Admission Essay Example: Master's Degree in Computer Science at ASU

My interest in computer science stems not only from a desire to accomplish a goal but also from the life choices I've made and the fervor I've found along the way. And as a fledgling, I was naturally inclined to fly and started to figure out the three potentials.

The pressure 

During my participation in the ISRO-sponsored Smart India Hackathon, I was given the objective of creating an algorithm for determining the geometric coordinates of moving satellites. Under the guidance of Dr. K. J. Jegadish Kumar and Dr. K. K. Nagarajan, I developed an azimuth relationship between an interstellar object and the Earth. However, this algorithm did not perform as expected in terms of environmental adaptation. Although it was not a successful start, it became a pivotal point in my career, lighting my quest. 

I chose Electronics and Communications Engineering (ECE) as my undergraduate major, but it wasn't until the project preferences that I realized computer science (CS) was my topmost interest. With my emphasis on ECE, I initially struggled to pursue an industrial career in CS, but that’s not the only thing that I struggled with. My concentration was also divided as my father battled cancer. With the fight we went through, it appeared as though my other battles were winnable. As a result, upon reaching the point, I resolved to pursue my passion.

The wings

On revisiting my hackathon project, I discovered that Machine Learning (ML) was the missing component. I introduced myself to ML by doing experiments such as building chatbots and training reinforcement learning agents to gain a better understanding of the ML workflow. Soon, I developed an idea to apply ML to optimize the energy consumption of solar panels. The azimuthal calculations, combined with the optimized data from the sensors, allowed me to formulate a setting in such a way that the panel could automatically adjust its alignment in response to the sun's position. And with the assistance of the college's financial aid, I was able to deliver a working prototype with the promised objective. 

Soon I learned about Saama Technologies, Inc., which assists pharmaceutical organizations in accelerating clinical trials with AI-enabled methodologies. I saw it as an opportunity to help the people win their battles. So, as part of my internship, I built a Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN)-based tabular data generation model to address data insufficiencies and imbalances. And I used a cyclic signal transformation concept from Signals and Systems (EC6303) to capture the temporal interconnectedness of date columns with numerical and categorical columns. Here, I discovered that I fit in an ideal research environment to address numerous unsolved problems. The Arizona State University’s (ASU) Cognition & Intelligence lab led by professor Chitta Baral provides an academic research-focused environment, and the well-recognized work "Drug-Drug Interactions" by Dr. Chitta Baral and other publications demonstrate the real-world impact of the research done in the lab as major pharmaceutical organizations are adapting to it.

As an AI research engineer at Saama, I helped the team develop a cohort using millions of medical claims data to predict pulmonary embolism in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. And using the graph convolutional transformers, I was able to capture the temporal relationship between numerous patient visits and identify the cohort's primary risk variables. This project acquainted me with real-world issues and their complexities, thereby preparing me for my next significant contribution.

I collaborated with Saama and Pfizer researchers to build a smart query generation utility with NLP for resolving discrepancies in clinical trial data. As a result of this combined effort, Pfizer drug researchers were able to analyze the trial results within a day, rather than spending more than a month for manual evaluation, leading to the acceleration of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine trials. This collaboration taught me the importance of artificial intelligence in assisting people, as well as the value of a specialized degree in computer science.

Apart from my research-oriented path, I founded an online startup (AYALI) to help schools track their online coursework, where I gained team-building, critical thinking, and product-based decision-making skills. My ultimate aim is to utilize my expertise in GANs and NLPs and to start my own AI firm that offers feature-generative solutions for ML models to handle all kinds of real-world metadata engineering. And I found J. Orin Edson Entrepreneurship + Innovation Institute helps entrepreneurs with the resources needed for a concept launch, and with their startup school series and interactions, I will get the knowledge and network I need to achieve my goal.

The angle 

In retrospect, from theorizing an idea to building a scalable industrial product, I gained a lot of theoretical and practical experience. Now, I would like to take the next step in my career, and I discovered that ASU offers the right angle for me. ASU’s MSCS program offers the best coursework with a concentration in artificial intelligence. Professor Chitta Baral's Natural Language Processing (CSE576) coursework, in particular, has an intriguing structure. The emphasis placed on discussion sessions and projects demonstrates the importance given to practical learning.

Not only has this incredible structure captured my attention, but so has the university's AI-focused research environment. The Data Mining and Machine Learning Lab (DMML) provides such an environment, and I would like to contribute to the funded project "Knowing the Unknown: Exploring the Space of Adversarial Attacks via Causal Learning," led by Professor Huan Liu. With my work of applying adversarial attacks to improve image steganography (Final Year Project), I can contribute to this project and am willing to learn a lot from the professor. In summary, ASU provides everything I need to achieve my goals, which is why I'm interested in pursuing a Master's degree in computer science at your university.