Statement of Purpose - Essay Example

ment of Purpose Essay question: I should clearly indicate the reasons I wish to study Industrial Engineering at Georgia Tech as opposed to some other program or university. MY statement should describe My academic background, training and experience and should mention honors, memberships, and extracurricular activities. Special areas of research or interest should be discussed. I have been teaching, studying, and researching in different areas of Industrial Engineering (IE) since I became an instructor in 2007. While the highly diverse nature of assignments and readings has helped me gain a broad knowledge about IE, I have not had ample opportunity to delve deeply enough into this subject matter. I realize that in order to gain this intellectual opportunity, I will need to develop a more comprehensive understanding of IE. I additionally need further training in research methodology. Subsequently, my intellectual development and personal passions necessitate that that I continue my education at the PhD level. As a lifelong learner, I recognize that pursuing a PhD is a truly precious chance to expand my knowledge base. This academic path will allow me to pursue comprehensive and high-level research projects that will expand my epistemological assumptions. Ultimately, this expanded intellectual understanding will elevate my research capabilities and allow me more effectively to contribute to social progress. This course of study will allow me to take classes that will provide an invaluable opportunity to gain knowledge of state-of-the-art topics in a constructivist learning environment. Additionally, I will learn teaching methods that will allow me to efficiently convey information to the students. My background has prepared me for pursuing this course of study. I attended Imam Jafare Sadeq - the best high school in my city at the time. It was the only school in the city with an entrance exam. Not only did I finish high school successfully, but I was 3rd in my class. I completed my undergraduate study at Sharif University of Technology, the best Iranian technology school. I was forced to overcome a number of challenges during my time as an undergraduate. At the time, IE was quite young and many people had not heard of it. Subsequently, I was discouraged as there were limited applications for IE methods, and I wanted a practical field of study. I reached the conclusion that IE was simply not a practical pursuit. I continued my university study, but lacked the passion that had driven my earlier efforts. In the last summer of undergraduate study, I interned at an organization that was implementing information systems. This was a crucial turning-point in my life. For the first time I witnessed the real-world application of information system in decision-making and control. This fact reignited my intellectual flame, inspiring me to learn a number of related software packages. Additionally, I completed my final project of undergraduate study in this area, designing an information system; I managed to score 18 out of 20 in this course. After the Bachelor of Science program, I found a job in a factory where I designed information systems. Seeing the results of my efforts, I came to embrace IE’s real world applicability. Still, working in such environments did not satisfy my intellectual curiosity, so I decided to continue my education at the M.S. level. Gaining admission was a major challenge. I had to review probability, statistics, and linear programming. My efforts ultimately paid off, however, as I succeeded in gaining admission to a leading university. During my Master’s program, I did my best to increase my knowledge in IE. I demonstrated significant success as compared to my undergraduate study. I was the top student in some courses, including Advanced Statistical Methods and Scheduling Theory. I completed my dissertation in data mining, which was not well known in Iran. In this research, I developed a decision model for identifying employers who infringe on regulations. It was the department’s first dissertation in the area of data mining. By the end of MS, I decided to find a job at the university. I had been interested in studying and teaching IE. I started my new career in 2006. The duties included teaching and research. Preparing to teach required me to study exceptionally hard. Additionally, having to extemporaneously answer the students’ questions sharpened my mind. Besides teaching, I dealt with research. I developed a method to estimate the work in process inventory. A decision tree model was exploited to extract the quantitative relationship between WIP and the influencing factors from the output of simulating the system dynamics model of supply chains. It can be used as a decision support system to control WIP. In other research, I analyzed auditing process by value engineering and improved it using data mining. Another research task was in the realm of statistical process control (SPC). I used a decision tree to extract a quantitative cause and effect relationship between factors and process states. This model completes the performance of control charts and can be used for better control processes. In Iran, there is a lack of good Persian resources for IE. In 2010, I started translating a comprehensive and up-to-date book on Engineering Economy that is being edited now. Another book I have been translating is a data mining book. This book is a splendid didactic resource in this area and it is about to be published. To be more successful in my career, I also dedicate a portion of my time to extra-curricular activities. I attend sessions with my friends and colleagues, discussing different topics and exchanging our knowledge and experience. To keep my body healthy and energetic, I complete regular exercises, such as swimming and football. Such activities help me to think better. I am passionate about completing a PhD at Georgia Tech for many reasons. The most important reason is that the System Informatics and Control program satisfies my desired form of PhD study. I have reviewed this program and was elated at the course offerings, as they completely correspond to my interest in the application of information systems for decision making and control. In fact, this program is the continuation of what I started 10 years ago. It is a splendid opportunity for gaining the knowledge and experience necessary to design more effective information systems for control and decision making, bringing me closer to my long lasting dreams. In addition, Georgia Tech has the best IE School in the world. Studying under the faculty here would be a truly invaluable experience. Moreover, its modern labs provide suitable places for performing pragmatic research. Certainly, after completing the PhD, I will have gained enough priceless information, experience and insight into IE to achieve a faculty position in many top universities. Read More