems like carbon nanotubes, B-doped
nanotubes and filled nanotubes. Look for our latest publications coming
out in the next months in PRL, JMR, and Advanced Materials. The entire
group will also be at the MRS meeting in Boston.
We would be pleased to consider your application for this year or next.
########
Professor of Physics
Princeton University
（2A）
Dear Professor #######:
Thank you very much for your kind reply. I am sorry that during the
summer vacation I cannot read and reply your email in time.
As stated in my first letter, my desired entrance date is in Fall of
2000. And I would like to provide my test scores. My TOEFL test score is
647 (Oct. 1997) with a TWE score of 5.0. My GRE test score is 2340 (Oct.
1996, V770 M800 A770). My GRE Subject score is 920 (Oct. 1998, Physics).
And I will take the TSE test in the coming August. And my undergraduate
and graduate GPA are both about 3.5 in 4.0, about top 10%-20% in my class.
I wish to make a note that during my undergraduate study I was quite
young, and during my graduate study I take many efforts to study the basic
courses in Physics by myself, which may be the reason my GPAs are not in
the top 5%. But now I believe that I have been quite familiar in the
knowledges of Physics, both the courses and the researches. So I hope that
my test scores and grades are acceptable to Priceton with financial
supports.
As to the research, I am very glad to learn the research background you
provided in your letter. I am quite familiar with the works of X. Blase
published in PRL and APL. I also know that J-C Charlier is a famous
specialist in this field. So perhaps I could do theoretical research works
in your group. Also, I am very glad to know that you have the needed main
instruments for carbon nanotubes in your group, so that both theoretical
and experimental works can be done.
I am puzzled at the "MRS meeting in Boston" you mentioned in your
letter. What is the full-name of MRS? Is it a meeting specialized in
nano-systems? I do research works on carbon nanotubes almost totally by
myself, and perhaps are not familiar with such fixed terms. Would you
please explain the contents of this meeting? Thanks. And you mentioned
that your latest publications will come out in next months in PRL. Would
you please send me the page number of this paper in PRL, and if possible,
the full text of this paper? The journal PRL reaches to China very late,
usually several months to half a year after published, and I don't have
the account to find the full-texts of PRL on-line.
I am looking forward to receiving your warmhearted reply.
Thanks.
Yours sincerely
###########
（2B）
Dear #######:
Thank you again for your email. From the sounds of your scores and
grades, you should have no problem entering Princeton. I am quite familiar
with the program that you are in and have had several close friends that
have been there at Beijing University. In fact, ####### was in graduate
school with me and she was in the accelerated program. She has done
extremely well in the U.S. and after graduation went on to do some first
rate science at a university in California.
Since 2001 is your target date, I can begin to arrange funding for a
research assistantship for you. These are nicer than teaching
assistantships because they allow you to focus only on your research.
Naturally, you will not be obligated to accept should you find other
options. However, I believe that you will be most welcomed here in my
group.
You had asked about some of my publications, if you send me your address
I can send preprints. They may take some time to get to China. You can
find some of our work listed on our web site under my cv. This is an
incomplete list but the PRL of last year is there and the latest hasnt yet
been released from the publishers.
We have been doing some interesting things lately with topological
defects on tube manifolds that you might like. We have recently imaged
nanotubes which exhibit a change in chirality along the tube! Tunneling
spectra show that this produces subtle changes in the LDOS as predicted in
some of X. Blase's work. We have also begun optical studies on individual
nanotubes using near-field scanning optical microscopy and spectroscopy.
We are particualry interested in how the surface plasmon resonances
(governed by tube topology) effects the third order nonlinear
susceptability in these objects.
Thank you again for your interest in our group. May I suggest that we
keep in contact over the year. Let me know your progress and I will try to
help with the application procedures should you decide to join us.
Sincerely
XXX