Pradip Gatkine Statement of Purpose

PhD Program, Astronomy, University of Maryland

My principal research interests are astronomical instrumentation, radio astronomy,

cosmic ray studies and solar physics. With a sound understanding of physics and technology, I
aspire to develop cutting edge instruments and use them to unravel the mysteries of the universe.
I plan to expand my horizons by pursuing a PhD in astronomy and gain further experience as
post-doctoral fellow, ultimately leading to a fulltime researcher in observational astronomy.

The root of this interest lies in International Astronomy Olympiad training camp of 2008
where I was introduced to the rigor and charm of cutting-edge research in astronomy for the first
time. Competing with the best minds across the nation proved my scientific potential to myself.
This experience sparked a motivation for exploring astronomy to a greater extent. While
attending Radio Astronomy Winter School at National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA),
India, I took a closer look at the science and engineering aspects of radio astronomy by doing
hands-on experiments. I realized that observational astronomy is an amalgamation of engineering
and physics. Therefore, I decided to join mechanical engineering with a minor in physics and
alongside take up instrument development projects. It has not only sharpened my technical skills,
but also provided a strong foundation of basic physics. This preparation gives me immense
confidence to take up further research on challenging problems in observational astronomy.

During my undergraduate days, I have taken sincere efforts to gain a wider basis in
astronomical instrumentation. For my senior thesis, I am developing a balloon-borne Cosmic
Ray Flux (CRF) measurement payload using solid state detectors with Prof. B. Sridhar and Prof.
Sarin at IIT Bombay. I came up with a novel idea of simultaneously measuring electric and
magnetic field along with CRF as the balloon ascends through the atmosphere. I believe that this
study will help understand the reasons behind characteristic CRF variation with altitude. I have
successfully built and tested a prototype, scheduled to be launched in December. This project has
brought me closest to the activities I plan to do in graduate school. It is the source of my drive to
work on satellite and balloon-based instrumentation projects at Center for Research and
Exploration in Space Science & Technology (CRESST) through NASA-GSFC.

While doing terms projects, I always endeavored to incorporate some astronomical aspect
into them. A major milestone was achieved when I developed a fast algorithm to estimate
asteroid shape by using spherical segmentation in radar delay-Doppler observations. This work
was recognized at International Radar Symposium 2013, India in the form of a first-authored
paper. I truly enjoy applying the knowledge gained through coursework in the field of
astronomy. I worked on optimization of corrugated horn antenna for high polarization purity,
which is extremely important in large radio telescopes. I learnt the techniques of antenna
simulation through this project. This work has been accepted for poster presentation at TIFR
Meter-Wave Sky International Conference at NCRA, India. These achievements augmented my
drive and potential to pursue research in radio astronomy.
 Since I enjoy doing astronomy, I spent my vacations exploring a breadth of fields in it. I
was selected as Summer Research Fellow at Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational
Sciences (ARIES), India under Dr. Brijesh Kumar. I worked on dynamical modeling of the pier
of upcoming 3.6m optical telescope at Devsthal. I designed an experimental setup for field-test
and also established a new impact response based method to obtain resonating modes for pier.
This provided me with an opportunity to apply and improve my knowledge of Finite Element
Analysis and Digital Signal Processing. A first-authored paper is under peer review at Bulletin of
Astronomical Society of India.

I enjoy the interplay between observational and theoretical astronomy. Therefore, I

delved into a computational project on Spectral Method based astrophysical
magnetohydrodynamic simulations with Dr. Aniket Sule at TIFR, India. It helped me learn the
methods for setting up complex and large scale simulations in astronomy. I also took an
opportunity to work on constraining Dark Energy parameters by using Supernova Ia data with
Prof. Jassal at IISER Mohali, India. This project introduced me to the statistical methods as well
as methods to verify mathematical models against astronomical observations. I participated in
Pulsar Observatory for Students at NCRA to learn the elements of radio-pulsar astronomy with
hands-on observations. This way, I could understand various dimensions of astronomical
research and expand my knowledge-base to prepare best for the future research.

In order to support the research through rigorous coursework, I structured my curriculum

towards developing a multidisciplinary background. The courses in physics minor help me
develop a fundamental insight of the astronomical phenomena. The mechanical engineering
courses relating to Structural Dynamics, Thermodynamics and Controls provide me the basis for
engineering-design aspects of instrumentation. I learnt the elements of radio telescopes and data
processing through electrical engineering courses such as Radiating Systems, Radar Systems,
Wavelets, Digital Signal Processing and Digital Electronics. The coursework in Computational
Fluid Dynamics and Advanced Fluid Dynamics has helped in building a computational modeling
background for solar physics. My outstanding contribution to technical activities has been
appreciated by IIT Bombay in the form of Institute Technical Color Award. This demonstrates
my unique set of technical and research skills which is useful in experimental astronomy.

I belong to a middle-class Indian family with Marathi being my mother tongue. I am the
first person from my family to struggle my way to pursue higher education abroad. University of
Maryland is indeed a hub of astronomical knowledge generation with its multi-wavelength
observing facilities and active instrumentation. I am especially captivated by instrumentation
activities of CRESST and Laboratory for Millimeter-wave Astronomy (LMA). I am also excited
to work on remote-sensing of near-earth asteroids with Prof. Kolokolova. With a
multidisciplinary background and a strong passion for astronomy, I would like to pursue a PhD
to develop myself as a frontline researcher in longer run and contribute my best to the scientific
community. I truly believe that with research potential and enthusiasm, I will prove to be a good
fit for UMD Astronomy culture as a graduate student.