Name : Abhishek Agrawal

Statement of Purpose
My objective is to pursue a M.S./Ph.D. program in the field of Electronic
Materials with the aim of entering academia and pursuing a career in research. The
electronic world is exploding with thousands of new devices and bubbling with an ever-
increasing challenge of making these as small and compact as possible. Miniaturization is
the call of the day. Materials Science and Engineering plays a key role in this revolution.
The challenges of developing new and better materials in conjunction with devising novel
applications to meet demanding needs plays a pivotal role in this choice of mine.
I have always had a considerable interest and a strong aptitude for Mathematics
and Science. Physics is my forte and I was ranked among the top 0.1% student in physics
in the A.I.S.S.C.E’98, for which I am in receipt of a National scholarship. Academics
always interested me and with my inclination towards physics and mathematics, I
decided to take up engineering after my high school education. To achieve this, I
appeared for the JEE to get into the IITs, the highest technical institute for undergraduate
studies in the country. My diligent and methodical work helped me secure admission in
IIT- Madras with the distinction of being in the top 1% of the 100,000 candidates who
attempted it. I chose Metallurgical Engineering as my major, which encompasses all
facets of my interest and a wide variety of disciplines. It is one of the most exciting fields
of research today, with a wide variety of applications; new materials are shaping the
technologies of the future.
During the course of my study at IIT Madras I developed a firm base in the
various fields of Metallurgical Engineering, including Mechanical Metallurgy,
Thermodynamics, Heat and Mass Transfer, Physical Metallurgy, Iron and Steel Making.
Basic engineering courses like Chemistry-II introduced me to atomic and subatomic
characteristics of materials while Physics-II taught me electrostatics, dielectrics and
polarization. I also tailored my course structure to encompass a variety of subjects
related to Materials Science and Engineering like Electronic Materials, Composite
Technology, Advanced Materials and Processes and Modern Materials. These courses
have given me a strong foundation, inspiring me to pursue graduate study in the field of
Material Science and Engineering.
Among the wide variety of courses I have completed in the field of Metallurgical
Engineering, I found the stream of Electronic Materials particularly fascinating. It
combines elements of Physics, Electrical Engineering and Material Science, all of which
inspire a substantial interest in me.
I was introduced to Electronic Materials in the course titled “Physics of
materials”. The course was very interesting and exciting; the technical and principle
functioning of various semiconductors, superconductors, diodes and MTJs were a few of
the many scintillating topics covered. The course on “Electronic Materials”, in which I
learnt about the fabrication and material selection for IC chips and other solid state
microelectronic devices, gave me an insight into the crucial role of materials in devices.
During the course I made a presentation on III-V compound semiconductors, this
required extensive reading through the literature. My interest in the field kept deepening
as my view of the field expanded beyond the theoretical purview. The quest to fabricate
blue LEDs and its role in making flat display panels, the ongoing research to increase the
capacity of hard disks and other data storage devices, were some of the many fascinating
topics I came across. The concept of Band Gap Engineering in GaAlAs systems by
changing the stoichiometry and their use in manufacturing multi colored LEDs impressed
me deeply. This realm of Metallurgical Engineering, namely Electronic Materials
coupled with its inherent physics interested me greatly and has motivated me to pursue
higher studies in this field.
To widen my knowledge and acquire research experience in the vast field of
“Electronic Materials”, I chose my undergraduate thesis to be “Magnetotransport studies
in perovskite thin films and fabrication of Magnetic Tunnel Junctions (MTJs)”. During
the project work I have prepared some Colossal Magnetoresistance (CMR) manganites
and have studied their magnetotransport properties. On the applications side, I am
working on devising a magnetic position sensor using several bulk polycrystalline CMR
manganites. I will be using the bulk manganites as targets to fabricate magnetic tunnel
junctions using the Pulsed Laser Deposition technique. This project has been an
altogether new experience and the interesting applications of MTJs in device fabrication
has added to my zeal of pursuing research in this field.
I was exposed to top class research work when I was selected by Jawaharlal
Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bangalore for the prestigious
Summer Research Fellowship. This fellowship is awarded to a total of 100 graduate and
under-graduate students in various fields from all over India. Under this fellowship I
worked at I.I.Sc-Bangalore, a highly esteemed research institute in India, during the
summer of 2001. I worked on the “Study of stochastic of notch-strength of Aluminum
matrix Alumina reinforced composite” under the guidance of Dr. U Ramamurty. The
project required a lot of individual input for which I found myself capable. It helped me a
lot in enhancing my inclination towards research. I came to know the subtleties of the
research process and found myself prepared for the demanding and challenging task. The
project is underway and we are very optimistic on getting a publication in the journal
“Scripta Materiala”.
The excellent academic and research environment, which IIT Madras has
provided me, has helped me to get an overview of Metallurgical Engineering. The
flexibility in the course schedule has also helped me explore and nurture my area of
interest, namely, Electronic Materials. Now I feel the need for a good Graduate Program
that will assist me in broadening my knowledge and honing my skills in this field. This,
together with my longing desire of being able to contribute something innovative and of
significance to this field and the society, has inspired me to pursue graduate studies. I am
confident that I have the drive, intellectual competence and preparation to succeed in a
demanding Graduate Program.
The research being carried out at University of California, Berkeley in Electronic
Materials is both diverse and exhaustive. The Heterogeneous Materials Integration
Research Group (HEMI) working on magnetic thin film, about which I came to know
while perusing your website, interested me deeply. I believe that in undertaking graduate
study here I will gain an extensive as well as comprehensive grasp of both theoretical and
technical knowledge that will help me achieve my aim of pursuing research in the field. I
believe that I have the requisite skill, commitment and academic grounding to meet the
competitive environment at your university. I look forward to join the highly motivated
research team at your university.