letter of application

Dear Prof. Dashti,

I am writing for the prospective PhD position under your skilled supervision. I have recently graduated in Civil Engineering for master program from ....

My M.Sc. thesis, entitled “Research and Development of Homogenization Method for Micropile-Raft Foundation” was conducted under the supervision of Professor .... In the main part of my thesis, a new approach with a new formulation for homogenization has been developed. A micropile-raft foundation has been analyzed using both direct and homogenization approaches and sufficient accuracy using proposed homogenization method has been approved. From my Master thesis, I presented three papers in national and international conferences and also my journal paper is under revision. The list of publications are available in my attached CV.

I have studied your papers “Numerical and Centrifuge Modeling of Seismic Soil–Foundation Structure Interaction on Liquefiable Ground,”, “Effect of Ground Motion Characteristics on 2 Seismic Soil-Foundation-Structure Interaction” and “Evaluation of 1-D seismic site response modeling of sand using centrifuge experiments” and I found your research very interesting, specially, the numerical results verification with physical modelling. In addition, after searching some papers about foundation on liquefiable soils, the idea of the investigating of reinforced foundations (with piles or other elements) and the effect of treatment on the results, came into my mind. I can also present some detailed topics and proposals with comprehensive literature review, if you are interested in.

My research interests include liquefaction, geotechnical earthquake engineering, foundation engineering, centrifuge testing and seismic-soil-structure interaction. I am truly motivated for doing research and learning more in these fields. I believe that your research areas and expertise beside a strong research facilities could provide an ideal condition to pursue my PhD study in the University of Colorado Boulder. I was wondering if there is any chance for me to join your research group and do my PhD studies under your supervision. I have attached my CV and am available for interview at the earliest convenience.