STATE OF PURPOSE It is said that when life comes calling, people are usually too busy paying their phone bills to answer the call They are so busy figuring out what to ‘do’ with their lives that they fail to see opportunities in front of their eyes, and they eventually end up missing the bus, It isn’t a pretty fate, and when I was a kid, I for one had made up my mind - to make up my mind sooner than later about what I want to do in my life. When I was sixteen, a school trip saw me at the famous ‘Aarey Milk Colony’ complex in Mumbai city. One of the largest milk-producing centers in the world, the colony permits school-children to take guided tours of its milk production plants — allowing up-close-and-personal views of the techniques and processes that go into the production of ready-to-consume milk, and state-of-the-art automated machinery that carry out these processes. I hardly expected it to be an enriching experience, anticipating a boring few hours instead. As we students ambled along, digesting just bits-and-pieces of the monotonous drone of our bookish tour-guide’s monologue, we arrived at a huge container with a transparent top, where I could see milk being churned mechanically by a stainless steel contraption. Out of nowhere, and I don’t know why, it caught my eye. My eyes followed the length of the gleaming stainless steel pipes that emerged from the container and led to the next piece of machinery — the pasteurizer. Having read about pasteurization in school textbooks, I stared blankly at the equipment, As I mentally recounted the verbose prose of my textbook, my mind suddenly began to come alive; through the whirr of the machine, I began to imagine what was happening to the thick white liquid in those pipes, and my mind began to animate the process ~ I started imagining tiny pathogens, particles in the milk — being heated to the point of obliteration! I saw them being blasted into oblivion, almost like a shooting video-game! I could sense the milk inside becoming clean, bacteria-free. I was enamored; fascinated to observe the process for what it really was — a scientific marvel for the benefit of mankind, achieved through dedicated research and study by its inventor, the French chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur. ‘Mankind"!!...the magnitude of the word, in its entirety, stood out; the meaning of Pasteur’s work as a chemist, and the magnitude of difference it made to the world, became clear. Within minutes, Thad gone from being a bored school-kid to a captivated, mentally aroused student of science; a student of the process, of chemistry. It was surreal. [can safely say now that those few minutes in front of that machine would, eventually, play a monumental role in assisting me to choose my career path. I went back home and researched the work of Louis Pasteur, and the more I read, the ‘more I was enamored. I began to read voraciously ~ books on his work, about the gradual development and eventual industrial application of the technique he invented, about other chemical processes that affect our lives; as [ applied my mental notes of cognizance from these books to things around me, I began to see holistically how the field of chemistry has changed our world. Post-schooling, through the two years of Junior College where | studied Chemistry extensively, I learnt about the much larger scope and application of chemical processes, and I was convinced I was getting hooked. I decided — 1 was to pursue an Engineering degree, and the stream of study would be Chemical Engineering! Life was calling, and I was pretty darn sure I was going to answer the call! This fledgling love affair could only blossom as I was exposed to new subjects during the four years of the Engineering degree course. I was exposed to the design, the construction, the applications, even to the management of chemical processes, giving me a holistic understanding of the chemical engineering universe. It is imperative that a good student of chemical engineering have deep-rooted understanding of the fundamentals of chemical processes; “Heat and Mass Transfer Operation’ was one subject that gave me this understanding. Another favorite subject was ‘Chemical Processes’, a subject that dealt with the complete process of a chemical product — right from the study of material composition, the creation of process flow diagrams, to the study of the manufacturing process on an industrial scale (study of Unit Operations), et al. I was able to divert this knowledge into a technical paper on “Use of Water as a Fuel’, that T authored ‘and presented at a University-level Paper Presentation Competition in 2003. “Biochemical Engineering” was my elective subject for year four of the course. It dealt with the engineering biological material like certain bacteria to produce contents of medicines and chemical catalysts. Use of biotechnology in chemical processes has helped develop acceptable production techniques while reducingcost. Another realm of study that intrigued me was the study of chemical engineering from an economic or business’ perspective: the subject of ‘Chemical Engineering Economics’ dealt with the stages of execution of a chemical project — project study, plant erection, and plant operation. An especially enlightening subject was ‘Economics and Principles of Management’, as it exposed me to the fundamentals of business ‘management/administration, with a focus on the chemical industry. The knowledge gained from these two subjects, plugged into theoretical concepts gleaned from four years of chemical study, formed a potent repository of knowledge that I could apply to my Final Year project ~ ‘Manufacturing of Tidinazole from Metradinazole’. Tidinazole is one of the medicines used for control over indigestion and diarrhea. My project focused on the study of a new technique of manufacturing, so as to produce higher quality drugs at lower cost. The final year also included a two-month industrial training stint at Rashtriya Chemical & Fertilizer, where I got invaluable hand-on experience working at a Nitric Acid and ABC plant. Post-graduation, I have had two diverse corporate stints ~ three years in the Sales & Purchases Dept. at M/S Vikas Dye Stuff Ltd., and two years in the R&D Department at M/S Neelkamal Enterprises, where I was exposed to the industrial production of Fabricating Lubricant, Metal Polishing Soap and Detergent Soap. Work experienice in these two diverse fields ~ Sales, and R&D applied to Manufacturing, has proven to be a fine combination of technical know-how coupled with sales engineering ~ ‘the right mix’ of technology and business. However, the coup de grace that would seal the direction of the path I want to take occurred during the study of the subject ‘Chemical Compounds’, one of the courses in the engineering degree. The course included, amongst many others, the detailed study of a chemical compound called titanium dioxide - its properties, chemical composition, commercial applications, etc. I learnt that itis widely used in most leading skin/face products because of its strong UV light absorbing capabilities and high refractive index. I've always had a habit of conducting independent research outside of textbook material, if I find a particular topic interesting. Being a regular user of a sunscreen when I played the Indian sport of kabaddi, it, expectedly, caught my fancy. Online research followed, and as I read about it, I came across the use of titanium dioxide in nanoparticulate form to reduce the visibility of white color on the screen. As I dug deeper, I discovered that although we're in the nascent stages of the understanding and exploration of nanoparticles and nanotechnology, there is tremendous, almost unlimited potential in the promise of their applications. I read that nanoparticles had already found their way into a limited number of commercial uses, such as reinforcing plastics by incorporating clay nanoparticles into polymer matrices, and inducting nanoparticles into textile fibers to create products such as odor-reduction socks, for example. The respiration of the biological bacteria that causes odor can be suppressed, adversely affecting the bacteria’s cellular metabolism, effectively reducing or even eliminating odor. On similar lines was the development of consumer electronic devices like washing machines, refrigerators, air conditioners, air purifiers and vacuum cleaners with silver nano coating to their inner surfaces for an overall anti-bacterial and anti-fungal effect. As I read, I grew intrigued with the immense, unharnessed potential of nanotechnology, and fascinated with the concept of using some of the tiniest particles known to us to answer some of our biggest questions. I researched and understood the history of nanotechnology, from Richard Feynman and Norio Taniguchi to Dr. K. Eric Drexler and Dr. Alex Zett!, and following it by exploring the basics behind this immense potential — that properties of materials change as their size approaches the nanoscale, and with increasing surface area to volume ratio with decreasing size, these changes can throw up unexpected but desirable changes in their chemical, kinetic, electrical and thermal properties, as well as in their tensile strength and elastic modulus - conjuring up the possibility of scientists creating some of the most unimaginable products known {o mankind, Combined with the prospects thrown up by molecular nanotechnology, which is the precise positioning of atoms to create useful machines, the possibilities have me hooked. Hooked strongly enough to decide that study and research on nanotech, followed by a career in an organization that focuses on the development and advancement of products by using nanotechnology to its fullest extent, would be my career of choice. I’m ready to answer life's second call!A bout of introspection, however, leaves some unconnected dots. When I consider my inchoate knowledge of this vast unexplored universe, of the unfathomable possibilities that this field has created, I find myself technically ill-equipped to actively pursue a life-long career in this field. I find myself insatiated, hungry for more knowledge in the field of nanotechnology. I find the need to dive deeper into its’ processes, to explore ‘what's-new in them. I find the need to expose myself to an advanced technical curriculum, and to cutting- edge research facilities, two points that form the edifices of the remarkable American higher-education system. The University is an exemplary showease of these edificial traits, and it will be an enriching experience indeed to walk through its hallowed hallways. Along with excellence in teaching - not just following the highest standards but setting them for others to follow, its history of remarkable support to international students and their unequivocal acceptance into its system, and of course, its reputation as one of the great American centers of learning, the University is the most fitting place to which I think I can bring, this hunger, this passion, this desire to succeed! Fignesh Patel