Graduate / SOP for PhD application in aerospace engg - cfd [6]

Hi,

I am preparing my application for PhD. I am currently doing my MS. I would be thankful if you could review my SOP and give your comments and suggestions.

Given below is my draft SOP. Thanks!

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Statement of Purpose

My decision to pursue graduate studies at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles has been motivated by its excellent research facilities and opportunities it provides in the field of Fluid Dynamics. My ongoing directed research on shock waves using computational methods has further kindled my interests for continuing research study.

I was first introduced to Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) during my first year of undergraduate study in 2002. I was intrigued to learn more about the capabilities of this tool and learnt of its applications in numerous fields including those related to biological fluid mechanics. It was then that I decided to turn my focus towards fluid mechanics.

Having an undergraduate degree in Electronics and Communication engineering and just basic knowledge of high school physics and fluid mechanics, I set in pursuit of a Masters degree in Aerospace engineering at the University of Southern California (USC). The courses offered at USC are very well structured and suited my needs to understand the concepts.

Before undertaking this Masters program at USC, I worked on a commercial CFD tool FLOW-3DŽ, which is a general purpose solver. Working on FLOW-3D helped me to understand the basic concepts of fluid dynamics. The desire to gain knowledge and a better understanding this subject motivated me to take up graduate study. I was further encouraged during my interactions with a CFD expert, Dr. C. W. (Tony) Hirt, who developed the Volume of Fluid (VOF) technique.

To get a head start, I successfully completed a course on "Numerical Grid Generation and Fluid Flow Computations" at a premier institute in India, the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. I also underwent a basic training on using CFD tools at Simtech Systems, Finland and Flow Science Inc, USA. During this period, I made a brief study on a few turbulence models used in FLOW-3D, for a casting application. The study was presented at the Tampere University of Technology, Tampere, Finland to professors including from the universities of Tampere, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, which was appreciated and called for further research. I also had the opportunity to present at an annual conference held in Chennai, India on the applications of CFD in metal casting industry.

Having joined the masters program at USC, I was able to relate the various parameters that were used in the FLOW-3D to the theory I was learning in class. All that previous experience helped me migrate from my electronics background and fit well in a class of aerospace and mechanical engineers. I have thus been successfully able to complete all courses requirements for my Masters degree in Aerospace engineering.

I was offered an internship at Flow Science Inc, USA during the summer of 2011. It gave me a great opportunity to explore theoretical knowledge using a computational tool. I was able to explore and understand problems on fluid instabilities such as Rayleigh-Taylor instability and Taylor-Couette flow. I also worked on a few problems related to shock waves which were suggested by my professor, Dr. Veronica Eliasson, from the Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, under whom I am currently doing my directed research.

My directed research is to study of shock wave focussing computationally. Shock wave focussing is a practical application used in the treatment of kidney stones, called Lithotripsy. It is also seen in natural phenomenon such as sonoluminescence and super novae. My research involves using a CFD tool called Overture that is developed by Lawrence Livermore national Laboratory. I also used FLOW-3D to model shock wave focussing as a comparative study. This was called for a poster presentation at the World users conference held by Flow Science at Santa Fe, NM in September 2011.

My goal for future is to become a research professional at a research-oriented organization. It requires an adept individual to combine theoretical knowledge with computational techniques and to achieve this successfully requires support and supervision of experienced persons in the fields. My experience so far at the University of Southern California has strongly convinced me that all these factors make this the ideal place for me to continue my graduate studies and pursue my PhD degree to excel in my field of interest and achieve my career goal. With my strong background in Mathematics, programming skills and experience with CFD tools, combined with diligence and lots of motivation to pursue graduate research, I am confident I would meet all the challenges.