STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

Neha Singh Chauhan

They said, “Every object in this world can be viewed as a System and all problems can be solved with the
System’s approach” .When I made it to Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Jodhpur as an undergraduate
in Systems Science, little did I know how powerful this seemingly simple statement is which constituted
the fundamentals of my branch. The approach resonated with what I personally find more compelling
while solving any problem: that of solving by understanding the basics. Therefore, it became more
motivating to learn how the various components fundamentally interact and make up a large functional
system.

But, amidst all, one thing which always proved to be a deciding factor in my work of interest was the
idea of impact that I might be able to create with my work. I am optimistic, the upcoming research
would have breakthrough answers to the biggest concerns related to environment and human life at
large creating advanced yet sustainable future. I am fascinated by this kind of impact and want to
contribute building this future.

I understand, to realize this contribution I need to be more specialized in skills which is why pursuing
Master’s at this point is essential for me. As computer science has emerged as a solution tool to any
problem, I wish to explore the depths of subject particularly focusing in the field of Database
management learning technologies behind, both in concepts of hardware and software engineering
which interact together solving for the most essential factors of speed and accuracy in the upcoming age
of ‘Internet of Things’. In the age of Big Data, it is essential to manage the data as accurately as possible
together with the design of better architecture to speed up the computing. To make this possible, in the
coming years, the database architecture and parallel computing, fast Networks and applications of
Machine learning will be together put to use to answer these complexities, and I as a computer science
student wish to learn this mechanism, working in detail in the fields associated.

Secondly, my ultimate goal is to target back home with the right set of skills, I can put to use to help
solve problems in India which it faces due to lack of resources as a developing nation. At this time, India
is focusing on technological revolution for the advancement of the country. New plans like ‘Smart city’,
’Digital India’ and ‘Make in India’ are introduced by the government and a lot of energy and money are
being spent to come up with the technologies at par with the global standards. I wish to be a part of this
revolution for which I need to delve deeper into the science behind technologies working at the edge of
different disciplines so that I become capable enough to contribute to the advancement of India and
society.

For these reasons altogether, pursuing Masters in Computer Science at Purdue University is the logical
resolution of my interest and passion for my goals.

Most of my research exposure during the undergraduate years at IIT Jodhpur was through the projects I
pursued, personally or as part of the course, inspired by the potentials of the subjects I learnt at
classroom and eventually, I had an experience on diverse subjects and the potential research.

For example, in my second year, during the course ‘Systems Science-I’, which included concepts of
Discrete Mathematics and Concepts of Graph Theory, I came across "Linked" by AL Barabasi which
vetted my interest in the field of Complex Networks and gave me insights about some of its basic
theoretical foundations. Swayed by the applications of the field in almost every domain, I chose to
spend my second year summer vacations at the institute and worked on developing a complex networks
structure of the Bombay Stock Exchange by using stocks of companies as nodes and interdependencies
of various stocks as edges. The interdependencies were calculated using cross-correlation technique and
were used as edge-weights. Modular components and stability of the network were identified using
properties of Graph Theory. Analysis was done using MATLAB Bioinformatics Toolbox and Graph
visualization software, Gephi. The work proved to be success and the results got published in the
International Journal of Science and Technology under the name, “Visualization of dependencies in the
Bombay Stock Exchange BSE (March 2013 to June 2013)”

Furthermore, during the course of four years at IIT Jodhpur, apart from the basic engineering courses of
Programming, Data Structures and Algorithms, I studied more specialized courses namely- Operating
Systems, Computer Networks, Systems Design and Genetic Algorithms, Large scale Numerical
Simulations, Socio economic Networks, business dynamics and Game theory, Embedded systems(Studio
course), Control systems and Robotics and Dynamical Systems which gave me insight of both software
and hardware engineering making understand the design of systems at the intersection of both.

Hence, the unique blend of courses in Systems Science not only builds a good foundation in various
subjects but also enables to choose and specialize in any field of our interest. Therefore, I believe, not
having a major in computer science does not come in between my pursuit of interest as I completed all
the basic computer science courses as described above as part of my curriculum.

One of the proudest moment for me till date occurred when at the end of my third year at IIT Jodhpur, I
was selected for the prestigious S.N. Bose Scholarship Program, a joint initiative by the Government of
India and USA, selecting only 45 students across India for fully funded summer research internship in
United States.

With the aid of this scholarship, I did my internship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the
department of Computer and Electrical engineering under Professor Parmesh Ramanathan. There, I got
an opportunity to work on The Keck foundation project which aims at the Automation of the synthesis
of Genomes. The team working on the project included engineers from fields of Biology, Chemical
engineering, Electrical engineering and Computer science where my role as an intern was to closely
work with the team of multiple expertise and develop the interface module of the automated and
optimized design of regulatory networks for the desired amount of gene expression in E.coli (a type of
Bacteria).I analyzed the role of individual components making up the regulatory networks (RBS and
Promoter sequences) on the gene expression level. Combination of 114 promoters and 111 RBS
sequences considered and mean strength of the combination calculated. The combination was further
compared by the BLAST algorithm and only combination of sequences significantly different from others
were retained for the optimum design.

This was a unique project of a kind which I had ever worked upon. It was challenging to work in the new
field of biology applying its concepts at the junction of computer science, which I successfully completed
and gained a wide learning revelation of the interdisciplinary research.

In the final year, to consolidate my interest in specialized research, I chose to study advanced courses in
the fields of Pattern recognition and Machine learning, Structure and Dynamics of Complex Networks,
Artificial Intelligence and Digital Image Analysis. In the course of Image analysis, I learned the basics of
image processing and introduction to computer vision. I was impressed by the effects of various filtering
and sharpening algorithms and so, I worked on creating a small web portal for the desired filter in the
image where these algorithms run in backend on MATLAB.I also got exposed to the prospects of the
field, where applications in biomedical systems, especially to detect Cancer particularly held my interest
which is why this is also my desired area to explore more during my master’s degree.

Consecutively, in my final year B. Tech Thesis project, I worked on Machine learning application in the
classification of unstructured data using ‘HEX’ graph (Hierarchy and Exclusion graph) approach. The
project included working on a large dataset of images in different categories and sub categories wherein
the probabilistic model for classification was used, which exploits the relationship among the images
and improve results as the HEX knowledge graph expands. The project employed use of ‘Artificial Neural
networks’ and specialized Machine learning techniques like Principal component analysis, Conditional
Random fields and Junction tree algorithm.

After graduation, I decided to work for a year and gain experience in the corporate sector. I joined
Cognizant Technological Solutions as an Associate engineer where I primarily worked on “Big-Data”
technologies and gained insight of the role of Distribution systems and fast reliable Networks to handle
the large amount of data. I worked on softwares like Hadoop, Spark wherein I enjoyed learning the
MapReduce mechanism to significantly reduce the cost of data management in terms of time and
worked on Azure ML (employing Machine learning) for Data Analysis. This is the time, when I most
realized the importance of Data management and analysis and the need for technologies for improved
storage and speed.

Having the basic understanding of the area, my work experience in Data science helped me learn a lot
about the cutting edge technologies in the field of Databases and management. As I became more
interested in the field, I completed many online courses and MOOCs to credit to my knowledge of
Database management and Computer architecture which I did not get exposed to at the undergraduate
coursework. It was here, at my workplace where I came to know about Kaggle, the online platform for
open competitions in the field of Machine learning and impressed by its concept, I soon ended up
working on the solutions of the problems posed as challenges. This way, I gained a good experience in
Machine learning and its applications in solving problems of real world.

Now, when I have decided to pursue research in an area that I earnestly chose due to my inclination
towards the interdisciplinary research, I chose Purdue University, as it provides the unmatchable
collegium of faculty and state of the art research work in my fields of interest. I say this, as this is evident
from the research areas in different domains of the University, all led by the faculty members under the
single department. The department of Computer Science at Purdue University consists of distinctive
resources which will in the span of two years enable me to learn more than I would at any other place,
and thus I cannot think of a better place to shape my interests.

I am aware of the standards that Purdue University maintains and that it expects me to meet its
requirements. I believe, as earlier I have persistently tried to do better, I will continue to do so in future
and when I am expected more, I am sure, the research atmosphere at Purdue would encourage me to
become more learned and wise than before. Therefore, with my zeal to learn with the purpose, I believe
I will be able to survive and contribute to the excellence at Purdue University.