Letter of Interests

Dr. Mohammad Boshir Ahmed, Ph.D.

School of Materials Science and Engineering,
Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST)”,
Buk-gu, Gwangju-61005, South Korea.

To Whom It May Concern:

It is with great enthusiasm that I submit my application to join as a faculty member (Job ID:
43805) at “Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) in Rolla ”
employment. In reviewing the research interests of your department, it seems that the
opportunity for collaboration is great. I’m particularly excited about potential collaborations
involving the role of Department Chemical and Biochemical Engineering -related research
activities. I have spent the last 12 years developing as a scientist and believe that I am ready
to lead my lab group. As a part of this, I have already developed a productive collaboration
network among different universities and different countries through a deep mutual
understanding and goals. Currently, I am working as a “Brain Pool Fellow” at “The Gwangju
Institute of Science and Technology (GIST)”, South Korea. Since July 2019, I am working
under the direction of Professor Myung-Han Yoon at “Bio-electronics Materials Laboratory
(BEML)” in “The School of Materials Science and Engineering” at GIST, Korea.

My interest in scientific research and academia stems from my late father who was a primary
school teacher. Unfortunately, he didn’t see my success as he passed away when I finish my
graduation from the University of Rajshahi. Anyway, I started my research career by working
in Chemical Engineering Laboratory at the University of Rajshahi. I was centered around the
development of a pyrolysis unit for biomass conversion to biofuel production in 2010. To get
practical experiences I later joined as an Assistant Teacher (Chemistry and Science) and I
worked for 2 years. As I progressed through my graduate career, I drifted away from biofuel-
based research toward fundamental science-based studies in the field of material science and
environmental engineering. Therefore, my Ph.D. studies (from the University of Technology
Sydney; UTS, Australia) focused on the conversion of the carbonaceous material for
functionalized biochar; activated carbon, and the production of their composite via high-
temperature carbonization technique for environmental contaminants remediation. At UTS, I
have also worked as a Teaching Assistant and Technical Assistant. However, I was looking
forward to further research pieces of training and looking to develop a new set of skills and
expertise growing into a new and diverse field of research. Therefore, I contacted Professor
Myung Han Yoon at GIST who routinely works on the development of advanced materials and
techniques for bioelectronics materials fabrication for different applications. I was impressed
with his research activities and also his lab facilities. So, after joining his lab, Professor Yoon
provided me with enough training. Now, the primary purpose of my current research lies in
connecting and unifying several research domains under the general heading of hydrogel fiber
and carbon fiber for bio-electronics, energy, and agricultural applications. Hence, I have
developed a few domains of work. Two of them are given below:

Project-1: “Biodegradable hydrogel from natural polymer for bio-electronics application”.

This is a very interesting project where I have prepared hydrogel from natural polymers
without the addition of a toxic cross-linker via a simple method. The produced hydrogel is
applied for plant agriculture.

Project-2: “Development of polymer-based carbon nanostructures doping methods for

electrical and energy applications”. This project has been awarded a grant from “National
Research Foundation (NRF)” in South Korea. In this project, I have produced carbon fiber via
electrospinning followed by carbonization and used them for energy applications. I am also
considering expanding toward versatile applications.
 Letter of Interests

Apart from my current Postdoctoral training, I have also developed my team as I am

collaborating in the form of student supervision by actively working with different Professors
from three Universities in Bangladesh. Here can be found details about my teamwork
(https://sites.google.com/view/dr-boshir-lab/home). In the future, I hope to exploit this
pattern to develop more advanced research domains for practical application. Also, I want to
extend my research expertise into diverse fields as required by the host institute.

However, several features of this department are particularly attractive. The first is that there
is an abundance of experience in this department, which will undoubtedly be useful for a new
faculty member. While I do believe that I am prepared to function independently, I am eager
to collaborate with existing faculty as well as with external faculty members and feel that I
can both learn from their expertise, but also complement their lines of research. Additionally,
this department has an interest in energy conversion materials with functional organic and
carbon-based materials research; and hydrogel-based research activities. I have chosen not
to apply to several other departments/universities because they lacked a nucleus of interest.
Indeed, I believe that my research backgrounds and interests contribute to the further
advance of the university’s research activities and will develop the technical skill set and
knowledge that will need to succeed in my future independent research endeavors. In
addition, I have altogether 55 referred journal publications with Google Scholar citations
>4850. Six of my paper is highly cited in the web of science, and I have been listed as a “Top
2% Scientists” for 2019; 2020 & 2021, respectively as ranked by Stanford University.

I hope that you will carefully review my application for employment and give serious
consideration to granting an interview. I am eager to discuss my potential role as a faculty
member of the Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering . I appreciated being
considered for the faculty position. I may not require to provide a sponsorship from
University as I have already applied for an EB-2 (NIW) visa in last 2 months ago.
Please let me know if I can provide you with any additional information to support my
application. I look forward to hearing from you and receiving a positive reply.

Enclosed is a copy of my curriculum vitae and research highlights, which includes personal
information, my research background, and experiences and research interests.
Thank you in advance

Dr. Mohammad Boshir Ahmed, Ph.D.

Brain Pool Postdoctoral Fellow,
School of Materials Science and Engineering,
Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST)”,
Buk-gu, Gwangju-61005, South Korea.
Email: Mohammad.Ahmed@gist.ac.kr