Vinod Krishnakumar, India
December 2000
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
Excellence is a journey and not the
destination
I realized this as a child from my father,
a ceaseless learner. He asked questions,
never took “No” for an answer and I
saw him become a powerful career
person, recognized as a high flier in
every organisation he worked for. And
now, almost 50 years of age, he still
swears he has to learn a lot more and do
things even better.
Having learnt from him that success is a
moving target, the years of my own life
with my family have honed my own
skills to never aim or demand anything,
less than perfect.
Built around an attitude for excellence,
my motivation has always been at its
peak beginning my early years at the
high school through to the undergraduate
school where I am currently in. My
undergraduate school, Shanmugha
College of Engineering is one of the
premier learning institutions in southern
India, a knowledge rich zone, producing
thousands of IT genius every year.
I am now keen to pursue graduate
studies in a highly advanced learning
environment, such as the programs
offered by your graduate school. If I am
fortunate to join some of your streams, I
believe it would be one of my most
significant cornerstones for my career
pursuits.
Statement of Purpose Page 1 of 2
My Academics, Knowledge,
Computer Skills and more…
My association with computer systems
developed significantly over the years in
college and has helped me increase
exponentially, my mastery in handling
sophisticated computers running
complex software.
I have succeeded in maintaining a high
standard of performance in my
academics right from my early years at
school. I kept updating my knowledge
about computers constantly and
subsequently the advances in
Information Technology itself. My
passion for computers resulted in my
choosing Computer Science and
Engineering as my major in my
undergraduate degree studies.
My stream of accomplishments in the
undergraduate school has focussed
around my assertive work in
programming languages. I have delved
deep into its realms and started working
on solutions in C and C++ languages
using various techniques.
The Computer is intelligent, or is it?
During my work I began to realize a cold
fact about computers - all that they could
do was to work in one of the ways
chosen from a set of ways defined by the
program and / or limited by the
capabilities of the computers that run
these programs.
i . exe
Vinod Krishnakumar, India
December 2000
Like we all know, there is always a
better way. I began to wonder if human
minds can be trained to think laterally,
can not the same human develop similar
capabilities on computers?
I knew I had stumbled upon Artificial
Intelligence (AI)! I began reading about
AI from various journals, books and the
Internet and armed myself with
extensive knowledge and information on
AI.
My dedication and contribution to AI
grew and it stretched as far as my being
able to present technical papers at
national level symposia in India. I have
presented a paper that analyzes
Computer Gaming Technologies and
some of the algorithms used by the AI
engines in various categories of games.
Where do I want to go from here….
I have thus developed a powerful
intellectual urge to empower myself with
futuristic technological skills and keep
abreast with the trends in AI. I am very
keen to do some independent research in
this field.
Statement of Purpose Page 2 of 2
With my high-spirited motivation for
graduate studies and the right mindset to
pursue and realize determined goals, I
foresee a great future and vocation
ahead, in the realm of AI, not just in
gaming but in other areas too, such as
space research, avionics, industrial &
home automation et al.
I would like to equip myself well to
fulfill my ambitions and to build a career
around my potential. What else can be a
better stepping stone for me than a
graduate study program in a school of
repute such as yours?
In my fathomless journey for
success and fulfillment through
excellence, complemented with
conceptual and practical
knowledge and experience, I
am now ready to take on the
challenges and opportunities of
graduate studies and research
at The State University of New
York at Buffalo.