[Karthik Jayaraman] [MS in Mechanical Engineering Applicant – Spring 2014] [DOB:]

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

“Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and
your own common sense.” Words said by Gautama Buddha, This quote would best describe my attitude towards
learning and understanding. Technology keeps changing; it is always trying to better itself. This is the driving
force of engineering sector.
When I was in my second grade, my father was a lieutenant commander with the Indian navy. He took
me into the engine room of his survey ship ‘INS SUTLEJ’. Back then as a young child, seeing hundred’s of
pipelines connecting one vessel to another, boilers churning out steam, gauges popping out from all corners and
the cacophonic sounds made by the rotating turbines. I was in awe with not much understanding at that point.
As I grew older, these visits became more prominent and the thing that completely captured my imagination
was that so many mechanisms work in synergy to perform a simple and useful function. My interests in
machines from the small to the large have always been focused on the working and design aspects of it. This
desire that started from a young age led to development of my current reasoning and questioning abilities.

After finishing high school I appeared for AIEEE, a common entrance exam for prospective
undergraduate students in India. Through this exam I secured an engineering admittance at University of
Mumbai, which is one of the prestigious and valued university in India. Since I was more inclined towards the
governing dynamics of machines, choosing mechanical engineering was obvious step. From freshman year
itself I found myself attracted to subjects like strength of materials, design of machine elements and production
process. During the course of my undergraduate study, I was not only provided an in-depth knowledge of
mechanical engineering, but also developed an understanding of application of physical sciences to mechanical
engineering related problems.
Further to add I did not limit myself to mechanical subjects streamlined by my department, Since my
schooling days I was taken into computer programming as a hobby/co-curricular activity and continued to use
languages like C, C++, Visual Basic to create small compliable scripts to calculate variables like major/minor
losses in a conduit or help me with co-ordinate geometry. To stay abreast with the latest methods in design I
further expanded my reach into computer aided design software’s like AutoCAD, PRO-E & CATIA and went
onto do a certification course in these CAD software’s along with my final year of engineering. In extra
curricular activities Sports, particularly soccer has been my interest. I also represented my college during our
inter-college sport tournaments. It helped me grow as an individual by teaching me a lot about teamwork, taking
responsibility for each member of my team and also to be gracious in victory and defeat.
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 [Karthik Jayaraman] [MS in Mechanical Engineering Applicant – Spring 2014] [DOB:]

For my undergraduate project, instead of taking an in-house project, I decided to challenge myself and
took up a project at Mumbai port trust (one of the oldest and busiest harbor/dockyard in India). The Project was
to help reduce the unloading time of the oil tankers with the help of marine loading arms and also to change the
existing piping system that existed to take the crude oil through the pipelines to the refinery in order to reduce
major/minor losses. The project was Split into three phases. The First phase dealt with understanding of the
whole existing working system, and to identify where all do the problems occur. The second stage dealt with
proposing solutions for the identified problems and the final phase dealt with the execution of these ideas. For
my excellent work, Port Trust also awarded me a appreciation certificate. This was my first encounter in real
engineering problem and I was happy that I was able to solve such a complex problem.
After my graduation I was selected as a graduate engineer trainee in one of the esteemed companies of
India, Eurrestra Industries Ltd that deals with supplying process plants on turnkey basis. I started of with
responsibilities related to production/fabrication of pressure vessels and machineries. Later I had been a part of
designing team, where I solely designed a liquid CO 2 storage tank as per Indian standard code of design for
transportation purposes. Putting more than 100% of efforts in my first few months, I was promoted to the
client’s location as a project engineer for foundation and structural implantation at the client’s works including
piping executions followed by commissioning of same. The entire erection and commissioning experience had
given me vast hands-on experience on various fields of engineering like Mechanical, Chemical, Electrical and
Instrumentation. It was here again that the whole plant was automatic and every component could be controlled
and monitored from a central control room. This experience further touched upon my curiosity for automated
mechanical components.
After this experience it was clear to me that the future of mechanical engineering is a symbiosis of
mechanical engineering with the impetus or programming and electrical engineering. I consider myself
fortunate as I could develop my hobby of programming into my profession.
My current research is very much inclined towards subjects related to mechatronics, which relates to my
two years of work year experience. The Department of Mechanical Engineering at University of Tulsa has a
very strong, interdisciplinary research program with focus on all my main research interests, along with a
distinguished faculty and great intellectual atmosphere..
I believe that I posses the motivation, intellectual ability and academic preparation to get on this
demanding career path, and hope that my credentials qualify me as a suitable candidate for graduate study at
University of Tulsa.

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