STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

Guner Dincer CELIK

From my early childhood till today, my most remarkable characteristic has been my curiosity to
learn about new topics. I have a vivid picture of Encyclopedias in my mind as my best friends in
primary school years. My keen interest for learning new ideas, when combined with my inner desire
to reach a degree of excellence in every piece of work I perform, enabled me to acquire significant
knowledge on various aspects of nature and technology, as well as leading me through a successful
educational career. As the years passed, my eagerness towards research topics got more and more
specific, increasing my excitement to go deeper and deeper into my subject of interest to discover
new ideas.

Although I had been keen on learning about science and technology in my early ages, I was first
seriously exposed to its beauty after I entered the Ayranci Super High School which is one of the
best high schools in Turkey accepting only the secondary school graduates with the highest degrees
in the capital of Turkey, Ankara. There I chose a science oriented education and as I expanded my
vision about physics, my favorite subject in secondary school, I determined my future area of
concern for my university studies.

In my first year in high school, I started a research activity on classical physics under the supervision
of my physics teacher and in the second year I made a laboratory demonstration about the effects of
changes in gravitational acceleration on pendulums and gave a lecture on gravitational forces to my
fellows. Tackling with the most fundamental laws of nature like gravitation, energy conversion,
momentum etc. augmented my enthusiasm for discovering new ideas in the field. Consequently, I
took part in a discussion group of senior high school students who were resolute in studying physics
and electrical engineering in university. The discussions, which were generally about the concepts of
modern physics and optical communications, affected my interests profoundly and in my second
year, I concentrated my research on relativity, properties of light and physics of wireless
communications. It was challenging to deal with advanced research subjects while trying to excel in
school, however, I benefited truly from all my work in high school in that, not only I gained a
studying discipline that has helped me achieve all my objectives up to now, but I also reached a
certain decision on my field of specialization in university; wireless communication systems.

What attracted me the most in the wireless communications theory that did not exist in physics was
the fact that these systems were utilized in such a way to transmit and receive information with the
waves in the air, and thus, being the state of the art and answering the crucial need of community by
enabling and developing distant communication. As I researched on how the satellites communicate
with the earth, and how the information captured by little antennas on mobile phones are processed,
my curiosity to master the wireless communications theory in an electrical engineering career grew
to a great extend. As a result, after high school, I matriculated into Middle East Technical University
(METU) Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering after a successful university entrance
examination with overall rankings of the first in my high school and in the first three hundred in all
score types among one and a half million other candidates.

My university years started with a successful English preparation class to perfect my English. In the
mean time, I continued to increase my knowledge about fundamentals of and innovations on
communications area through books and magazines like "Communication Systems", "IEEE
Spectrum", and "Science and Technology" from the department library. Having reached an excellent
degree in English, I completed my English preparation class with a ranking of the first in the
university after the English proficiency exam grade of 98,5 / 100.

The first year lectures in the department were about freshman courses like, mathematics, physics and
computer programming which I was already familiar with, however, in my second and third years,
while I went deeper into the vast electrical engineering area to widen my background in various
design concepts, I also paid special attention to vital subjects I would deal with in my professional
life. The Circuit Theory course together with Analog and Digital Electronics courses were important
considering the design of inside structures of transmitters and receivers, the concepts I would
encounter in the future. However, Signals and Systems I and II courses were the real significant ones
for me after which I developed a solid background in communications theory. Furthermore, dealing
with the mathematical fundamentals behind my personal researches and interests such as modulation
theory, the AM, FM, PM systems and how they are realized heightened my enthusiasm for mastering
these topics.

Besides theoretical work, I gained practical knowledge in electrical engineering through two
internships performed during the summer holidays. My first hands-on experience was in ASELSAN,
which is the most outstanding electrical design company employing the best minds dedicated to
engineering research in Turkey. There I joined a team working on "Laser Target Marking Device for
Missile Guidance". My project was the attenuation of the electrical noises occurring on the input and
output of a 24 to 5 V dc-dc converter to military standards. Firstly, I made an extensive research to
understand the reasons for this effect completely and to investigate the filter design concepts for such
a purpose. After I grasped the operation of the system in detail, I designed input and output filters
theoretically, then simulated them in P-Spice and finally tested them in laboratory by using a
spectrum analyzer. The design worked perfectly, satisfying all the requirements, and later my project
was taken to be utilized in the actual device. After all, this experience was invaluable for me since I
learned the basics of a practical research activity and appreciated what it was like to feel as a
member of a research and design group.

I performed my second practical experience in one of the world leaders in Integrated Circuits (IC)
field, ST Microelectronics, in Telecommunications Peripherals and Audio (TPA) group, after the
competent policy of the company to admit the most ten research oriented and successful students in
Turkey. My aim was to widen my background on telecommunication related applications of IC field,
such as transmitter and receiver design methodologies using IC technologies. Consequently, I joined
an R&D group working on wireless systems and bluetooth applications and performed the design of
various digital filters and electronic components in VHDL coding language. As a result, working in
such an outstanding design company broadened my vision of wireless communication systems and
how diverse its developmental stages can be.

As well as the coursework and practical experience, I try to follow the technological innovations and
new design techniques by reading technical periodicals and by talking to people in the
communications field. I am a student member of the IEEE Communications Committee and read the
"IEEE Communications" journal regularly. MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output) systems together
with intelligent antenna solutions for wireless communications are the most recent topics that I find
useful to learn about. Furthermore, after learning from Prof. Dr. Yalcin Tanik the growing need for
and researches done on wireless communications, I am absolutely determined to embark a career on
complete understanding and design of wireless communication systems.

Now I am a senior student and I have a strong reputation in the university. I am currently ranked the
first in my department and also in the faculty of engineering with a GPA of 3,99. I have received the
Dr. Bulent Kerim Altay award five times in my department for my excellent academic successes and
I have been in the high honor list of the dean six times. Having decided on my area of specialization
in the department, I am continuing my major option courses with Telecommunications-I and
Microwaves-I. I am also taking a course on Microprocessors to have an idea of the control of
practical electronic systems. In the second semester, I plan to take Telecommunications-II, Antennas
and Propagation, Digital Signal Processing (DSP), Microwaves-II and Nonlinear Electronics for
Communications courses. These courses constitute the core subjects for wireless communication
systems, and therefore, they will provide me with a solid background in telecommunications, which
will be of utmost importance for my future studies.

Aside from the academic life, I regularly use the cinema, theater and concert opportunities the
university offers. In addition to playing basketball regularly, I like to participate in the social clubs of
the university like Music Club, Origami Club, and Robotics Club and I play the guitar in a music
band for which I am one of the founders. These social activities have improved my interpersonal
skills and enabled me to appreciate the value of how precious it is to participate in an activity whose
members come from different backgrounds. Furthermore, I am very keen on teaching. I like my
ability to inspect the listeners' degree of knowledge together with their cognitive ability and explain
concepts as much as and as fast as they need. As a result, I give private and voluntary courses to
freshman and sophomore year students to support my additional expenses and to help young
engineers in forming their careers.

Now that I have determined the exact field I want to work in, I feel ready to go deeper and deeper
into the wireless communication systems through an M.S. and Ph.D. degree in a strong research
environment. A dedicated study on wireless communications will finally enable me to aggregate all
my previous knowledge and experience on the field. I am confident that my academic records and
practical knowledge combined with my eagerness to do research and ability to learn without the help
of a guide exhibit the perseverance and zeal required to pursue a Ph.D. study. MIT is a perfect choice
offering the students to gain exposure to a diverse student body and faculty. Furthermore, a graduate
study in EECS AREA I laboratory in MIT, especially on the Systems, Communication, and Signal
Processing areas with brilliant academicians and world-class research groups provides unequalled
experiences and a life long pride of being a member of such an excellent faculty. Finally, the
curriculum of MIT graduate program includes several courses about the core areas of
communication systems such as “Principals of Digital Communications ”, “Data-Communication
Networks”, and “Digital Speech Processing” and fits well to my research interests.

After obtaining my Ph.D. degree, I plan to continue my career as an academician with an excellent
knowledge of both theoretical and practical aspects of wireless communication systems. I will also
strive hard for being an active person in the state of the art by involvement in both industrial and
governmental projects. My ultimate goal in my career is to discover new theoretical concepts as well
as practical innovations in telecommunications field and the graduate study in MIT will be a real
milestone in my career to accomplish my goals.