Statement of Purpose

As far back as I can remember I always was immensely fascinated by the flying things. I wondered if I could
make one. I constantly kept myself abreast of the remarkable discoveries taking place in this particular field.
This led my passion light for being capable of making contributions to the field, which would revolutionize the
Human life. Added to this inclination, my excelling in academics right from my childhood through high school
gave me the opportunity to do my undergraduate studies at the Department of Aerospace Engineering, IIT
Kharagpur, which is regarded as one of the best technological institutions in the world. Pursuing Aerospace
engineering at IIT Kharagpur has boosted my certitude that one day, I can make my dreams of building satellites
and space ships, come true.

Winning various accolades at state level in different competitive examinations bolstered my confidence. I
also stood amongst the top 1% of 5,00,000 students in the joint entrance examination (JEE) for the admission at
IIT. My persistent diligence in academics right from the first semester till the end of fourth year is lucid from the
fact that I am one of the two best performers in the department. In my first year at IIT, I joined the Kharagpur
Robotix and Artificial Intelligence(AI) Group (KRAIG), where I developed autonomous robots. I was made the
group sub-head of the AI Team of KRAIG, the next year.

After the end of fourth semester, in the summer of 2007, I interned under the guidance of Prof. Tarun
Souradeep, Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), by performing data analysis of
cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR). He offered me another project on developing the Boltzmann
code for solving CMBR, analytically and that I finished in the winter vacation of the same year. These projects
enlightened me on several aspects of Cosmology.

Being curious to learn more on the control aspects of satellite engineering apart from what is taught in our
curriculum, I took up three voluntary projects “Adaptive Attitude Control of Earth pointing Satellite using
Magnetic Actuator”, “Adaptive Attitude Control of Earth pointing Satellite using Dynamic Neural Units” and
“Reconfigurable Attitude Control of Earth pointing Satellite using Magnetic Actuators” under the guidance of
Prof. M Sinha in my third year.

During an internship at Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), in the summer of 2008, after the end of my
sixth semester, I developed two satellite control mechanisms. Based on this work, I have submitted one paper
namely, “Reconfigurable Attitude Control of Earth Pointing Satellite” which is under review in the journal
“Journal for Aerospace Engineering”. Another two papers on "Magnetic attitude control in an elliptic orbit" and
“Dynamic Neural Units for Adaptive Magnetic attitude control of Satellite” are about to be submitted. These
projects enhanced my knowledge in the field of Satellite Control System. Further, I did a project on formation
flying under my guide, Prof. M.Sinha. The paper for this project, "Formation Flying in a Low Earth Eccentric
Orbit" is also under review by "Journal of Guidance, Control and Dynamics”.

Being motivated by various satellite programs at different universities, I initiated a student satellite project
named, STUSAT-1, the first of its kind at our institute. Apart from many others, one of the main objectives of
STUSAT-1 is to test the control systems developed in my project at ISRO. Impressed by my internship work,
ISRO agreed to completely fund the project initiated by me. I lead an efficient team which helped in selecting
the talented and enthusiastic students from various departments as applicable to each sub-group, dealing with a
particular aspect of the satellite. I’m a Systems engineer for this ambitious satellite project.

I received my BTech degree in 2009, with my major being in Aerospace Engineering along with a minor
degree in "Mathematics and Computing". I also won ‘the best BTech project award’ in my batch.
 The Mathematics and Algorithm courses enhanced my knowledge in Computer sciences and also helped me to
develop the software system for the STUSAT-1 project. The vast application of Computer sciences in the field of
Aerospace Engineering drew my interest and thus, after finishing my Btech I joined the Institute of
Mathematical Science as a Junior Research Fellow in the department of Theoretical Computer Science in 2009.
In the qualifying exam, JEST, for joining this institute, I stood 2nd in India.

Through the rigorous study at the under-graduate level, I could acquire the competence to pursue independent
research. I firmly feel that my dreams can only take a concrete shape through intensive graduate and doctoral
programs. The website of the University of Washington has enlightened me up on the research fields of different
groups. I believe that the excellent research facilities, the distinguished faculty and highly motivated work group
at the University of Washington makes it an ideal place for me to pursue my graduate studies. I am impressed
by the ongoing research projects of Prof. Mehran Mesnahi and Prof. Uy-Loi Ly and being able to be a part of
which will be a dream come true for me. Therefore I plan to pursue a Master's program, followed by a Doctoral
program in Aerospace Engineering, with a specialization in Control System. I sincerely feel that I will be able to
learn a great deal and contribute to your research group.