I feel that this statement of purpose is very important to me as it is going to give me an opportunity of a lifetime, my first step towards the accomplishment of my dream of building a successful career in an area where cutting edge technology and theoretical research shake hands. I want to do research and use my knowledge to make a positive impact on the industry. Pursuing a Master's degree in Computer Science at this point of my life is the most pertinent step as after 24 months of industry experience, I have developed the confidence and the skills required to take this major step and also the desire to enhance my knowledge and hone my skills in the areas I am interested in.
The famous British Anthropologist, Desmond Morris once said "EVERY QUESTION WE ANSWER LEADS TO ANOTHER QUESTION." The almost infinite possibilities that this field provides, to try and see, to learn, to try what one has just learned and to learn something new again in easy steps is what makes the discipline of Computer Science so romantic.
During my undergraduate studies, I developed a particular interest in Database Management Systems. A database represents some aspect of the Real World sometimes called the Miniworld or the Universe of Discourse (UoD). It is not just about data storage and retrieval but it also integrates accessing of data for complex analysis, knowledge discovery and decision making. I enjoyed the experience of learning the database design theories, various types of database models, the algorithms used to store the data and transaction concepts which further incited me into taking a deeper interest in this field. I also worked as a Teaching Assistant for the course of Advanced Databases in the 6th semester. It was a very good learning experience for me, something which I thoroughly enjoyed doing.
Another subject that caught my attention during undergraduate studies was Systems Security, which brought into picture various cryptography algorithms like the RSA, DES, RC4 etc. The most interesting part about the subject is that developing an algorithm is a competition of its kind. Developing an algorithm and then trying even harder to break it, so that you could make it secure, teaches you to compete with your own self. I want to chase my interest in this field further into research studies and I would be privileged if I get to work under the guidance of Professor Guofei Gu, who is doing a research work in the same field.
I have had the golden opportunity of working with the prestigious Infosys Technologies Ltd. I got trained in .NET. The training included the courses HTML, C#, MS SQL Server 2005, ADO.NET, and Advanced Dotnet Programming using C #and ASP.NET Web Applications and Web Services. The experience of working in the production environment and dealing with the deadlines gave me an altogether different perspective towards my work. I have developed a penchant for coding, as all the three projects I have worked upon were development projects. My first project was a development project in Dotnet where we developed an application called DSL PROTON, which allowed the AT&T consultants to open all legacy applications required by them into a single window. Screen scraping technique (advanced terminal evaluation) was used for this, i.e. the data taken from legacy applications used by AT&T was formatted, so that all the data could be presented simultaneously on the screen in the required format. This saved the AT&T consultants a significant amount of time which was spent in individual login in all the applications each time some data was required. The challenging part was that we had to use a different technique for scraping the screens of all the 14 applications with each one of them using a different technology.
The second project was based on concept of IPTV, which at a high level could be described as a service to allow the customers to manage their accounts while watching television online. It required the user to login using a user identification and password and then the various account management options were presented to the user. I got to learn various protocols like the XML/HTTP binding and SOAP /HTTP while working on this project as the web service operations for fetching data were to be invoked using these protocols. Some level of confidentiality was also introduced by encryption (symmetric key algorithm) of certain fields in request and responses. The television was simulated on the computer by using the Microsoft ADK simulator.
The third project was completely based on Java and made extensive use of struts. This project is basically a fire safety enterprise application developed for the AT&T Corporate Real Estate group. The application enables the consultants to build fire safety reports for the buildings owned or leased by AT&T. The application provides different functionalities for the seven different roles [Administrator, Gate Keeper, Gate-Admin, Respondents, Consultants, Special and General User] involved and takes care of the fire safety measures for these buildings. A separate web module takes care of the job of sending automated emails [broadcast emails, status emails]. There are batch jobs, which run on a schedule, and constantly cleanup outdated data and send emails to the concerned people, helping them to keep the system data current.
After all the endeavors at Infosys, I feel that I am completely ready and confident to take the next step. At this point of life, what I want and need to do is enhance my knowledge in a very systematic way and be amongst the best in the world. Doing so, I would have a solid platform to get going with the industry related research that I ultimately want to do. A Master's degree would be a good start.
In the past few years, I have also developed a habit of reading. One quite fascinating example I came across of was experiment conducted by mathematician Thomas Murray. He was studying the geometry of animal coat patterns, specific occurrences of spots and stripes. The basic assumption was that certain chemical(s) [stimulator(s)] stimulate cells to produce Melanin that finally gives the spots whereas inhibitor(s) react and fight for territory and produce patterns on skin.
Murray assumed that the presence of stimulator triggers increased production of inhibitor and that the inhibitor is faster to diffuse than the stimulator, so the faster inhibitor would encircle the stimulator resulting in a spot. Murray concentrated on the mathematical aspect only. Equations written down, the generated pictures showed patterns very similar to what occurs in nature. The key is the size and shape of animal's coat when the reaction starts. He concluded that because at any point of development when the reaction may start, we can not have long and skinny body(less surface area) and chubby tail (more surface area) for any animal, we can't find an animal with striped body and spotted tail while other combinations can be found.
A long standing question in zoology was answered by a MATHEMATICIAN. The point is, it is extremely essential to look beyond the visible and to widen the horizon as much as possible.
I also had the chance of going through the book "Shadows of the forgotten ancestors" in which the famous scientist Carl Sagan describes earth before any life originated, how did it originate and how eventually so complex forms came up. The chapter "Sex and Death" gives a simple and a very elegant explanation about why we eventually HAVE to die. A couple of months ago, I went through "The Edge of Evolution" by Dr. Michael J. Behe but I could not agree with the author on many occasions.
It would be a great privilege for me if I get to enroll and hone my skills under the guidance of the very experienced and knowledgeable faculty members of the prestigious Syracuse University. I would love to work with Professor James Caverlee or Professor Guofei Gu as I share similar research interests with them and it would be an honor to work with them. Another reason to be applying at this particular university is the multicultural environment that it provides. I want to avail the opportunity to broaden my perspective of various cultures, as I believe that culture deeply influences rationale and hence understanding and appreciating different cultures helps us to evolve into better and successful individuals.
I like the way you personify cutting edge technology and theoretical research by giving the image of them shaking hands!
I don't think you should capitalize all the words of the Morris quote.
This topic sentence seems abrupt: During my undergraduate studies, I developed a particular interest in Database Management Systems.---It seems like a random thing to say after the intro. You could add some words like "learn something new" or "easy steps" to that sentence so that it will be a nice transition from paragraph one.
A long standing question in zoology was answered by a MATHEMATICIAN.--I don't think you should type in all caps.
This essay is ridiculously impressive. I apologize for taking so long to get to it; you probably submitted it, got accepted, and graduated already. For what it's worth, though, this is a hell of an essay.
:-)
