STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

VISHAL VIVEK SAIKIA

vishalsaikia.vvs@gmail.com

November 22, 2019

It all looked so easy when you did it on paper, where valves never froze, gyros never drifted, and
rocket motors did not blow up in your face.”- Milton W. Rosen

Science is a journey that helps technology to be driven by need. Inventors often have an uncanny
skill of resolving situations with their innovations. But what separates engineers from mere
innovators is the ability to recognize the importance of sustainable technological solutions for the
future. My ability to be proactive in this matter makes me stand apart.

I am currently in my 7th semester and pursuing my Bachelors of Engineering degree in the

Department of Mechanical Engineering from Assam Engineering College, Guwahati, India.

Since my school days I have been very active. I participated in various science competitions,
project exhibitions and I displayed very keen interest in the subjects of mathematics and science,
which comprehensively enhanced my analytical and quantitative skills. I was a gold medallist in
the 11th National Science Olympiad with a state rank of 11 and also a bronze medallist in the
International Mathematics Olympiad 2008, with a state rank of 10. I was also the school captain
which helped me take responsibilities at an early stage. I finished my schooling with 93.1% in
10th class and with 89% in 12th class.

I am proud to say that my college is the first premier technical college of north east India and I
cracked a state level entrance examination (CEE) for the same. During my freshman year in the
undergraduate program, I got fascinated by various technical and non-technical clubs. I was a
core member of the Mozilla open web club and also a student partner at Internshala which is
India’s no. 1 internship and training platform. In the sophomore I was the Public relations and
Publicity Head of the Entrepreneurship Development Cell of our college. Leading the cell was a
great experience as I got to learn at the same time. Other than this I was selected as a national
finalist in several case study competitions which included strategy storm (IIT Guwahati), NSBC-
NSIT Delhi, Abhyuday- IIT Bombay and Vista- IIM Bangalore.

In the summer 2018 in the month of June I did a certified course on Solidworks from N.S.D.C
CADD Centre training services, New Delhi. Post that in the month of July, I did my industrial
internship at Numaligarh Refinery Limited – a joint venture of Bharat petroleum, Oil India and
Govt. of Assam. I was assigned to provide an overview of the mechanical maintenance which
included a report on the detailed analysis of various machineries that are used in the plant.
In my junior year I wanted to explore more on the technical subjects. Thermodynamics played a
crucial role in pushing me more towards my domain. I founded the automobile club of our
college. This was the third chapter of Assam under Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). I
lead the chapter and along with the other members hosted several events under the banner of
SAE which included Workshops on Internal Combustion Engine. Post that, a group of members
of the chapter was the only team to participate in Efficycle 2019 from entire North East India.

In the Summer 2019, I did my Industrial internship at Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Guwahati
with a main focus on a detailed analysis of the various units in the plant. The units that I had to
cover were the crude distillation Unit, delayed coker unit, effluent treatment plant and the
INDMAX.

Currently I am in my final year and I am working on a project under Prof. Dr. Sudip Kumar Deb
on the “Fabrication of a carbon capture device and conversion of the captured carbon to
usable ink”. In this project I am working on the design and analysis of two devices that could be
retrofitted in the exhaust of vehicles or diesel generators in order to control the emissions and
capture the carbon particles so that it can be converted into usable ink. The first device has been
made using activated charcoal filter. Moreover it needs to be compared to the other device which
will be based on the mechanism of electrostatic precipitator. The analysis will be done based on
the amount of carbon particles captured in a given time, the back pressure generated by the
device, thermal resistance of the device etc.

With a dream to work hand in hand on an electric hybrid propulsion system which is
comparatively more effective than the current solid or liquid propulsion system, I along with few
of my friends founded a company, ARCRED, with an idea to build an efficient propulsion
system that would help AI based swarm robots to maneuver. Testing of various solid based
propellants has been done and we are progressing as we learn.

Over the undergraduate journey I have gained a lot of interest in Jet/rocket propulsion systems
and aerodynamics. ARCRED being my first independent project has helped me learn a lot of
things in a practical way. I now realize that there is a lot to learn in this domain as it is not so
easy as it looks on paper, and I am highly excited about it. There needs to be things worth
learning, working and living for.