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Sop Epfl

Saurav Panda is an undergraduate student at IIT Bombay applying to EPFL for a doctoral program in microsystems and microelectronics. He has experience in diverse research areas through coursework covering a wide variety of topics. His interest in MEMS began after reading an article and he has gained experience through class projects, seminars and an internship. For his undergraduate thesis, he is developing a novel SU8 cantilever for cardiac biomarker detection. Panda maintains high academic achievement and wishes to pursue industry-oriented research, contribute compelling new technologies, and realize original ideas with industrial value through his doctoral studies.

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Khadsaar Singh
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1K views2 pages

Sop Epfl

Saurav Panda is an undergraduate student at IIT Bombay applying to EPFL for a doctoral program in microsystems and microelectronics. He has experience in diverse research areas through coursework covering a wide variety of topics. His interest in MEMS began after reading an article and he has gained experience through class projects, seminars and an internship. For his undergraduate thesis, he is developing a novel SU8 cantilever for cardiac biomarker detection. Panda maintains high academic achievement and wishes to pursue industry-oriented research, contribute compelling new technologies, and realize original ideas with industrial value through his doctoral studies.

Uploaded by

Khadsaar Singh
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Statement of Purpose

I, Saurav Panda, am a final year undergraduate student at the Indian Institute of


Technology - Bombay, India (IITB). I am applying to EPFL for Doctoral research in
the department of microsystems and microelectronics.
The three years of my stay at Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay have given me
experience in diverse research areas. My courses have exposed me to a gamut of topics.
MEMS provides the right platform for integration of ideas from these wide variety of
fields.
My attraction for MEMS began after I read an article in “Business India” during
my third year. Extensive reading and experience gained through project work have led
to the maturing of my interest. Appreciation of the application oriented use of MEMS
structures and the tremendous scope of innovation that I perceive in it have motivated
me to choose MEMS as my area of expertise.
In my sixth semester, I presented a seminar on “Bio-MEMS”. My final presenta-
tion was on “Immobilization of bio-molecules on sensor surfaces”. During the
preparation of my seminar presentation I did an exhaustive literature survey on micro-
machining tools. Apart from looking into the immobilization techniques, I studied vari-
ous methods of fabrication, designing and detection.
MEMS for medical diagnosis is a hot research area at present. For my final year
thesis, I am working on a novel SU8 cantilever for the detection of Acute Myocardial
Infarction (AMI). Using SU8 makes the fabrication procedure simpler. I am doing the
simulations, mask design, actual fabrication and characterization of the cantilever. Dur-
ing the course of my project I perceived a potential problem in developing the exact
relationship between the bending of cantilever and the amount of bio-molecules attached
to its surface. I am also working on this as a part of my project now.
Having spent some time on “Bio-MEMS”, I was looking for an opportunity to work
on some other applications of MEMS. It was with this aim that I joined Dr. Chalapathi’s
group at Society for Applied Micro-wave Engineering and Research (SAMEER) as a
summer intern in 2002. At SAMEER, I first looked into the various kinds of existing
switch designs and structures (for RF networks). I proposed ways of reducing the actu-
ation voltage without affecting the performance of the switch. I also received training
on fabrication procedures. SAMEER is a highly professional organization. Apart from
learning fabrication techniques, I also observed the way various groups worked, inter-
acted and handled everyday industry problems. It is very rare to have such experiences
in an educational institute, which is one of the prime reasons I chose SAMEER for my
internship.
My first encounter with independent designing of systems was in my third year when
I was a member of the team that designed a Joystick Controlled Wheelchair. It was a
great experience to design a system from scratch and actually implement it. This gave
me the real flavor of engineering. Designing the system to meet its specifications within
a given time limit taught me the values of teamwork through effective task delegation
and commitment to a goal through persistent labor.
My coursework has adequately prepared me for focused doctoral research. To gain
more insight into MEMS, I have attended two non credit courses “Introduction to
MEMS” and “MEMS based bio-sensors”. My field of specialization, has given me
the leverage to explore new technologies with a sound grounding in the fundamentals. I
very strongly believe that interdisciplinary work involving the contribution from various
disciplines will be forerunner in research and development.
I have maintained a high level of academic performance throughout my career, and
in particular in the highly competitive environment at IIT-Bombay. I was selected to
the second round (top 200) of both the Chemistry and Physics Olympiads held to select
the Indian team for the International Olympiad. I am also a recipient of the NTSE
scholarship, awarded to a few all over India. My academic pursuits have not prevented
me from participating in various extracurricular activities. I have represented my hostel
and IIT Bombay in many cultural events.
In the long term, I wish to pursue a career in industry oriented research. I wish to
contribute to the formulation and implementation of compelling technology, and see a
distinct role of doctoral research in the realization of that personal vision. In the imme-
diate future, I wish to gain extensive research experience through real world projects and
attain the professional maturity that independent realization of original thought would
engender. Specifically, I am very keen that my doctoral studies culminate in a product
or theory of significant industrial value. I have thoroughly relished the challenges that
my work has thrown upon me. My motivation for a doctoral degree stems from a strong
conviction that, given enough time, I can make enduring contributions of considerable
academic and industrial value in my fields of interest. I am sure EPFL will provide me
the right opportunity to achieve my ambition.

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