STATEMENT OF PURPOSE RAJESH VENKATRAMAN

“Expectations and uncertainty are the joys of life” I am filled with a sense of déjà vu as I bring my pen down to fill in the application form. “ Every great and commanding movement in the annals of the world is the triumph of enthusiasm – Nothing great was ever achieved without it ”. With this enthusiasm, I set to seek what I require to enhance my knowledge, right from school to under graduation and now into post graduation.

For the second time in my career, I contemplate on what I would want to do in my future. The first time was when I decided to do my undergraduate degree in engineering. This seemed to be the most logical conclusion as I had a penchant for mathematics and physics. This penchant was developed at Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan Senior Secondary School, where my foundations were laid, strong and firm. Incidentally, I am proud to say that the ‘OUTLOOK’, the reputed weekly magazine in India, has rated my school as one of India’s finest schools. The competitive scores I secured in the engineering entrance examination had reinstated my belief.

The field of electronics excited me ever since I found it revolutionary. This prompted me to choose electronics and communication as my discipline in my under graduation. Ranging from electrical circuits, electron devices, electromagnetic theory, digital systems, signals and systems, network theory, transmission lines and wave guides in my earlier semesters to digital signal processing, control systems, solid state circuits, statistical theory of communication, microprocessor interfacing techniques, antennas and propagation, microwave engineering, analog modulation systems, optical and digital communication in later semesters with satellite communication, radar systems , computer communication as electives in my final year, the course provided a thorough foundation to facilitate my understanding of the fundamentals.

“Desire of knowledge like the thirst of riches increases ever with the acquisition of it” By the end of my four-year study, at Sri Sairam Engineering College affiliated to the Madras University, the world of 1’s and 0’s amazed me at its simplicity yet complexity. My thoughts were focused on pursuing further in digital electronics, especially in digital signal processing. So fascinated was I that I chose to undertake a project in digital signal processing as early as my pre final year, from Sands Instruments. I carefully studied ADSP 2101, 2105 and 2111 and the technocrats I worked with, gave me right inputs, enabled me to hone my skills, and provided me an opportunity to learn to work in a team. The project involved development of a speech scrambling module and its implementation using Fast Fourier Transform. This triggered my passion in digital electronics further and I started thinking in the lines of how these processors were developed. This lured me into the amazing world of chip design and fabrication that I engaged myself in the mid semester holidays to learn the Very high-speed integrated circuit Hardware Descriptive Language (VHDL). Recently I had the privilege to learn and understand cable modems. This enabled me to design using VHDL, a fast serial Trellis encoder and Viterbi decoder, which is in use in cable modems. This constituted my final year project.

I was following the trends in the information technology industry very closely. I never wanted to be left behind and to keep myself updated, I promptly enrolled in the National Institute of Information Technology (NIIT), the premier IT training institute in India. I was encouraged to undertake several project works involving Unix, C, C++, HTML, DHTML, Visual Basic and SQL involving teamwork at all levels. The immense experience I gained at NIIT enabled me to bag the third prize in the inter university web designing contest.

I was the environment secretary and I contested for the post of school pupil leader. I was very active in the National Cadet Corps. I rose to the rank of sergeant and attended several camps and gained immense experience. This trend continued in my college too. Our college conducts a yearly technical symposium at the national level. I was the unanimous choice for the posts of students’ secretary and students’ chairman during the pre final and final year respectively. This gave me a golden opportunity to interact with professors, technocrats and industrialists across the nation. This exposure elevated my conviction levels to pursue higher education in the technologically advanced United States of America.

My most celebrated moment was when I joined the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Journals like ‘the Spectrum’ and ‘the Institute’ triggered my passion in electronics. In one such occasion, I supplemented my syllabus with a course on computer fundamentals and networks. Besides these, I am an athlete and I represented my school at the zonal level. Cricket, a game similar to baseball is a passion in India and I am no exception. I was the captain of the college cricket team and played for the third division Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, Tamil Nadu, India.

With all these credentials, I would be doing great injustice to myself if I do not pursue a postgraduate degree. The fields of DSP and VLSI are where I have placed my foot and wish to strengthen by acquiring a postgraduate degree from a reputed university in the United States of America.

I read the brochure for the Electrical Department of your university. It appealed to me greatly. It gives a perfect blend of scientific excellence and a congenial environment for studies. I am a person born to accomplish and I aim to emboss my name in the walls of history. I hope this is the place to seek guidance to reach the pinnacle.

(Rajesh)