UMN grad student roommate

http://z.umn.edu/gradroommates

Fellowship, Scholarship, Funds, & Award

(1) KSEA (Korean-american Scientists and Engineers Association) Scholarship
http://scholarship.ksea.org/
http://scholarship.ksea.org/InfoGraduate.aspx

(2) UMN ECE Distinguished Research Award

(3) UMN Graduate School Best Dissertation Award
http://www.grad.umn.edu/fellowships/bestdiss/index.html

(4) UMN COGS (Councill Of Graduate Students) Travel Grant Award
http://www.cogs.umn.edu/awards.html

(5) UMN COGS (Councill Of Graduate Students) Leadership Award
http://www.cogs.umn.edu/awards.html

(6) UMN COGS (Councill Of Graduate Students) Graduate Student Teaching Award
http://www.cogs.umn.edu/

(7) UMN Graduate School Fellowships
http://www.grad.umn.edu/fellowships/index.html

(8) UMN Graduate School - Other Funding Oppotunities
http://www.grad.umn.edu/admissions/funding/other/index.html

Prospective co-workers

(1) Prof. Steven Ringel @ OSU - Electrical & Computer Engineering
https://emdl.osu.edu/

(2) Prof. John Rogers @ UIUC - Materials Science & Engineering
http://rogers.matse.illinois.edu/

(3) Prof. Moon J. Kim @ UT Dallas - Materials Science & Engineering
http://explorer.utdallas.edu/editprofile.php?pid=3170&onlyview=1
http://moonkim.org/

All set for myself alone!

University of Minnesota at Twin Cities.. So here I am now.

It has been 10 days since my 'Independence Day' arrival to the city on Thursday, July 4, 2013. The Twin Cities are neat and cute. It is not as empty as Laramie, WY, nor as tropical as Austin, TX. The Minneapolis-St.Paul metropolitan area is a great combination of refined buildings and the green, with Mississippi River crossing the center of Twin Cities. I like the skyscrapers of downtown both daytime and nighttime. Especially, I like the one I see everyday in the morning while walking to work. So far, my favorite spot is the balcony at Coffman Hall with a wide-spread view of the downtown.

About the school, the pressure has already begun. The work itself and the Professor are amazing and I am certain that this is an extraordinary opportunity for my life and career, which not many people will be lucky enough to have. Meanwhile, the most of the pressure originate from the fear from the deep inside of myself. During recent a few days, I realized myself that at the moment I hold a fear, as a rookie for the field, about the unknown dark path that I have never been on. More precisely speaking, it might be a fear that I am behind other people who already have previous education and experience. So what? So now am I afraid to fail even though I have just begun my new & hopeful career after a long detouring?? Should I be??? I DO NOT think so. The fear is the barrier that I will overcome. I know that I am the only one who should face the fear and is responsible for my own life. It is a battle against myself.

Today, I put two pics in front of my office desk: Da man and a Hope. Keep in mind your own confidence! Stay focused on what follows after never-give-up 5-min saving endeavors!

So here I am all set for getting through all by myself.