I wish to enroll in the Master of Science in Engineering online program.

My extensive background in RF/microwave system and hybrid IPTV STB designs and project management have all contributed to my interest and preparation for this Master of Science in Communications and Signal Processing Engineering. My first hands-on experience was shortly after my college graduation in 1994 when I joined the NS Microwave firm. At NS Microwave, I was able to put what I learned in school to work. For instance, a couple of days into my career, I was extensively involved in the design of microwave repeaters and remote video monitoring systems. Subsequently, I went on to handle the stringent testing and evaluation of various RF components and modules to ensure compatibility with the customer's critical requirements. My time at NS Microwave proved to be well spent and highly valuable to my developmental growth on the technical side of microwave system integration and hardware design skills in RF communications. My time at NS Microwave was shortened due to my desire for more growth and opportunities that the firm did not offer at that time. My departure from NS Microwave helped me launch my career as a Design Engineer at Pulse Electronics. While at Pulse Electronics, I was responsible for the design of numerous RF components for both wired and wireless network systems. My design involvement extended to new magnetic component, which ultimately became a patented product. In 2005, I joined Bel Fuse as a Principal Engineer to assist in resolving technical problem associated with RF filter design. In this role, my ability to troubleshoot using out of the box thinking and process flow analysis helped me play a key role in improving the performance on existing designs. The improvements resulted in design wins with our major customer. My contribution in the projects earned me the respect of my fellow engineers and associate designers. I was the "go-to" person for questions on RF filter design amongst other aspects. In late 2005, I was recruited by Motorola to join their newly formed IPTV STB group responsible for design IP STB products. After much thought, I decided to accept Motorola's offer for a multiple of reasons. One such reason is Motorola's cutting edge IP video and wireless technologies that offered an opportunity like no other. As a staff Principal Engineer, I worked intimately with IC vendors to select system on chip architectures that support customer's software requirements. Once the main processors were selected, I developed a high level hardware design. For the detail low level hardware design, it was a collaborative effort between our ODM partners and me. I took on the project lead role in which I managed and coordinated most of the hardware design activities from conception to production. Even with all the project challenges before me, I was able to wear the mentor hat to give back by coaching and teaching the junior engineers within my immediate group.

In 2008, as a hardware lead engineer for a complex hybrid IP STB design project, I held numerous technical meetings with RF IC vendors to discuss different types of cost effective RF devices and integrated wireless modules that could support our STB requirements. Our STB design supports various wireless configurations such as Bluetooth, Zigbee, WiFi/802.11, RF4CE and integrated terrestrial and

satellite receivers. My interested in wireless design standards and their implementations got me interested in compatibility as an issue. Because of these wireless modules designs are based on the manufactures proven reference designs, it got me thinking about electromagnetic compatibility issues when these wireless standards are implemented in the same chassis. Throughout my professional career, I have learned from many people who have deep knowledge in their fields of work, which gave me perspective thinking about wireless standards compatibility once I understood it conceptually. Before taking several graduate online courses in wireless communications, I did not realized that the wireless channels, transmitted signals and noise can be modeled as random processes. I am interested in learning about using these random process models to represent non-deterministic signals and noise and to extract useful data from these models. In closing, my time at Motorola thus far has opened up many opportunities for me to further advance my interest in designing wireless communication systems. I believe that my courses from the ePoly, work experience, and dedication can satisfy the admission requirements and should reflect my ability to take Communications and Signal Processing courses at ASU to earn a Master of Science in Engineering degree while working full time at Motorola. I strongly believe that I am mentally ready to take the next step closer to achieving my long term personal and career aspirations. I thank you for the opportunity to submit the online application for your consideration. Sincerely, David T. Phan