Sample Statement of Purpose for Computer Science
Statement by MIPT Alumnus (01/2003)
The Computer Science Student
This application is very important for
me because completion a PhD degree in Electrical and Computer
Engineering is the best chance for a unifying my interest in
information technologies and my natural inclination to mathematics.
I am confident that when I become a serious and mature researcher my
desire to make a contribution to science and to our understanding of
this world will remain my main driving force.
It took a long time until personal
computers became widely available in this country and until then my
only single interest was mathematics. At the age of 14, during my
school holidays, when my classmates had a rest, I willingly got up
at about 7 in the morning and till the evening was absorbed by
mathematics. At that time these were mostly Olympiad problems, but
two years later, still being a High School student, I attended a
course on inequalities in Kiev State University and conducted my
first research work. Essentially it was a proof of Karamat
inequality that utilized properties of convex functions and Murhead
inequality. It was unforgettable, how main idea of my central proof
dawned upon me. Although, relatively simple, it was something
innovative, something that no one had ever done before with methods
of elementary mathematics. That evening I went to sleep the happiest
boy in the world. Later I refined the proof and being a freshman at
the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology(MIPT) presented it at
the 52nd MIPT Scientific Conference where it was honored the first
prize.
In the third-year at MIPT I started
working at the Institute of System Programming (ISP), which is a
part of Russian Academy of Sciences. Lectures on computer science at
the ISP expanded my knowledge in many important fields such as
complexity of algorithms, parallel computing, compiler technology,
software engineering and so on. Especially I enjoyed studying new
Autonomous Adaptive Control (AAC) method under the guidance of Prof.
X. The essence of the AAC method is in simultaneous solution of such
problems as pattern recognition, knowledge obtaining, presentation
and decision-making. During my work in the ISP I had rare
opportunity to interact closely with scientists who stood at the
origin of computer science in Russia: Prof. X, Dr. Y and Prof. Z.
In my fourth year I joined Moscow
office of NetCracker Corp. that selected several students for
training. NetCracker produces software for modeling, analysis and
interpretation of complex telecommunication networks. My work in
NetСracker gave me solid practical knowledge of many technologies
and concepts such as Java, Oracle, XML, Object-Oriented Design and
Programming. But much more important is that the project required
extensive knowledge of both mathematics and computer science. I
personally wrote some modules to NetCracker where actively utilized
graph theory, parallel computing and discrete mathematics. Moreover
sometimes generalization of classical algorithms was required. For
example, I extended Dejkstra algorithm to allow multiple search of
optimal paths.
Along with my study of computer
science I am involved in research activity in fundamental
mathematics. Under supervision of Professor X I conducted research
in convex analysis, wrote my thesis ”Integration of Multivalued
Mappings“ and defended it with Honors. Essentially it consisted in a
study of necessary and sufficient conditions under which there
exists Riemann integral of multivalued maps. During this work I
acquired a broad range of research experience and strong background
necessary for further research. My current research work is devoted
to differentiation of multivalued mappings and differential
inclusions and is mostly concerned with nonconvex case. One of the
most challenging tasks in the work is to obtain Pontryagin maximum
principle in Hamiltonian form from Lagrange form (in terms of
tangent cones).
My research topic is closely related
with and often serves as a background to theory of optimal control
and theory of decision making that are widely used in network
optimization and graph algorithms - areas that are of great interest
to me. Moreover my work on network performance in NetCracker adds up
to this framework. Investigations in these fields, in discrete
mathematics and in the theory of compilers are widespread at the
department and it makes admission to your University particularly
desirable. I have strongest incentive to advance as far as I can in
this field and to discover something that has not been known before.
I am certain that application to Carnegie Mellon is the best
possible step to accomplish it and I would regard my admission not
only as a great honor but also as a great responsibility and an
obligation to work hard.
Applicant: Ivan
Ivanov
12.16.2002
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