PRACHI GAIKWAD                                                             

MS COMPUTER SCIENCE

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

I still remember the time when I went to Sedgwick Elementary School, Cupertino, CA way back in 1995. The focus on conceptual understanding, play time for overall growth and liberty to think freely attracted me towards studying in the US. My intended area of specialization in the MS program in Computer Science is networking. I did well in school and had no hesitation in choosing to pursue bachelors in Computer Science Engineering.

One thing that always awed me was maintaining the security of our country’s defense network and securing e-banking. The answer lied in cryptography and secure key algorithms. Moreover the transfer of data segments from source to destination through different layers was enchanting to study. This interest culminated in me opting for ‘High Performance Networks’ as my final year elective.

My final year subject ‘Advanced Computer Architecture & Computing’ introduced me to a host of interesting and complex concepts of parallel computation and multiprocessor architecture. Many individual computers can be combined and governed through middleware to produce computational power that cannot be matched. We all know that this is the secret behind fast responsiveness of the Google Search engine. I wish to explore Parallel Software issues and computer architecture of High Performance computational structures through my graduate studies.

My immediate career aim is to be a part of an organization specializing in computer networks, network research and products to enable me to learn further about computer networks in the real world. Eventually I plan to take up a career in research in computer science.

During my third year engineering I presented a seminar on ‘Agile Software Development Methodologies’. I completed my final year project titled ‘Extension to the Label Distribution Protocol in MPLS Domain’ at Zensar technologies. Currently I am working as a programmer at Yardi Software India Pvt. Ltd., Pune that provides software solutions to Asset and Property Management Firms and is headquartered at Santa Barbara, CA.

In my MS I will like to gain an in-depth knowledge of Computer Networking which is in demand as a basis for design and deployment of new information systems ranging from aspects of the global Internet to distributed systems in a variety of application domains. I would like to be a proficient systems architect and handle large scale project. In my graduate studies I would like to explore areas like ‘Parallel Computation’, ‘Advanced Computer Networks’, ‘Networked Virtual Environments’ to name a few. After my graduate education I would like to be proficient in the design, development, and implementation of networking and the impact of networking on distributed systems.

I personally believe continuous self improvement is a must and therefore apart my academics I have involved myself in a fair share of extracurricular and social welfare activities.

I expect that at the end of the MS program I shall have developed the competence to take up a position in a research oriented organization engaged in developing products or engaged in research in computer networking and related issues.