Mechanical Engineering/Statement of purpose-8

                                    My inquisitive nature has always been the driving force for me to explore and learn. This basic instinct has developed into an interest in science and technology, identifying that my interests lie in engineering. Realizing the necessity of a conducive atmosphere to nurture my interests I toiled hard to get into the premier technological institutes in

India

, Indian Institutes of Technology. My efforts had paid off when I had made it to the top 0.5% of more than a hundred thousand people who competed for the J.E.E. (Joint Entrance Examination) and got into IIT Madras.

       Man's attempts at mathematically modeling objects of study and then using these models to reason, predict, draw new meanings and interpretations have always fascinated me. After having joined this place I was introduced to a wide range of subjects. After carefully considering my areas of interests and my academic background, I have chosen to pursue my higher studies in Control Systems and Robotics. The introductory courses that I undertook during the course of my undergraduate study further convinced me that the choice was rightly made.

            Undergraduate education emphasized mainly on the exposure to fundamentals of various fields in the branch. The core courses in mathematics gave me a good exposure to modeling and analyzing systems. During my junior year, when I was first introduced to control systems, it was exciting to discover that there are numerous control algorithms getting executed around us in most of the beings on earth. It was even more exciting to see the way man tried to imitate these complex control algorithms of nature. Later on in the course I learnt about  linear & quadratic optimal control algorithms, stability criterion etc. As a part of the course I presented a talk on " Fully magnetic control of a spacecraft".  I  also carried out the simulation of the dynamics of the spacecraft and the control algorithm. As a part of the course a series of  lectures were organized on the Industrial Applications  of the Control Systems.

            During my senior year I credited the course "Microprocessors in Automation". I  learnt about the basics of  digital logic which involved the design of counters, timers and registers. I was introduced to assembly level programming and microprocessor - peripheral interfacing. I  learnt the basics of  digital controller design and its stability analysis. As a part of the course I presented a talk on the implementation of a PID controller on a DSP processor. This talk mainly discussed about the issues of implementation of the Control algorithm on the DSP processors and possible ways of getting over the problem.

            My senior year dissertation involves the design of a controller for  "Active suspension of a tracked vehicle". It includes the modeling of the diverse terrain, which affects the dynamics of the vehicle to a great extent, an evaluation of the rider comfort and finally the design of the appropriate controller for the suspension. We trying to replace the existing hydraulic suspension with a pneumatic suspension for better rider comfort.  As a part of my project apart from the Active suspension design we are also addressing the issues of making the vehicle autoguided which necessitates us to have a good understanding of the mobility of the vehicle, which is not well established due to loose soil- track interaction.

            I have undergone a course titled “ Introduction to Aerospace Technology” which dealt with attitude determination and control of the spacecraft. It also introduced us to basics of the active and passive control of the spacecraft. I have been introduced to nonlinear dynamics, the state space representation and Phase map representation of the same during my course course in Physics – III .  I am auditing a course on differential geometry during the next semester. Out of interest I have read the Book “ Introduction to Artificial Neural Networks” by Dr J M Zurada. I am right now reading a book on Fuzzy logic and control.         

 After pouring over the web pages of the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department  at University of Florida , I was fascinated by the wide spectrum of research in UF. When I went through the web pages of CIMAR(Center for Intelligent Machine and Research), I felt that my interests parallel the current projects at this center. I would like to pursue my higher studies in robotics and automation using neural networks and fuzzy logic. I would feel privileged to work with your group.        

       I believe that with my capacity to work hard, an interest in the subject and academic background, I am well equipped with the necessary skills for my graduate studies at University of Florida. Given an opportunity I am sure that I will be able to justify to the fullest, the confidence reposed in me. Since it wouldn’t be feasible for me to fund my studies, I look forward to a favorable consideration of my application with financial support.