Program: MS in Computer Science

　　I grew up in Oscar, Ohio, where I attended Pleasant Meadows High School, a nationally recognized college preparatory institution. Pleasant Meadows is a public school which all academically inclined students throughout the city can attend if they manage to pass an entrance examination. At Pleasant Meadows I was placed in the honors program; later I took six advanced placement courses, receiving college credit for five of them. I also completed three full years of Greek and two full years of advanced German. I graduated from Pleasant Meadows in the top ten percent of my class.

　　Upon graduating Pleasant Meadows I was accepted to Carillon Cross University. Since my family was of very modest means, I relied heavily on financial aid. I immediately decided to become a chemical engineer, a decision that was not well informed. My first semester at Carillon Cross was promising, but I struggled through the next three years pursuing a career that I eventually had to admit did not interest me. I learned from this experience that my true strengths and interests lay not in applied technology but, rather, in the philosophical constructs of scientific principles.

　　So, it is not surprising that, in reaction to my unsatisfactory engineering experience, I spent the next year and a half in the humanities, completing a B.A. degree in history, which I was awarded in the Spring of 1987. I excelled during my studies in the history department, but I decided that I did not want to pursue graduate study in the field. While considering career options, I took the LSAT, which strongly tests analytical ability, placing in the 95th percentile. However, I really wanted to pursue a career in the sciences.

　　I knew that I wanted to continue my education, but I was out of money. So, I got a job working for University Development at Carillon Cross as a PC programmer. My job duties were to develop a database reporting system to track potential donors to the university. I was very successful and was quickly promoted (within 4 months) to manager of the donor accounting department, but, more importantly, I discovered that I truly enjoyed working with computers. I liked the creative possibilities in programming; even more, I was intrigued with the process of modeling problems and then implementing different solutions through programming. I realized then that I wanted to learn more about computing. So, I decided to use my tuition waiver benefit to begin to explore the computer engineering/science field. I started to take classes towards a B.S. in computer engineering, but later switched to computer science because I wanted to work more with ideas and less with implementation. I was able to take one course (sometimes two) per semester, which will enable me to receive my B.S. this Spring (1993).

　　As you can see from my transcript, in all of the courses that I have taken while employed, I have received only letter grades of A or B (3.5 GPA). Meanwhile, I received two more job promotions and currently hold the title of Senior Manager in Advancement Services. My job is equivalent to a programmer/analyst II, but requires extensive knowledge of University Advancement and has managerial responsibilities as well. I spend much of my time programming on an IBM ES9000 mainframe system as well as working with many PC applications.

　　I feel that I have grown tremendously as a person through my employment at Carillon Cross. I have learned a lot about myself; for instance, I find teaching others to be very rewarding (something I would like to pursue further along academic lines). Although my employment of five years with the university has taught me many valuable skills, I find the work to be unchallenging and devoid of ideas. It pains me to leave the security of a good job and many close friends to go back to school, but, I am very committed to my career goals.

　　My sincerest desire is to become a computer scientist. Specifically, I am interested in exploring how problems can be modeled and solved using artificial intelligence. I also want to learn about human cognition and machine intelligence. I have been studying the debate over whether machines will ever become "intelligent" given the current course of research and reading about such issues as whether a machine can acquire "common sense" (as discussed in Hubert Dreyfus's book What Computers Still Can't Do). I have been exploring many different areas within the domain of artificial intelligence (such as neural networks, genetic algorithms, and natural language processing). The bottom line is that I want to be a part of this exciting field. To that end I would like to come to Indiana University to work towards an M.S. in computer science with an emphasis in natural language processing.

　　I am looking forward to attending Indiana University in the Fall. I recently took the GRE general test and received a 2200 combined score: a 670 in verbal (93rd percentile),750 in analytical (93rd percentile), and a 780 in quantitative (92nd percentile). I know that I can make a positive contribution to your department, and I hope that you will give me that chance. I thank you for you time in considering my application.

 A simple bridge truss was the first structure I ever analyzed. The simple combination of beams that could hold cars, trains, and trucks over a long span of water fascinated me. Having the tools to analyze the loads on the truss further increased my interest in structures. I encountered the bridge in a textbook for my first engineering class. Knowing that the professor, Mr. John Doe, was a tough teacher, I asked him for the textbook so I could study and get ready for the class over the summer. Just arrived from Belize, I was determined to succeed. In class we learned about forces on simple members and then we put the members together to form a simple truss. At this point I had almost decided that structural engineering was the career for me. From there the class just took off: We went on to frames, distributed loads, considered friction; basically we were incorporating real world considerations into structural members. I loved the practical problem solving aspects of the field.

　　At UC my classes were even more advanced. In my analysis and design classes, I especially enjoyed studying steel design because we not only learned the use of the load resistance factor design but also applied that knowledge. I designed a four-story building. The professor was a practicing engineer, and he always related the subject to real life steel structures he had engineered, for example, the SB Medical Center, an all steel building with a base isolated campus. This is the kind of project on which I would like to work, designing the structure and considering how the building will respond to ground motion. After two quarters of structural analysis, I had come as close as possible to analyzing real world structures. Looking back I realize, I had learned great tools for structural analysis, but my "tool box" was still inadequate. I lacked a very important tool: finite element analysis. According to my professor, finite element analysis has revolutionized structural analysis.

　　Although I liked my classes, my internship experiences really confirmed my interest in structural engineering. While working at Caltrans as a student volunteer, I reviewed computer grading output for streets under construction. The computer suggested numbers for the road grading, and I had to plot the numbers and make sure there were no abrupt grade changes so the water can drain off easily to the sides of the road. It was exciting to know that I was the last checkpoint before the whole project went for approval. It was enjoyable working on something real, but I was somewhat disappointed I did not have the chance to work on any structures.

　　At UC I volunteered through the Student Research Program to work in the geotechnical library. I worked directly with a doctoral student and helped him to develop a geotechnical data base for the local area. I interpreted the data Caltrans had collected and recorded it in a form accessible to the computer and easy to read. It took hours to finish the job, but I enjoyed the precision involved so I did not mind putting in the time. My supervisor like my work so much, he hired me to continue the project during the summer. Working on this project also showed me the importance of soils in determining buildings’ responses to earthquakes and awakened my interest in the response of skyscrapers to seismic stress and movement.

　　At First Choice U, I plan to enroll in the structural engineering and geomechanics program. In this program I hope to draw on my structural analysis and geotechnical research background as a foundation for studying more advanced concepts. I am particularly interested in researching the ties between the structural engineering, aeromechanics, and applied mechanics. I believe research is necessary to acquire data and formulate theories, but it is just as important to know how to apply those theories and use that data in the real world. I hope to be involved in some structurally related research at First Choice U.

　　I am particularly interested in two research facilities: The Structures and Composites Laboratory and the Earthquake Engineering Center. After completing my degree in engineering and working on engineering projects, I know I want to design structures. That is what has fascinated me since I took Mr. Doe's class. I also know, however, that designing structures of a complexity that appeals to me requires "more tools in my toolbox." those I can acquire only by continuing my education. To be competent and competitive I will need a master's degree. After completing my degree, I would like to work for an American engineering consulting firm and engineer complex structures and tall buildings, perhaps focusing on the problems surrounding designing for earthquakes. My long-term goals is to return to Belize and found my own engineering consulting firm there.

　　Structural engineering will allow me to pursue a career where I can be creatively involved in problem-solving and design functional structures, like the simple truss bridge that initially captivated me in Mr. Doe's class. My classes, work at Caltrans, and internship in geotechnical engineering have increased my knowledge of and interest in structural engineering since I first looked at the textbook shortly after my arrival in the U.S.. A master's degree will give me the up-to-date tools and knowledge to be competitive and competent.

 Ever since I can remember, I have heard older people complain about being tired of this thing or that thing. With the increasing complexity of technology and career skills, they have to do more and learn more with every passing day. Until now, technology has perpetuated itself not by giving the average person more time to pursue humane concerns, but by increasing efficiency. People can turn out more widgets in an hour now than they ever could, but they also work more than ever learning new things. For example, the average employee spends an hour a day writing and receiving email, but still must accomplish everything else she used to do. There is now more to do in less time, and adults are right to complain that they wished they had more hands or more time to accomplish their daily chores. From this simple observation, I became interested in robotics and in Stanford.

　　Early on in my education, I started reading and learning about software and hardware engineering. An Engineering Institute in Madras yielded the first but almost incredible qualification in hardware engineering. It has been my objective since then to identify with an institution that shares my vision and ambition to lead the global march towards environment induced solutions to day to day living. Stanford is this institution, and now is the time for me to follow my vision. Certain that this is the ideal time to pursue college education in computer engineering, I see technology becoming increasingly pervasive and important and wish to now make the next important step to helping technology make life easier, rath er than harder.

　　With my demonstrated aptitude for computer hardware engineering, I am confident that Stanford will hone my skills and turn me into a world class researcher/inventor. With my interests and a Stanford background in computer engineering, I will be able to pursue research in robotics and realize my career goals. I am certain that modern-day technology can alleviate, rather than add to, the tasks of the average person. In the foreseeable future, I envision affordable robots that can do all the tiresome day to day chores in our households and free us to focus on the humane aspects of life. With dedicated input from the curriculum developed at Stanford, we will invent robots that can understand the human moods from tonal variances and for application in the industrial and medical world. By employing technology to save time rather than to absorb it, people will have more time for love and relationships and children. Rather than humans becoming the robots in an increasingly mechanical, technological world, we will regain our humanity. Stanford is important to me because I cannot find a better place to work with world class faculty; Stanford will provide me the tools for creating time-
saving advancements.

　　Write about a book/idea that is intellectually exciting.

　　"The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" written by Stephen R. Covey is an interesting and thought provoking book. Covey identifies these habits as the qualities of personal vision, personal leadership, personal management, interpersonal leadership, empathic communication, creative cooperation and balanced self-renewal. Covey believes that with these qualities, the reader can also become a highly effective person. I found the book intellectually exciting because the principles would give us the security to adapt to change and the wisdom and power to take advantage of the opportunities that change creates. The author emphasizes that the principle of interdependence has a higher value than independence, and uses "paradigms" to explain his theories. I found this approach to problem solving interesting, and something I hope to use at college. By centering our lives on correct principles and creating a balanced focus between doing and increasing our ability to do, we become empowered in the task of creating effective, useful and peaceful lives for ourselves and for our posterity. Since I am constantly striving to improve my own personal effectiveness, I found this book intellectually exciting and would recommend it to everyone.

　　Write a letter to your future roommate telling him about a personal experience revealing something about you.

　　I don't want to worry you into thinking I'm some sort of single-minded engineering student who never discusses anything other than engineering. I'd like to tell a story about the time that I made a useful and inexpensive gadget by applying some simple classroom knowledge. My mother often used to complain that whenever it rained, all the clothes got wet before she could retrieve them from the cloth line fixed in our garden. To solve this problem, I made a rain alarm using water's property of electrical conductivity. My project had two metal plates placed very close together and was connected to a battery, buzzer, and a switch. It also had two transistors forming a high gain direct amplifier along with two resistors, a relay and a diode. Whenever the first drop of rain fell on the sensor plates of my gadget, the buzzer would raise a shrill alarm, and my mother would hurry to collect the clothes. A hobby of mine is to apply engineering knowledge to solving everyday problems and helping to put people at ease.