Statement of Purpose

Admitted to Pennsylvania State University, University Park
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As the fully assembled Santros (mid sized cars) manufactured by Hyundai Motors India Limited, rolled out of the assembly line, it gave me an ineffable sense of accomplishment, unlike anything I had ever felt before. Just two weeks previously, a sizeable number of the cars had been reported to violate Hood – Fender gap specifications and were being rejected by the final inspection line. But after my careful study consisting of about a fortnight of meticulous observations and painstaking statistical analysis, the problem, which had rankled the technicians for months, was solved. The countermeasure of correcting the alignment between latch mounting and the hood striker was simple, implementable, cost effective and most importantly successful in solving the problem.

This achievement was fruits of seeds sown very early in the childhood and born out of years of diligent nurturing. As a kid, I was very much amazed by the mechanical and electronic gadgets around me, and by the time I was 14, I had carefully disassembled watches, walkmans, stereos and any other object that I could lay my hands on. The sheer complexity of such devices and the simplicity of their building blocks-the circuits was an intriguing paradox that urged me to probe deeper into their functions and features. A testimony to this prodigious talent is the Young Scientist award (Silver Medal) that I won in Dr. Homi Bhabha Science competition and the National Talent Scholarship, a very prestigious scholarship given only to few throughout the nation.

The solid foundation I received in my formative years of schooling along with a mix of perseverance, intelligence, and will to succeed ensured my selection through the Joint
Entrance Examination (featuring among the top 0.5% out of 1,50,000 candidates) to get into the Indian Institute of Technology. Diligence and application made it possible for me to obtain a high Credit Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 9.08/10 (3.69/4.0). After 2 semesters of my undergraduate studies, I found my interest in Mechanical Engineering becoming more specific, which led me to choose ‘Vibrations and Acoustics’ as a minor field.

The first course that I did, ‘Vibration Concepts and Applications’, helped me grasp some basic fundamentals of this field, the second course, ‘Acoustics and Noise control’, introduced me to the results of vibration, sound propagation and effective noise control. The current course ‘Signal processing in Mechanical systems’ deals with filtering and sampling which is quintessential to any analysis of acoustic and vibration problem. An ample proof of my aptitude in this subject is the 2 ‘S’ grades (10/10) that I have obtained in the above courses.

My interest in this field led me to undertake new important research projects in my undergraduate years. Most important amongst them was “Crack detection in bonding of Solid rocket propellants and Inhibitor using Non Destructive Technology”, a project funded by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). Ultrasonics gave success to some extent in showing shift in resonance frequency and change in bandwidth with impedance change, but was eventually abandoned in favor of microwaves, the hardware and infrastructure for which is still not completely available in the Institute. I have also been involved in the design and fabrication of a Linear Motion Guide system, which consisted of housing and driving the Lm system and also holding the object to be scanned. As a part of the course ‘Vibration concepts and Applications’, I presented a term paper in ‘Thermally induced vibrations in beams’. I have been particularly interested in application of acoustics & vibrations to monitoring of various manufacturing processes like tool wear, cutting force measurement involved in machining etc. I have read a lot of literature in the field of ‘Vibration & Acoustics’ from international journals and have a burning desire to carry out some productive research in this field. I feel Pennsylvania State University with its numerous laboratories and high quality of research guided by talented faculty members should help me in fulfilling these long cherished dreams.

The above research activities evince my interest in this field and demand a need to channelise it in the right direction to obtain something purposeful. My long-term goal in life is to contribute to the society by making groundbreaking research in the field of ‘Vibrations and Acoustics’ in the form of a resources faculty from the academic field or a highly qualified technician in a commercially research oriented center. An important stepping-stone towards this would be to attain a graduate degree from a top class university, which would empower me with an in-depth and exhaustive knowledge of the latest developments in this field. A graduate degree would offer me much more flexibility in terms of area of specialization, methodology of work and would be much more exciting as I would be carrying out research in a field, where my interests and skills lie. Though I have made a very good start with my undergraduate studies, I feel that I have just touched the tip of the proverbial iceberg and there is still a lot of more information waiting to be explored, gauged, appreciated and applied.

The high quality of research being carried at the Pennsylvania State University, along with the esteemed group of well-qualified faculty members would make studying in such an ambience really rewarding and enriching experience. The good infrastructure in the form of various laboratories and centers and a strong rapport with industries would develop my practical skills and hone them to meet the rigorous demands of career that lay ahead of me. Social interaction with a conglomeration of students would teach me invaluable lessons in life and stand in good stead in the future – because, leading a great life is far nobler than making a living. Given an opportunity to pursue graduate studies in the Pennsylvania State University, I pledge to toil hard to uphold the excellent tradition of research that is being carried out and strive to win laurels and accolades for the institution.