Graduate / I was drawn towards electronic devices; Malcolm X / SOP for MS in EE [3]

This is my first attempt at my Statement of Purpose for Masters in electrical engineering. Believe it or not, i completed it within a day and therefore i feel there most certainly would be some shortcomings. I'd be glad if you could help me out by going through it and pointing out anything which may be out of place or well just not present. Any suggestions on improving my SoP would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

Yours sincerely
klaas

Electronic Devices

Since a young age, I was drawn towards electronic devices and was even more fascinated to learn that there was much more to them than just their operation. A strong inclination towards analytical subjects coupled with a penchant for practicality prompted me to take up Electronics and Communication Engineering during my undergraduate years. Throughout my undergraduate study I have tried to gain a broad perspective of the Electronics domain. Therefore obtaining a specialized knowledge is a natural progression.

During my undergraduate years I did try to attain a comprehensive background in some areas that have especially fascinated me. Signal Processing and Communication Systems are two of those. I would like to join the Master's program in order to gain a deeper understanding of these fields and later opt for a doctoral program. My ultimate aim is to pursue a research career in an R & D department of the communication industry and to be a part of some futuristic projects related to the field.

With core knowledge gained during the course of my studies, I was fortunate to undertake my industrial training at the Network Operating Centre (NOC) of the Indian Telecom giant, Bharti Airtel Ltd. I gathered an insight about the methods and technologies such as Synchronous Digital Hierarchy currently in use for the transmission of data over the telecommunication network. I also acquired hands on experience at the in-plant alarm monitoring system. Learning about the evolution of wired communication was an illuminating experience. However, most predictions show a continuing growing trend, in the US and worldwide, regarding wireless communication which will far exceed fixed telephony and broadband. The IEEE is also working on a new set of standards that will enhance the speed and security of wireless networks. Therefore I would like to be a part of the research aimed at developing such wireless networks.

My major thesis was based on Watermarking of Audio Signals. I was introduced to the concept of watermarking and methods for the prevention of copyright infringement by my professor Dr. M.K Dutta during my 7th semester. It was during this project that I cultivated a great interest in the field of signal processing. The purpose of the project was to suggest effective schemes for digital watermarking of an audio signal that would provide balanced trade-offs between payload and robustness against common signal processing attacks. While studying for the project, I learnt about a new class of embedding methods termed as Quantization Index Modulation (QIM) first introduced by Brian Chen and Gregory W. Wornell. These were effectively used in different domains individually to develop the watermarking algorithms. One of the algorithms which involved watermarking in the SVD domain was presented as a research paper at an international conference and published by a reputed publisher. I furthered my research by developing an entirely new algorithm which involves QIM methods being used for watermarking in both the Wavelet and SVD domain together. I observed that though there was only a slight improvement in trade-offs between payload and robustness, the processing time for the entire process was almost halved. The new project has been recommended to the IEEE conference publication program.

Another subject that has interested me since my high school days is Space Based Satellite Navigation Systems. I have been fascinated by man's desire to know his location at all times and not get lost. Therefore when asked to choose a topic for junior thesis, I decided to study about the Global Positioning System (GPS). The research this topic entailed helped me gain sound knowledge regarding fundamental concepts of triangulation and satellite geometry and also survey the more advanced forms of GPS.

At your university, I wish to specialize and contribute to the area of signal processing and wireless communication methods. The university is known to harbour a healthy research environment. Therefore it is quite likely that it plays a significant role in the research and development of cutting edge technologies in the field of communication in the US. I would like to be at the fount of such research which enables me to be a part of futuristic projects. I believe that my interest in the subject and my programming proficiency make me a suitable candidate for your program. I am confident that with my motivation, effort and intellectual ability I shall do justice to the demanding graduate program and make significant contributions to the ongoing work in your university.