Batch/Branch: 2017/Chemical
Ph.D. Admit: UIUC in Chemical and Biomolecular engineering
CGPA: 8.78
GRE: 321
Q. Could you give a brief introduction about yourself and what you are working on currently?
I recently graduated from BITS with a bachelor's in chemical engineering and with a minor in material science. I am currently doing my Ph.D. at UIUC in the chemical and biomolecular engineering area. I'll be working on developing brain tumor microenvironments with imaging and computational applications.
Q. There have been no DELS offered by the college in the area of biochemical engineering specifically, are there any courses you would suggest for the bio aspect of engineering?
As far as the Ph.D. application is concerned, there is no prerequisite as such and Gen Bio course in the first year is more than sufficient, and if you are someone interested in Bio then some pharma courses might be helpful, but like in my case I have to take eight courses in 3 years so you can always learn something which you require for research purpose after coming here.
Q. Could you talk more about molecular simulation and how you got into it?
During December of 2-1, I approached a prof with whom I was doing an informal project unrelated to this area for doing an SOP/DOP the following semester. He gave me a book called Understanding molecular simulations (by Frenkel and Smit) to go through in December so as to get to know the field. Honestly, I didn’t understand anything in the book as the level of the book was very high, and I told him the same. But he had one or two Ph.D. students, and I started off working with them. I took it as a DOP for the following two semesters, and it continued from there. In molecular simulations you do computer simulations of molecules at the nanoscale. My entire application was based on that, but right now, I don’t think I will work in that area. So whatever background you have developed may not necessarily be what you might end up doing in grad school.
Q. What are some real-world applications of molecular simulation?
It is heavily used in the polymer and pharmaceutical industry. Say you have a specific target material in your mind which you want to use for a particular purpose, then you can find out its properties with the help of these simulations.
Q. Any courses or labs in college that you would recommend for learning your field?
So there were a few courses though I could not take them all as I was doing a minor in material science also. Courses in physics like particle physics and quantum mechanics are useful in understanding in-depth though they are not specifically related to my field. Even the chemical engineering dept offers a few simulation-related courses like CFD modeling and simulations, which I did, but they are not at the atomic level, but they taught me how to code to run simulations. Specifically, when it comes to molecular simulations, you need to put in the effort on your own as there is no specific course on it.
Q. Now that you have done many projects under Angan Sir, could you elaborate on what they were on?
So, the first project I took was in my 2-2 (as I approached him at the end of my third semester), which was on molecular simulations. We had beforehand data on some samples, which were to be verified by simulating the prescribed conditions. We had to monitor so many different parameters like pressure, temperature, etc., that each simulation would take 4 to 5 days to produce a result. This is why I could not finish the project entirely at that time, but I continued it in the following semester. This time, we were dealing with the molecular properties of water and how they varied when we introduced impurities into the sample. This went on till 3-2, and all of it was programmed in the computing clusters on campus. Afterward, COVID hit, and we were sent back, which could not allow me to complete it. Leaving a project in between is certainly not practical, but the lack of technological support forced me to discontinue it.
Those were the two projects under Angan Sir after which I did my Bachelor’s Thesis at IIT Madras. Here, we used machine learning, along with AI and molecular simulations, on polymer-specific materials. This was my first exposure to machine learning; I had never used it before, and I had to learn it myself. The fact that I was at home during this period and had a lot of time to invest helped me even more. Machine learning helped me when I applied for my Ph.D.
Q. What advice would you give students to approach a professor for a project?
There isn’t one specific thing that I can share for this. My friends and I have worked under many professors, and I’ve noticed that there are both strict and lenient ones. Some will monitor you closely, and others will be very liberal with the progress of the project. The choice between these two is up to you and how much time you are willing to spend on the project. Many strict teachers can work you up but if you want to go for higher studies, then having a professor who is project-oriented is very useful as they give you a particular direction in your field. You can always find a teacher who is in-between these two extremes with whom you can build up good research experience.
Frankly, there is no “right” professor to choose while looking for projects. The right professor for you would be someone who can give you the basic knowledge related to the field you are pursuing. A handy piece of advice that I could give would be to stick with a certain teacher till the end. It is more important to specialize in a specific area where you have invested a lot of time instead of working with multiple professors over short periods of time. Staying with the same person over an entire year also allows you to get to know them properly.
Q. Would you say that it is better for students to apply for a Ph.D. after a Master’s degree or to go ahead with a direct Ph.D.?
You can always apply for a direct Ph.D. even without a Master’s degree. I myself have done the same, and the one issue I feel is that it can be difficult for some people. It also depends on the university that you are applying for. Many universities in the US prefer to take direct Ph.D. for research students. I feel that many people apply for Master’s because they do not know whether they will continue for a Ph.D. or go for a job, so if you are set on research and the institute you applied for allows it, you can go for it.
Also, it is harder to get admission into a Ph.D. course. In my case, I had applied to close to 9 or 10 universities, out of which I got only 2 Ph.D. admits.
Q. If someone is doing their thesis under a professor, can you apply for a Ph.D. through that professor itself?
It is not a given that if you do a thesis under a professor, that you will get a Ph.D. offer through them. It depends on the university you’re applying to. If the professor you work under is a part of a reviewing committee, he could definitely put in a good word for you, but it all depends.
Q. Has being from BITS given you any sort of advantage over other candidates?
The order of priority in UIUC was IISc, followed by IIT and then BITS and NIT. Among the BITS campuses, Pilani is ranked first, followed by Goa and Hyderabad on the same level. Again, this was specific to UIUC which one of the review committee members told me himself. Also, if there are a lot of students from one college studying there, the university is more likely to select more students from that college. So it also depends on how your seniors are doing. Talking to alumni beforehand can usually be of help in this process.
Q. What were the exams you gave, and how was the application process? Did you have to give any interviews?
I had four projects, out of which one was my thesis at IIT Madras. You should have at least three to four LORs. Besides this, I gave GRE and TOEFL. For GRE preparation, I took the Princeton classes on campus in my second year. I'm not sure how helpful they were for me in the end since I didn't touch my books again for at least six months after the course had ended. I relied heavily on the online material they had provided us. Keep your GRE score as high as possible with a quant score of over 165 at the least. Sometimes universities have a cutoff for each section of the paper so look out for that before giving the exam as well. Along with the SOP, you also need to prepare a brief resume. It's also good if you have a publication, but it's okay if you don't; I didn't. You can also mention your internships like PS1 or if you have any other experience.
About the interviews, I had given two of them for my Master’s application at NUS. The first one was an informal interview with the faculty that I wanted to work with. The second one was a panel interview and was more technical. Besides these, I did not have any interviews.
Q. If you were to advise someone applying for a Master’s or Ph.D., what would you recommend to a person with low CG? How can they compensate for it?
The first thing would be, in the SOP don't come up with some excuses. If you have some genuine reasons do mention it, but do not try to come up with some reason. The admission committee goes through thousands of applications yearly and they can easily make out what is genuine and what isn’t. By doing this you are also reminding them of your low CGPA. Try to do well in the courses you have while you're in the process of application. You can also have a strong research background to show them that you have been preoccupied with research and haven't been able to perform well. Also make sure that the faculty has something good to say about you as a student or researcher. Attending classes is the best way to do this. LORs and research experience can compensate for your CG to some extent.
Q. What clubs were you part of during your time in BITS?
I was a part of ACE (Association of Chemical Engineers) and DEPP (Department of publicity and public relations), and I worked on them in the first year. In second year, I decided to only continue with ACE.
Q. How did your participation in club or other extra-curricular activities help to build your profile?
Before BPHC, I had participated in group events for some disciplines such as dramatics and had also done some survey projects. I did mention those in my SOP and CV, and I would advise people to do so. Even if the achievement or experience is not from your undergrad level, try to put it into your profile if you think it holds some value.
If you are not involved in any big clubs or departments, then you can shift the focus from that to your research activities as well. The absence of non-collegiate activities will not hurt your CV too much.
Q. What advice would you give someone who is in their third or second year right now?
Give everything a try. Do not decide on doing anything unless you try it out. Also, try to attend as many classes as you can. At the end of my first year, I took up an internship at Abbott, which gave me a certain perspective on how the corporate world works. At the same time, in my PS – 1, I took up a research position at CLRI in Chennai. These two experiences cleared my confusion about whether to go for a job or to higher studies. Till the end of your second year, I would advise people to try out new things. Even if the area you may be trying out may be non-academic - like dancing, writing, etc. From the third year, try to increase your expertise in the area you have chosen and also focus on competitive exams like GRE, GATE, etc.
This also adds genuineness to your SOP because I mentioned in mine how I had taken Materials Science as a subject but had to rule it out because I found no interest in it.
Q. What was the one thing that made you confirm your decision to pursue higher studies instead of a corporate job?
In the beginning, I was not decisive about any particular thing. But as I began to take projects and invested time in research, it became apparent to me that this was the area that I would like to continue in. A great deciding factor was the six-month period for my thesis, where I was exposed to many seniors and teachers in the research field. Talking to them gave me a perspective on what I was getting into. I would recommend anyone to find either alumni or seniors in the fields they are considering and ping them up on social media to learn the reality on the ground. What field you choose need not be related to your previous pursuits. I will be working in cancer research which is not at all connected to what I have done before.
R&D in Master’s also requires a lot of resources to continue in, therefore finding either funded projects or having enough capital to support yourself is also a factor you need to consider. Also, people need to be mindful of the amount of time that they have. Higher studies like a Ph.D. can take up to 5 or 6 years, so the question would be whether you would be willing to devote that much time to one fixed area. I would also say that my friend circle motivated me to consider research as a prospect.
Q. Do you feel like there is something that you could have done better in your four years here?
The one thing that I would definitely change was that I would have slept less. I would sleep in between classes and miss them many times due to oversleeping. My attendance and grades were adversely affected due to this, which is not ideal for applying for higher studies. I would advise you to spend that time in a more productive and organized manner to learn new things. When I started to take things seriously in second year, my GPA kept increasing from one year to the next.
Q. Any parting advice that you would like to give to your juniors?
If you are someone who is specifically applying for a master’s or Ph.D., having a senior or colleague already studying in that institute is very advantageous. They can easily help you with a lot of things – from making it easier to get your visa to adjusting to the new work culture.
Disclaimer: The points given above are the views and steps taken by the individual. They are not fixed steps and guidelines to base your college upon. Our hope is to inspire students so they can take the necessary steps hereafter. We hope you like it!