Statement of Purpose Hiral Nandu Applicant: Master’s in Electrical Engineering, fall 2010 University of Colorado at Boulder
An architectural masterpiece must always be bolstered by a sound foundation, and I have developed one over the years. Graduate studies in the area of Embedded Systems would be a perfect monument on it. The peak of the success was a place in one of the best undergraduate engineering programs in India. At this juncture, with relevant projects and course work, I am prepared to pursue the Master’s course to specialize and excel in my area of interests. Numbers have been my best friend since childhood. A strong interest in Mathematics and Sciences coupled with curiosity about most electronic things led me to the undergraduate program in Electronics and Telecommunications engineering. Here I have pursued my interest vigorously through coursework, industrial visits, projects and technical events. Some of the courses I have enjoyed the most include Programming, Microprocessors, micro controllers and embedded systems, computer organization and Digital Design. I believe this subject preparation will help me significantly at graduate school. The knowledge gained through college coursework was cemented through learning’s on the co-curricular front. Some pretty dim concepts had more meaning and made a lot of sense. Some of the special learning experiences include workshop on Robotics and a project on Micro-controller based High Precision Temperature Indicator. As part of the Robotics workshop, I designed a level 1 Robot that won several awards at technical festivals. On the other hand, the project was much more relevant to my interest in Designing of Embedded Systems. It included programming of microcontroller AT89C2051.The temperature sensor DS1820 sensed the temperature and sent analog input to the microcontroller. The microcontroller compared it with the higher and the lower cutoffs. If it exceeded the limit, the temperature was displayed on the seven segment led display. Through the project I learnt about the concepts of Interfacing sensors and LEDS with the microcontroller, serial communication programming and debugging of microcontroller codes. Another major project I am working on ‘Integrated Medical Surveillance in Real time using Wireless Technologies’, implements a system that includes concepts of Microcontrollers using embedded C for designing of microcontroller chip AT89C51. I am using VB6 based software for highly interactive Graphical user interface, TCP / IP protocols for client/server interfacing and Keil for Programming besides applying EAGLE for designing printed circuit boards. All this project work has better prepared me for the challenges ahead. I have also learnt to value teamwork, resolve conflicts and make quick decisions. On the personal front, I always put people at ease. I share a close rapport with all my acquaintances. My other strong point is my undying optimism. I would rather look at a glass as half full than half-empty. This attitude has
helped me scrutinize situations properly, which would not have been possible had I been anything less than positive. As a teenager, I went through the usual ups and downs without losing focus on the final goals. I have also been innovative and creative in all the work I did. My goal is to design systems using micro-controllers and real time embedded systems. I am especially interested in the integration of hardware and software development. I would like to be at the heart of research work in embedded systems and computer architecture. I have done a thorough research on several aspects of US universities. In all of them the basic infrastructure seems very strong. However, the faculty and courses at University of Colorado at Boulder was superior to the other options I considered. Besides, the courses offered were the most compatible with my areas of interest. The work being done by Li Shang in embedded systems and Dr. Dirk Grunwald and Manish Vachharajani in computer architecture is of my interest. I look forward to the opportunity of working under the guidance of these eminent teachers. I am confident that a meaningful tenure at the Electrical Engineering department would propel me towards my long-term goal.