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SOP Koustav IAState
SOP Koustav IAState
Statement of Purpose
Koustav Mallick
Problem-solving is an area that has always held my genuine interest. I have always tried to have
an analytical approach to real-world problems like inversion of control and supervision with the
help of AI, along with implementing futuristic ideas like JARVIS. Enhancing products by
building more robust, scalable solutions using code has been a principal reason for my
application to graduate school.
I was formally introduced to the underlying complexity of problem-solving during my
undergraduate studies in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering at Jadavpur
University. I enjoyed the data structures and algorithms classes and as a staunch believer of
'practice makes better', I would go on to indulge in personal projects to gain more hands-on
experience on theories taught in class. My undergraduate days also gave me the opportunity to
work with several professors, most notably on a project where I worked on Image Forgery
Detection Model Development, using Random Forest Regression as training algorithm and
PySpark as data handler, modeller and processor. The more I collaborated with my peers and
professors, the more insight I gained into the vast worlds of Image Processing, Robotics, Web
Scrapping and Natural Language Processing as well.
While I joined Deutsche Bank as a Senior Software Developer and made my way to Associate
Engineer, the fast-paced industry experience helped me build on my undergraduate learnings
while being exposed to problems like scalability, security and flexibility issues with designing
pipelines and frameworks that can adapt to time-sensitive and context-embedded solutions. Deep
affair in ETL Framework creation helped me to build up my knowledge about RDBMS, DAGs,
Data-Streams, Distributed Systems and Datasets. I developed multiple scalable frameworks like
automated report generation from trade and position data from world-wide clients, designing
decision-making frameworks using matrix based algorithms which saved my employer's
financial expenditure in millions. Industry problems are often blurry and taught me how to seek
out an exact requirement before delving into and extracting an efficient solution from a sea of
endless possible ones. As I was guided by my colleagues there, I helped some interns and guided
them into developing production level frameworks, which allowed me to simplify my learnings
and present them to newer audience.
As I felt my learning curve plateau against my thirst for knowledge, I was drawn to graduate
school as an opportunity to explore deeper and diverse understanding of the subject. I feel that
graduate study in CS helps in developing more rational depth in analytical reasoning of real-
world problems. A better grasp of specific areas of my interest and broader knowledge of the
whole of Computer Science are perfectly essential to get me into my dream career of developing
more advanced but realistic solutions to problems like how to make machines feel like human
do, and make them more complete.
I have also had various interests outside academia that I believe have moulded me into a
collaborative team-centric person. I have been an athlete on the field. I participated in swimming
in my school at inter district, inter state levels. I have played soccer for my department and won
The College Title (Arena Champions) two times. In my organization, I led my soccer team to
winning the Deutsche Bank Gold Cups. I also took part in a Table-Tennis tournament at
organization level.
At Computer Science MS in IOWA State, I found a graduate program solely consecrate to
exploring more knowledge at depth, with solid infrastructure, excellent research facilities and a
committed research environment. The esteemed faculty and stellar peer group at IOWA State
will definitely provide the environment I seek for my growth. IOWA State offers a holistic
program with special emphasis on individual guidance and open thinking that sets it apart.
Specifically, I am interested in the research carried out by Professor Soma Chaudhuri on
Distributed Systems, since it has been one of the core areas I work during my employment hours.
I grew a keen interest in her work while going through her publications. I got intrigued by the
works of Professor Sourabh Bhattacharya on Robotics, especially about the publication "Particle
Swarm Optimization-Based Source Seeking". I also liked the work of Professor Mengdi
Huai on Machine Learning. I believe that I will be an asset to their labs and will strive to achieve
excellence under their guidance.
I would like to be a part of your distinguished program and assure you of my best contribution
towards IOWA State. I strongly believe that my excellent academic records combined with my
experience of working in a professional, team-based environment, tackling real-life challenges in
Computer Science, make me a good candidate for the program. Interaction with renowned
professionals of different expertise and access to state of the art facilities will aid me in
maximizing my contributions to science as a part of IOWA State.