Fall 2002
PERSONAL STATEMENT
Michael Baham
Physics Major
Timbuktu Academy Scholar
Southern University and A&M College
Baton Rouge, LA 70813
I have been interested in the field of science for a long time. I have participated in
different things that involved concepts in science from the science fairs in elementary school to
interning at the Stennis Space Center during high school. In junior high school, I took all of the
advanced science and math classes that the school had in their curriculum. I also was an active
member in the Science club. In high school, I participated in an internship program where I took
an internship position at Neptune Communications, a mechanical and electrical engineering
contractoring business that builds many parts for the United States Navy. Then, I took an
internship position at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, which lead to a position during that
particular summer. Also in high school, I participated in the Key Club, a community service and
volunteerism club, which I was an active member.
At Neptune Communications, I used a three-dimensional drafting program to design
many parts for instruments that they use and instruments that they are planning to build. I
helped design some of the water buoys that they were planning to build for the United States
Navy. Even though I chose not to pursue an electrical or mechanical engineering career, I
learned how the job market works and how everyone in a working place must work together in
order to get a job done.
I learned many interesting concepts from working at the Stennis Space Center, in
Mississippi. I learned about how the government spends some of its money and how physicists,
oceanographers, and people of other backgrounds work together on a single project. I learned
about the aspects of mathematics and physics and their uses in the job that we were doing.
Even though I went there with some knowledge of MATLAB, I learned much more about that
program and others that I was using.
In the summer of 2002, I worked with the Southern University/LIGO Program. Over the
summer I performed various tasks, which included deciphering different types of data and
computer setup and maintenance. Our goal was to examine synthetic sapphire and its
absorption properties. I learned of the many scientific breakthroughs that have happened in the
last few years, and the science behind them.
I have worked with computers through out my whole life. I built my first computer when I
was in junior high. Then in high school, I helped setup and manage the school's computer
network, and by my sophomore year in high school, I setup my own network in my house. I can
work with many operating systems, such as Dos, Windows (98, 2000, or NT) and Unix. I also
have worked with many programs, and programming languages. I can program in: MATLAB,
HTML, Visual Basic and Basic, and Pascal. I have also worked with different kinds of
computers. I can use the personal computer, networked based computers, and the super-
computers that the government uses.
I am currently in my second semester of college at Southern University and A&M
College, and I am currently physics major. I am currently taking many science and mathematics
courses. Also, I am working with the physics department head in a research laboratory. After
graduation, I plan on continuing my education and ultimately obtaining a Ph.D. in Astrophysics
and Astronomy. I am currently looking for a graduate school to attend, but I am narrowing down
the list of possible colleges. Furthermore, I plan on obtaining a position with the United States
space program, or with the SETI program.
