Undergraduate / "I must be an Aerospace engineer." - cornell university engineering [6]

Engineers turn ideas (technical, scientific, mathematical) into reality. Tell us about an engineering idea you have or your interest in engineering. Explain how Cornell Engineering can help you further explore this idea or interest.

I have a thought which may seem a little weird but may come to reality. The Idea is,using nuclear fuel as a propellent for deep space rockets.

Up until now we were using liquid fuel propellents or solid fuel propellents or sometimes hybrid fuel propulsion systems where we have a little of liquid and a little of solid propellents. In such type of systems we have to use bulk quantity of the propellent of which all most all of the fuel is used up to give rocket enough escape velocity to escape the earth gravitational influence and enter the space. By the time the rocket enters space it already uses up its solid rocket boosters and its liquid oxygen fuel is then used for its orbital insertion. We may think that the rocket is running by 'Thrusting' itself against something. this may be partly true during the lift off part but for the remaining propulsion,the rocket uses the pressure of its gases in the combustion chamber against the nozzle's to move forward. Now with this type of propulsion system we can regulate our operations with in the earth's orbit and the shallow depths of space. We cannot go any where beyond that,but with the nuclear propulsion system we can reach speeds and distances beyond our imagination.

For nuclear propulsion to work we don't need separate boosters we just a combustion chamber inside the main rocket,where we can fit our proposed nuclear reactor. The reactor works just the same way as the conventional nuclear reactor,but the difference is all of the energy which is produced will be channeled through the nozzle. By doing this the specific impulse (amount of force per kg of propellent) of the rocket increases dramatically,which directly results in lift of speeds which are out of reach today. Once the rocket is in its orbit it need not detach any of its parts because all of the propulsion system is inside the rocket but not outside of it. With such type of rocket we can do tremendous amount of deep space research,as we have almost unending amount of energy supply. As the energy can be regulated ( presuming that we have such technology..!! ) we can increase the rate of reaction of the fuel to increase the velocity of the rocket to unprecedented levels.

Although this idea has been researched this came through my intuition and reasoning. I don't know whether it is materialized or not but I want to be a part of it. To be a part of it first I must be an Aerospace engineer. Accomplish that task I chose Cornell. I chose it precisely because of its reputation as one of the nation's most premium universities and its vast research facilities and opportunities. I'm aware that Cornell has previously operated the mars rovers in partnership with cal tech by shifting the operation location between jet propulsion laboratory and Cornell space sciences building. I'm also aware that it also operates the gigantic Arecibo observatory in Puerto Rico. I know that apart from these Cornell has many other exciting resources and opportunities which can help me realize my dream. So I think in this way Cornell can give life to my ideas.

Undergraduate / "interest towards engineering" - purdue university admission [2]

Engineering, according to me engineering is applying our knowledge of math and science to create a path for future.
Math and science have been known from ancient times. but why is that all the growth has occurred only in the past 300 years.? why not people who existed thousands of years develop as we did.?. The answer lies in engineering. We engineered our knowledge of science or in other words we applied our knowledge of sciences to make this world a better place to live. Whereas the ancient civilizations just put their knowledge to books rather than applying them. I always saw engineering as a powerful tool to improve the human standard of living. So I nurtured this view in my mind from my childhood. This leaves me always curious to explore the field of engineering.

Engineering has always been a field full of voids...!! though it may seem that we have created solid technology for perfect life,it always has areas which have to be uncovered. if we don't see those areas or if we leave them unnoticed that's when our growth stops. On the other hand if we have radical thinkers who can lead us to ground breaking technology then our growth curve tends to infinite. So through Purdue I want to be one of those radical thinkers who will set a new course to this world.

There was thought on which I had been researching from my 10th grade. That is nuclear propulsion in deep space aircraft. When I was in my 10th grade I was in India and we were being taught about nuclear physics. I learned how the nuclear reactions can give tremendous amount of energy and all of the other subject related to nuclear fission,fusion,nuclear reactors and all the other basics of nuclear technology. I then thought.."how about putting a nuclear reactor in the combustion chamber of main rocket". I thought of this idea because I learned that all the bulk parts of the rocket are just used for fuel purposes and then are detached before the rocket enters into the orbit. So I thought of a way to reduce the bulk increase the speed,distance and efficiency of the spacecraft . That's how I crossed my way with nuclear propulsion. Later on I did a lot of research on this subject and drew an amateur blue print of my hypothetical nuclear propelled rocket. I wanted this to happen because through this we can achieve even higher speeds and travel longer distances. I was so serious about it that I even forgot to sleep while researching on it. I concluded that nuclear propulsion is best because it can give the rocket a huge amount of specific impulse compared to the conventional hybrid propulsion. We can also achieve higher speeds due to high amount energy rushing out and also due to high pressure between the gases and the nozzle. i know that my idea is in raw stage but i want to see it as a finished product. I recently came to know that this idea is being researched. I am not disappointed that I am not the first one to get that idea. In fact I am even more excited because now I have a ready platform for continuing my research.

I am confident that my zeal and unending interest towards engineering will help me reach my goal. I am aware that Purdue is ranked among the top elite aerospace colleges in the world. For me to reach my goal I need to be an aerospace engineer. For that I chose Purdue to be the platform. This is because of Purdue's rich history and reputation in this field. Purdue is known to have produced 22 outstanding astronauts among whom is Neil Armstrong the first man on moon. It also known for the first college-owned airport. With this huge history and vast research resources I believe that Purdue is the right place for me. If given a chance,through Purdue I want to prove myself to be a new age thinker who can contribute to this world through engineering.