BIOGRAPHY

My name is Justin Tian. I started working in the Laser Teaching Center last
semester (fall 2008) when I was taking the Lasers course, PHY452, taught by
Professor Dominik Schneble. This semester I've continued my project on
laser modes as independent research, PHY452.

I used to live in China with my family. My dad is a physicist, so I started
to get in touch with things about physics when I was a child. At first,
like most children, I thought physics was pretty boring. Before high
school, I never thought that I was going to be a physics major.

When I was seven I wanted to be an artist. I never saw an artist in my life
before seven. The only person I knew who could paint well was my painting
teacher in elementary school. As I grew up, I saw more and more different
kinds of people. I learned that being an artist was not an easy job. I saw
some artists, most of them don't love their job. "Even they don't like art.
Is being an artist a good job for me?" I asked myself when I was in middle
school. As time passed by, I lost my interests in art and didn't paint anymore.

After that, I turned my attention to physics and math. I realized how
interesting physics is (while the math part of physics is still really
boring). I realized that I was scared by math of physics. Indeed, physics
is a kind of philosophy. I really love to think about how everything in
this world works. Then I can put my ideas into equations. It was like
playing LEGO.  All you need to do is sit down, draw a blueprint and find
the pieces you need. Then, have fun!!

That's why I decided to study physics. Maybe I can't be the best one in my
whole life. (I know lots of people who are much smarter than I am.) But I'm
never going to feel bored in my life.

Justin Tian
May 2009