StatementofPurpose StatementofPurpose StatementofPurpose StatementofPurpose HrishikeshSharma HrishikeshSharma HrishikeshSharma HrishikeshSharma

lt is after carefully considering my strong academic credentials in Electrical Engineering from llT
Bombay and my firm background in industrial research that l have decided to apply for the PhD
program. l have proven interests in the area of systems design, especially embedded and VLSl, as
demonstratedbymyworkinasystemsresearchlabinlndia.lhaveasinceredesiretocontributetothe
ever-increasing knowledge in these areas. Also, l believe that over time, l have cultivated the right
attitude and maturity towards research. So far, l have already done some amount of theoretical and
applied research in the aforementioned area. But to lead it to a meaningful conclusion, l need more
resourcesandopportunities,whichlbelievelcangetwhilepursuingaPh.D.
l plan/prefer to study further in the area of design methodologies for VLSl systems. My interest in the
generalspaceofsystemsdesignanddesignmethodologieshasbeennurturedforquiteawhile.lthas
steadily developed by reading books and papers on related topics, and doing relevant
design/prototyping.levenusedfewoftheformalmethodsinapieceofpioneeringworkofmiddleware
design for mobile phones around 2001. ln 2004, l proposed a unified semantic framework for model-
basedsystemdesignunderguidanceofmymentor,lateProf.Subramanian(ex-scientist,TlFR).
lgotinitiatedintomodel-baseddesignduringasummerinternshipataMicrowaveSystemsResearch
Lab, SAMEER. My role in the design team was to design two high-gain RF amplifiers for a sea
navigation system. l used a formal modelling method, the SmithCharts, for their design. Using that, l
wasabletoquicklyprototypedifferentmulti-stageddesignmodels,analyzethemfortheirstability,and
finallyuseoneoftheminPCBdesign.Onlybecauseofusingthismethod,lcouldfinishtheworkwithin
thestipulatedperiodoftwomonths.Workingwiththisteam,lfirstrealizedthemulti-functionalnatureof
systems;andthecomplexityofdesignprocess.
Mymaster'sthesisinvolvedopen-boardprototypedesignofspecificbasebandcomponents,namelythe
modulation/demodulationcomponents,ofanembeddedsystem.Theinitialfailureofdesigntaughtme
that the system componentisation task is not just driven by functional partitioning. One also needs to
take care of hard real-time constraints. At this point, l decided to bolster my knowledge of
communication systems design methods with practical experience. Hence, l joined the Wireless
SystemsDivisionofSiliconAutomationSystems(SAS).
SAS was the first private firm in lndia trying to design the complete GSM mobile phone by itself.
Specifically, my newfound division was targeting the design of all components, except the baseband
and RF components. As a reward to the early promise shown, l was promoted to a role to cover
independent R&D in the middleware aspects as well. l ended up with individual contributions in many
areas,butmymostsignificantcontributioncameinmyroleinMobiTAAL

middlewareproduct.Forthe
aboveproduct,lledatrulychallengingcycleofconceptualization,architectinganddesign(specifically
these three), development and deployment. This true "systems design experience was as
heterogeneousasonecanexpect,formostofthemoduleshaddifferenttypesofbehaviour.ltwasalso
humongous,asthesizeofsoftwarewasmorethan0.16millionlinesofhandwrittencode.Theclassical
FSMmodelfellmiserablyshorttorepresentmanymodulesinvolved.ltwasthenthatldiscoveredother
modellingframeworks.Thisexperimentalsomademelearndifferentdesignapproaches,andtochoose
and use a meritorious approach, which l refer to as the "mixed approach in my paper in 2004. While
trying to design test scenarios for integration verification, l also understood few complexities of
integratingsuchmodels.
The usage of such formal method elements in systems design fuelled my interest so much so that l
movedintodoingfull-timeresearchatEmbeddedSystemsResearchLab,TataConsultancyServicesin
2003.Atthisplace,lhavedonealotofliteraturesurveyandindependentinvestigationsonthissubject.
UnderguidanceofProf.Subramanian,lcameupwithaunifiedsemanticframeworktorepresentdesign
processesforheterogeneoussystems.Thiswasmyfirsttrystwithworkofpureabstractnature:andit
taughtmehowtonotgetboggeddownwhentheinvisiblegoalfeelsevasiveaswell.Also,association
with Prof. Subramanian has inculcated in me scientific approaches to engineering problems, and the
motivationtocontinueinthislineofresearch.Aftermaturingintheoreticalaspectsofsystemsdesign,l
havemovedbackintoappliedresearch.lthendidpioneering workforerror-correctionsystemsbased
StatementofPurpose StatementofPurpose StatementofPurpose StatementofPurpose HrishikeshSharma HrishikeshSharma HrishikeshSharma HrishikeshSharma

on projective geometries, which has generated three patents. My quest for systematic methods for
designhasledtoconceptualizationofanartificialintelligence-basedengineforcontextinterpretationin
nextgenerationwirelesssystems,whichisinprocessofbeingpatented.
Academicshaveplayedaverystrongroleinmycareersofar.lwasadmittedtollTBombayitselffora
5 55 5- -- -yearlntegratedM.Tech. yearlntegratedM.Tech. yearlntegratedM.Tech. yearlntegratedM.Tech.programinElectrical Engineering.TheexcellentcoursestructureatllThas
givenmeasoundandbroadconceptualbasis,whichlbelieveisessentialforaresearchcareer.While
in industry,l have also been actively involved in master'sthesis guidance atllTs(refer CVfor details).
My interest in learning new theoretical topics of my own gained momentum, especially from my
master's period. Practising this till now, l have also covered up many of the Computer Science and
someMathematicssubjects.TheusageofsuchknowledgecanbeseenfrommyCV.
lseemydoctoralpursuitinthisareaasthenextlogicalsteptoachievemylong-termcareerobjectiveof
beingaresearcherinthisareaataleadingsystemsresearchlab.lhavetalkedtoProf.DKSharmaand
SachinPatkarofEEdepartment,andbothofthemhaveshownkeeninterestinguidingmetogether.l
am hopeful that if admitted, l will be able to make significant contribution, and add value to your
research group. l look forward to joining back llT Bombay, my alma mater, as a graduate student at
youresteemeddepartment.

HrishikeshSharma HrishikeshSharma HrishikeshSharma HrishikeshSharma