Science is but a mere heap of hidden facts; Engineering serves as a window and management as the door to this obscure world of Science. I used the engineering window to get a glimpse of Science during my undergraduate study and in combination with engineering, I plan to use the management door to explore Science in my Masters.
I have always wanted to be a manager all my life and I feel that at the industry level there is an assumption that “A Manager is a Manager” and this concept no longer holds good. It is very essential for all managers to have a sound technical knowledge as well. Hence Industrial Engineering, which aims at creating “Tech-Managers”, seemed a logical choice to me.
The scope for continuous improvement, innovation and effective management offered by Mechanical engineering made me choose it as my preferred field of under graduate study, at one of the premier technical institutions in India – the College of engineering, Guindy, Anna University. During my second year of under graduate study, the former Dean and the then chair professor of my college called on a team of us to make use of the already available resources to improve the efficiency of the passenger car by almost 100% without any further addition to the cost of the vehicle. This was a hard and interesting challenge and called for effective management skills from me, not only to optimize the use of resources but also to effectively coordinate a group of twenty people who are now working with me to give shape to our professor’s dream – “THE INDIAN HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLE”. The vehicle, under simulated conditions, gave a mileage of 27.0km/lit (63.8 miles/gallon). The research skills and managerial skills of me and the other members of the core group helped in getting sponsorship for the project from Maruti – India’s largest car manufacturer and a joint venture between the Government of India and Suzuki motor corporation, Japan
I
am also proud to have won the 3rd prize in SISCAR Derby – an
International car model design competition conducted by SAE International (Society
of Automotive Engineers). The main
objective of the competition was to optimize the use of material and minimize
cost. This classical problem of cost minimization and optimization of the
materials used, helped me to put in to practical use the techniques of
Operations Research that I learnt during my undergraduate study. The same design
also won me the 1st prize in a national meet on automobiles –
AUTOMEET 2000.
My two-year course on Network-Centric computing in the National Institute of Information Technology (NIIT) gave me a good understanding on how computers can be used effectively in the field of engineering. The course has also helped me understand high-end software like MATLAB, SIMULINK and ADVISOR. These software formed the basis of simulation in my project work.
My love for management can be best exemplified by the effectiveness of my work in successfully organizing many national and international level technical conferences and symposiums. Notable among those are the SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) International’s India mobility conference, SME’s (Society of Mechanical Engineers) Pinnacle 1999 and Pinnacle 2000.
Moving on to the interpersonal side of me, I am proud of my ability to dream. I strongly believe that it is my dreams that have made me aim higher and strive for betterment & perfection in any work that I do. It is the dreams that make me think “ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE & ACHIEVABLE”.
After an analysis of the courses and scope for research offered by the Department of Industrial engineering, I feel that the authority and reputation the institution commands, coupled with the intellectually stimulating environment prevailing in the campus would fulfill my desire to master the art of engineering management. I greatly look forward to doing my Masters in Purdue University and it will be my pleasure to work along with the finest faculty members in my chosen field.