Hi, my name is Jin shi Wang. I am from Bangkok, the capital of the Kingdom of Thailand. Although I am a Chinese citizen and have lived in China for nine years, I consider Bangkok my true home. I attended Ekamai International School from 5th grade up to 12th grade. It is founded in 1957, the oldest international school in Thailand. Its strong mathematics education has well prepared me for the engineering workload here at Pitt.
I have chosen to major in engineering because my strong points lie in the field of math and the sciences (more chemistry and biology than physics), and I like to solve problems. The University of Pittsburgh is a leading research institution, which would be suitable for my intended major in materials sciences and engineering. Although the distance from Bangkok to Pittsburgh could be covered in approximately twenty hours by flight. I think the distance is worthwhile, because of Pitt offers so much opportunities and co-op experiences that greatly exceeds those in Bangkok. I am interested in specializing in materials science and engineering because of the broad applications it offers. Materials are the foundation of structures in any industry. Therefore, the right materials are crucial for designing successful products. Also, I am very looking forward to synthesizing the chemical and physical properties of different materials for my senior project.
Music has been my favorite hobby of all times. The first time that I touched a piano keyboard was when I was still a toddler. I have been getting private lessons for twelve years. I particiated in piano competitions, school talent shows, and played the clarinet during middle school marching band. I am contemplating on pursuing a music minor along with my engineering major. Other than my passion for music, I enjoy being in the outdoors. I played varsity soccer for three years. Often, I play golf with my dad on weekends, and participate in golf tournaments.
We are collecting data regarding soil erosion of the Panther Hollow Watershed that would be utilized by Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy as a reference to restore Panther Hollow Watershed. One of our main tasks is to obtain and analyze topographical maps of Schenley Park area over the centuries to track the changes in contour lines possibly due to soil erosion. We are also collecting water samples at six cross sectional areas along Panther Run to examine the amount of total dissolved solids, suspended solid, volatile suspended solid, and total suspend solid. Differences in the amount of solids from each location can be used to analyze soil erosion. Aside from our client’s targets, we are indicating trenches, wrongly sloped trails that may worsen soil erosion. In addition, we are validating data collected by previous teams.