Graduate / "Archaeopteryx" - why graduate study, why Purdue, career goals, research interests - SOP [15]

Hi Vangiespen.

I have tried to keep in mind all that you told and edited the essay. Unfortunately, i could not get my paper published then due to financial reasons. Here is my essay.

The MS in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) program at Purdue University, with its rigorous course structure involving both research and coursework is of great interest to me. The breadth of the curriculum with courses from Computer Architecture to Advanced Computer Systems will give me a thorough knowledge in an area of research that fascinates me- Computer engineering. The inter-disciplinary approach in the various research areas such as the Automatic Control and Communications, Networking, Signal & Image Processing would provide opportunities as well as challenges to create innovative solutions to the immediate problems prevailing in the world. The state of the art laboratories such as Embedded Systems Laboratory and Dependable Computing Systems Laboratory would help me in achieving my research interests in the field of Embedded Systems. Being a cultural melting pot, Purdue University would provide an environment of diverse ideas and innovation.

I am particularly interested in the work of Prof. Vijay Raghunathan on project "AVEKSHA", which has increased the applicability of wireless embedded nodes and the fidelity of the collected data. The prospect of working at the Embedded Systems Lab on projects such as "AVEKSHA" really excites me. The conference paper by Prof. Anand Raghunathan on "Best-effort Computing" with its best effort approach to parallel computing has driven me to study the intricacies of this concept on my own.

At Purdue, I would like to pursue my research in the field of pervasive computing and multi-core architectures. "Cooperating Objects" which combines three seminal domains-embedded systems, pervasive computing and wireless sensor networks is another field I would like to explore. Researching on these would help me achieve my goal of designing low power wireless embedded nodes with high computational abilities.

My tenure at my undergraduate University's robotics team SRM Team Robocon and Satellite prototyping team WelkinSat exposed me to a plethora of algorithms and mechanisms and I worked with numerous sensors, interfaced them with microcontroller and executed long-distance communication using ZigBee protocol. Working on these projects veered me towards research in embedded systems.

Being the finance manager and the programming lead of both the teams, burnished my managerial and leadership skills. Working long hours on these projects while maintaining high academic grades, led to the enhancement of my time management skills.

The paper I wrote with my colleagues on a modern surveillance vehicle "Archaeopteryx" capable of traversing over land, water and air, and controllable through the Internet got selected in the International Conference on Control, Mechatronics and Automation (2013) in Sydney. While working on the paper and testing quad-rotors, I researched extensively on the architectures of various microcontrollers suitable for applying the complex algorithms to stabilize the surveillance vehicle.

Along with my past research, MS in ECE program will help me achieve the goal of building a professional career in research and development in embedded systems industry and solve industrial level problems in the field of pervasive computing and wireless embedded systems with the knowledge gained during my graduate study.

Graduate / "Archaeopteryx" - why graduate study, why Purdue, career goals, research interests - SOP [15]

Hi Vangiespen!
Thank you for your valuable reviews. Your harsh reviews will make my essay be compatible for graduate study so not a problem with that.
I know the process is quite long and tedious. Its already getting to me.
I wanted to ask whether the other paragraphs you did not mention are fine or do they need modifications as well?

Graduate / "Archaeopteryx" - why graduate study, why Purdue, career goals, research interests - SOP [15]

Hi Vangiespen.

I am sorry to have wasted your time and effort by sending you a part of it. Now, i have posted the whole essay. Currently, it is exceeding by 86 words, but with your help and guidance i feel i will be able to reduce it easily removing the unnecessary parts.

Graduate / "Archaeopteryx" - why graduate study, why Purdue, career goals, research interests - SOP [15]

Also, can i mention the name of any professor whose work has intrigued me?

Graduate / "Archaeopteryx" - why graduate study, why Purdue, career goals, research interests - SOP [15]

How about this paragraph for future research :

At Purdue, I would like to pursue my research in the field of pervasive computing and multi-core architectures. Fault tolerant systems is another research area that I would like to explore.

In future, I want to do work on "Cooperating Objects" which combines three seminal domains - embedded systems, pervasive computing and wireless sensor networks. Combining the strength of these three domains would be pioneering in the near future and change the way we think of modern day embedded devices. I would want to pursue a professional career in the research and development of the ever evolving embedded systems industry with vastly experienced professors and industry experts and apply my technical expertise in solving industrial level problems.

I appreciate all your efforts and would like to thank you for your support.

Graduate / "Archaeopteryx" - why graduate study, why Purdue, career goals, research interests - SOP [15]

I would still want to give it a shot. I feel i will be able to cope with the complexity of the courses and the cut-throat competition at top grad schools. Can you please help me in improving this essay?

Graduate / "Archaeopteryx" - why graduate study, why Purdue, career goals, research interests - SOP [15]

Hi vangiespen.
Thank you for your time and effort in reviewing my SOP.

This is the question asked by the university:
Please submit a statement of approximately 300-500 words concerning your purpose for undertaking or continuing graduate study, your reasons for wanting to study at Purdue, and your professional plans, career goals, and research interests. You also may explain any irregularities or special circumstances applicable to your background and elaborate on your special abilities, awards, achievements, scholarly publications, and/or professional history.

The essay has a max. limit of 500 words. I am currently doing a 4 month internship at a reputed government research institute but i cannot mention all its details given the word limit.

As you said, i do not have sufficient work experience. I am trying if i get into a good university this year or else i will postpone it for 2 years maybe, have some work ex and then apply again.

I have mentioned my academic background quite elaborately along with my major internship of 4 months.

My research goals are in the following paragraph, which i intend to add :
At Purdue, I would like to pursue my research in the field of pervasive computing and multi-core architectures. Fault tolerant systems is another research area that I would like to explore.

Long term goal i will be mentioning in the final paragraph as to build a career in the Embedded systems industry.

The only problem is with the word limit. Can you please tell me how i can improve this SOP considering i do not have sufficient experience?

Again, I am really grateful you are taking out time out of the busy schedule you maybe having and i really appreciate that.

Have a nice day.