Graduate Admission program Fall 2003

Amrit Prasad amrituch@rediffmail.com

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE My purpose for applying to the Illinois Institute of Technology for the doctoral program is to prepare myself for a career in research in the field of Biochemical Engineering. My interest in this field has matured as a result of the unique learning experience I had following the balanced curriculum offered by my department. I want to attend Illinois Institute of Technology because of its international leadership in Chemical Engineering and because of its outstanding faculty in the field of Biochemical Engineering. I have discovered from various paper and internet resources that the faculty at Illinois Institute of Technology is doing frontier research in the areas I find myself deeply interested in. I also feel that the Illinois Institute of Technology is well funded and encourages students by offering challenging issues to work on during doctoral studies. I am confident about being sufficiently motivated and well prepared to pursue graduate studies at your department. I joined the Bachelor's program in Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (formerly University of Roorkee) in 1998. The diverse and exhaustive academic program of the department has helped me develop strong fundamentals and a wide perspective in the field of Chemical Engineering. During the course of my studies, I gained a fair depth of knowledge through extensive self-study and guidance of an experienced faculty. I have had insights, apart from the core subjects of Chemical Engineering, into various other areas such as Advanced Mathematics, Numerical Methods and Computer Graphics. In my sophomore year, I was taught basic courses on Chemical Engineering, viz. Transport Phenomena, Principles of Thermodynamics, Applied Chemical Kinetics. I was naturally attracted to these courses, as they appeared to be an advancement of my knowledge of physical sciences and improved my understanding of the involved technicalities in their application. In my junior year I underwent the study of advanced courses on Process Dynamics, applied Transport Phenomena, Instrumentation, Equipment Design and Computer Aided Design, just to name a few. I was really thrilled to see how we actually go for applying our theoretical knowledge to real world design. I also strove independently to improve my grasp of the subject on Process Equipment Design. It was during a discussion that I had with Asst. Prof. Vijay K. Agarwal regarding his work on Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger, that I was introduced to the problem of building/developing a dynamic model of the Shell and Tube Heat. When I took the course on Energy Engineering in my senior year, I was introduced to the problems of bio-waste disposal, design of bioreactors and the study of efficiency and energy issues. I worked on a project titled Study the Operation and Performance of UASB reactor for Biomethanation of Distillery Spent Wash. I concentrated on studying the efficiency issues. Chemical Engineering is one of the broadest of all branches of technical knowledge as it blends the science of chemistry with real-world engineering. To me research is a vision and an ideal that I wish to attain by securing a Ph.D. degree. I firmly believe that your department has the right facilities to develop and hone my skills and hence can provide an ideal environment for my graduate and subsequent doctoral studies.

Graduate Admission program Fall 2003

Amrit Prasad amrituch@rediffmail.com

I realize that graduate studies require a constant well-directed effort and a lot of sacrifice in terms of leisure and immediate rewards. However, I believe that I have the requisite intellectual ability, motivation and willingness to complete the arduous path of doctoral studies. My undergraduate years have given me a strong foundation on which my future research endeavors will be based and I am confident that I will be able to prove worthy of reputation that you have built over the years. I hope that you will take a favorable decision regarding my application to Ph.D. program. Being qualified and confident of producing quality research work, I look forward to join research group at Department of Chemical Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology.

(Amrit Prasad)