Statement of Purpose I am interested in the area of Computer Networks.

Having done BSc (Hons) in Computer Science, I came to appreciate the impact this area has had in transforming the way we communicate and process information. The transition from the traditional telephony to the IP (Internet Protocol) based architecture has brought new and challenging problems to the focus of the researchers in this area. These challenges afford excellent opportunity to delve into the working of the evolving domains of Computer Networks, e.g. Wireless Networking, Network Security. Through my undergraduate experience, I developed an appreciation for these challenges and found them interesting. Early in my undergraduate education, I developed interest in Theoretical Computer Sciences and Mathematics. Thereafter, I took advanced courses in these areas and did well in them. However, the need to see the application of this theory led to my eventual interest in the area of Computer Networks. My strong theoretical background allowed me the leverage to work on challenging research problems in this area.

m o As part of my senior-year project, I worked on a research problem in the area of Vehicular c means of connectivity to the . Networks. This area deals with the challenge of providing efficient s focused on the evaluation of wireless devices in vehicular settings. The research project t was rate adaptation algorithms (designed for indoors) in the n outdoor vehicular scenarios through e simulations and real testbed experimentation. This project helped me in developing an in-depth d understanding of the working and the design principles of the current 802.11-compliant rate u adaptation algorithms. I also came to appreciate the impact of the interaction of rate t s adaptation algorithms with the higher layer protocols on the overall network performance. k Moreover, I enjoyed the experience of learning and working with new tools; for this project, I p . had the opportunity to work with tools like MadWiFi (Multi-band Atheros Driver for WiFi), ns2 w (Network Simulator), Iperf, Libtrace, Tcpdump, and Wirekshark. A comprehensive understanding of the theoretical tools required in the performance analysis of 802.11 MAC w (with multi-rate capability) in the outdoor vehicular scenario (highway/freeway settings) was w another important aspect of this project. Finally, we defended this work in front of 10 faculty
members, who provided valuable critique. The critique was helpful in extending the work, later, during my research assistantship. In my senior year, I also worked on a research project which dealt with the problem of diagnosing bugs, errors and viruses associated with a specific application in an effective and timely manner. In this project, we proposed a monitoring scheme and a content distribution mechanism for Application Communities (infrastructure of connected nodes, running the same application and diagnosing errors, bugs and viruses associated with this application, when incurred). This project was helpful in providing a thorough understanding of how Intrusion Prevention Systems work and how queries are executed in a distributed system. Apart from this project, I also did a feasibility study on the applicability of chaos functions, as encoding schemes, in the context of Network Security. This project provided me with a platform to map my knowledge of dynamical systems and chaos theory to the field of Network Security. I also

gained valuable insights into the issues involved in the implementation of chaos functions in the real-world systems. Through these research projects, I developed an appreciation for three important aspects of research. Perseverance is a vital aspect in this regard. It allowed me to hold nerves when the progress was slow. The art of reading research papers is another important facet. It entails the ability to read research papers in an efficient manner and keep oneself updated with the new research in the subject. Another pivotal aspect is that of clearly defining goals and consistently evaluating and re-evaluating progress towards those goals. This aspect ensured that I remained focused in the wake of frequently changing goals of the project. My experience as a teacher assistant was a pivotal part of my undergraduate education as well. As a result of this experience, I learnt some important traits of teaching. Firstly, it requires clarity of approach, which holds significant importance in research as well. Secondly, the exercise of explaining a concept via alternative means holds fundamental value in this regard. It helps in keeping the students involved. Finally, open discussions during lessons are important as they allow a teacher ample opportunity to gauge the progress of the students by learning how different students approach a certain problem.

. s I have an affinity for challenges, an aptitude for teaching, strong foundations in Computer t n impact in whatever way I can. SUNY Science to build upon and the desire to make a meaningful e Stony Brook offers a rich and flexible environment to do research. I have been impressed by the d work that has been done in Networking and Computer Systems. In particular I find the work of u Samir R. Das and Jie Gao very interesting. I would like to do my PhD to make more meaningful t s contributions in research and teaching. The PhD program at SUNY Stony Brook will help me in k achieving my goal (of pursuing a career in research and teaching) and eventually returning to p .for students to pursue studies in my area. my country and providing a strong base w w w

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