STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

During my high school days, my grandfather supervised a project for building an auditorium for a college. I accompanied him to the construction site a number of times where I observed the entire engineering and construction process that was being carried out. In fact, I was amazed to see the complexity and the level of precision they demanded. Moreover, Television Shows like Mega Structures and Extreme Engineering further helped me in appreciating the entire Civil Engineering process and the potential problems associated with it. It was due to this proclivity towards civil engineering that I chose to pursue my Bachelors Degree in this field from PEC University of Technology, one of the finest institutions of Civil Engineering in the country. The subjects related to Structural Mechanics and Reinforced Concrete Cement included in the undergraduate curriculum aggravated a special interest in me. My passion and inquisitiveness to explore these subjects lead me to participate in various projects, competitions and research activities pertaining to the above mentioned fields. After my second year of engineering, I pursued a one month internship in the field of Structural Analysis and Design of Lifeline Structures at the Department of Earthquake Engineering in Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee. The training provided me with vital experience in the study of Seismic Retrofitting of Lifeline Structures, Performance Based Seismic Design, carrying out Post Earthquake Damage Studies and Seismic Vulnerability and Rise Assessment of Structures. The work included the design and analysis using STAAD.PRO and SAP2000 and their comparison with the manual calculations which gave me an insight into the behavior and response of structures during earthquakes. Apart from that visits to the research facilities and laboratories at IIT introduced me with the new techniques and instruments (Computer Controlled Biaxial Shake Table and Ambient Vibration Measuring System) being used for studying impacts of earthquakes on structures which inspired me to further explore this field. The desire to delve deeper in the field of Structural Engineering persuaded me to undertake a four month internship in Seismic Retrofitting of Unreinforced Masonry Structures at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee during my sixth semester. This project was a collaboration between IIT-Roorkee and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and included the seismic evaluation of a masonry school building using Simplified Equivalent Static Analysis. In this method, an analogy was applied to synchronize the pattern of piers to the springs connected in series and parallel. After the completion of design, I became a part of the execution team. The team came across various challenges during the execution like the availability of anti corrosive materials for the treatment of reinforcement and the training and guiding of masons for this new technique. While this seismic design taught me the complete Inplane and Out of plane behavior during the earthquakes, the site experience further gave acumen to overcome the difficulties during the execution.

With all the cumulative learning over the years, I chose Seismic Retrofitting as a subject for my senior year project. I undertook a case study of the Blind Institute building at Chandigarh which was in a dilapidated condition. Coupled with the experiences gained from the previous internship and under the guidance of my teacher I proposed a retrofitting scheme which was accepted by the Chandigarh Administration. This gave me an insight into evaluation of stresses under various load combinations and also their critical comparison with Indian Standard Codes. I even presented & co-authored a paper on the topic Seismic Evaluation of a Masonry Building using Simplified Equivalent Static Analysis (Case Study-Blind Institute, Chandigarh INDIA) which was published in the proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Seismic Retrofitting held at Tabriz, Iran. The urge to explore and innovate has always been an innate part of me. While going through different construction materials in research papers I envisioned an idea about alternative building materials. Therefore, I critically compared bamboo and polypropylene with steel reinforcement on the basis of their mechanical properties and their ability to take flexural moments and stresses. Interestingly, I discovered that not only both of these materials are efficient in load dispersal but they also provide a cost effective alternative to the steel reinforcement. In addition, the case study titled Investigating the Use of Bamboo and Polypropylene as a Substitute for External Steel Reinforcement has been accepted in an international conference, UKIERI Concrete Congress-2013. Participation in various technical events like Bridge Modeling, Shake Table Testing and Wind Tunnel Testing has helped me in understanding the load dispersion and structural behavior in a better manner. The biggest among these was being selected as a part of the team that represented India at Introducing and Demonstrating Earthquake Engineering Research in Schools (IDEERS- 2011) organized by the National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering (NCREE), Taiwan. Our team designed a model which sustained 0.6g acceleration during the shake table testing. For this we received Quake Resistant Certificates appreciating our performance. During the campus recruitments, I was one of the two students of my department who got selected in Bechtel Corporation. Presently, I am working in this organization on Muscat International Airport Project and have been involved in the complete structural design, analysis and detailing of various reinforced concrete structural elements. Working on the structural components like Corbels and Flat Slabs using various computational softwares (Staad.Pro, Mathcad, Frameworks, Tekla Structures and SP3d) has immensely added to my knowledge. Moreover the practical approach towards the design and detailing of structures has made me aware of the challenges involved in it and the ways to tackle them. Recently, I received a Leader+ award from the senior management for acknowledging my work and taking initiative in completing it. I am confident that the knowledge of the practical intricacies of the design will

help me in taking the Masters program with a very positive attitude of problem solving as I will be able to co-relate it to my industrial experience. Besides work and academics I have kept a work-life balance by actively engaging myself in cocurricular activities. I was also involved in the marketing of our colleges annual cultural festival Pecfest11 as the Head of the Marketing Team. I have actively participated in the National Service Scheme (NSS)-PEC by organizing Blood Donation Camps and providing free classes to the poor students. Furthermore, I have performed in my college as a guitarist at various cultural events.

I want to learn more and expand my knowledge in the field of Structural Engineering. The experience in industry along with research and participation in technical competitions has instilled in me ample confidence for taking a Masters program to further hone my skills. Henceforth, a Masters program in Structural Engineering will provide me with an opportunity to gain expertise in this field so that I can look upon myself during any practical as well as technical problem related to it. Moreover, this will help me in gaining the versatility required to reach my full potential as an engineer.

The National University of Singapore offers one of the finest masters programs in the field of Structural Engineering. The research areas of the Structural Engineering faculty including the Centre for Advanced Materials and Structures and the Structural Engineering Laboratory have an extensive history of structural research. I have gone through the course contents of M.Sc. (CE) with specialization in Structural Engineering and the curriculum matches with my areas of interest. I have had conversation with the students that have studied in the institute and I would also like to avail similar opportunities and experiences gained by them. It would be an honour to be a part of National University of Singapore and I am looking forward to spend the most productive time at this university. I will bring along with me the innovation and practical experience which I have gained during my college tenure and at industry, which I feel shall pave my way towards achievement of my ultimate goal.