Personal Statement of Rajath K C

Applying for MS in __________

The realisation that I must find a more promising posture for the future had begun to take serious definition over the past
few years. In a month I will be completing a year at INTEL technologies where I have been employed as Physical Design
Engineer. Circuit design, layout, product requirements and logic diagrams, semiconductor devices and components,
structural design methodologies, design flows all come under the ambit of my role. I have spent a year on physical
verification, design rule checks, layout versus schematic, density fixing and antenna violations, implementing Engineering
Change order using IC Compiler, and have gained expertise with an array of tools and technologies. The company is a lead
player in the VLSI domain and while I advanced, there have been challenges as well. High optimisation to reduce power
consumption and enhance performance is the norm and I recognise the need to scale up on technologies as well as build
technical mettle in preparation for next generation computing challenges.
Electronics and Communications engineering was my chosen branch at the undergraduate level and with deep interest, I
was a diligent student, presenting enhanced performances all along. ‘ASIC design ‘ was a subject that had my undivided
attention even then, as it introduced me to miniaturisation, the design of chips, and the exceptional complexity and
functionality of modern day technologies. The lecturer was a passionate academician and was very patient with all of my
queries. I had completed a minor project, ‘Design, Implementation and Performance Analysis of Digital Circuits using GDI
Technique’ . The intent was to demonstrate how the Gate Diffusion Input technique makes use of lesser number of gates
for circuit design which is suited for fast and low power applications. This allows reduction of power dissipation, area of
propagation and delay while maintaining low complexity of logic design. In the team, I could contribute well, and also
subsequently present a paper on the project at a contest in college.
He was also my project guide in the final year, ‘Real Time Remote Controlled Robot for Agriculture’, being a proposal of
major relevance for the farming community. Ploughing, seed sowing and pesticide spraying would be rendered easier with
a remote controlled or autonomous robot. The team had the most effective mentoring from the tutor who was adept at
encouraging us to push our limits. We could complete the effort in four months which was a major achievement. We worked
with microcontroller AT89S52 along with some drivers, a camera and an output display screen facilitating remote
monitoring of the field. Recognized as one of the best projects that year, it was uploaded in the official college site. I had,
earlier, presented a seminar on ‘Technique to scare away animals for crop protection using Arduino’ as well.
As I discharge my professional duties I recollect how effective the mentoring was and how much more I can achieve with
higher learning and committed faculty. Most of the prerequisites for a professional technical role in the specific domain had
been taught by him. Inspired I had also taken up online courses and referred books for added inputs. The ‘TI India Analog
Maker’ workshop by Texas Instruments was another valuable session during which I had hands-on experience in Verilog.
At this venue I also presented a seminar on ‘Analog Circuits’. The entire experience proved immensely knowledge
enhancing. Recently I have been made part of the Analog Design team at work, and have started exploring at length layout
issues, custom design and the Genesys tool.
While the labs in college were active learning centres where I practical skill sets, the first experience of a real industry
setting was the internship at Adormi Technologies which was on gesture based DC motor control using the bread boards
and proximity sensors. Contributing in my role was an interestingly different exercise. Another week long internship in
‘Advanced Telecom Technology’ was completed at RTTC, BSNL Mysore, where I won recognition for performing well in
Optical Fibers Communication and fault detection .There were other parallel learning experiences such as workshops in
‘PCB design with hands on Experience’, ‘Mastering Joomla -a video editing contest’, ‘A Model Based Approach to
Automotive electronics’ and ‘Building Fighter robots’. These became occasions to diversify my skills and technical
capabilities.
I have been offered a two year extension of contract at INTEL and this points firmly to my technical capabilities and the
value of my contributions. As a Mask designer, I have handled Physical verification of multiple blocks for the complete
section level Fix. Every day I add to my experience in VLSI Physical design, Verification and Quality & Reliability of chips
and work with latest technology nodes 14nm and 10nm. Through design cleaning during the Pre-base fill, Base fill and
Metal Fill stages, I have firm grasp of Layout verification aspects and am responsible for tape-in sign off checks for multiple
partitions.
Innovation in products and world class engineering has resulted in greater efficiencies and expanding my knowledge base
is critical. Before Intel and the core VLSI domain, I was a ‘Trainee Engineer’ at KPIT Technologies, and had received
training on Model Based Developments. My primary experience was on two projects. ‘HMI development’ was a project for
DENSO UK and involved work in MATLAB and embedded systems. For the other IOT based project, the team used
mosquito and AWS for developing a protocol of theft alert and fully automated car. During my tenure I gathered experience
in Java and Python programming, and Linux platform for Raspberry Pi 3. I had the opportunity to learn about the
automotive domain, the impact and the interrelatedness of IOT and embedded technologies, and what they foretold for
miniature applications specifically. I had decided to pursue a Master’s program in ------------------right then and now with the
Personal Statement of Rajath K C
Applying for MS in __________
For the ______________ Semester

added experience at a premier VLSI company I am ready for an advanced graduate program in a reputed international
university.
Along with deep technical knowledge through the graduate program I am also keen to gain exposure to leading companies
in the VLSI sector and gauge their expectations. As iconic names such as -----------, -----------and -------are all headquartered
in the US , and with the incremental growth of US semiconductor industries with in-house R & D , I am certain that I must
pursue a Master’s program there. Technical excellence and proficiencies with most current technologies being my aim, I
have identified the ----------University for the rigorous academics, integrated industry projects, and a most contemporary
campus environment. As I inch closer towards my dream of an international postgraduate experience I wish to waste no
time in navigating the core tracks of VLSI System Design, VLSI Architecture and algorithms, Advanced Semiconductor
devices, -----------------, -----------and -------------------, and sit in subject lectures by most accomplished faculty. The
interdisciplinary coursework will help me build a composite framework of technical know-how, and collaborative projects will
go towards the build of flexible learning approaches and strong connections to the domains of computing, information
systems and -----------------.
Experimenting with sophisticated technologies in world class labs, complex challenges in automation and design,
understanding security, flexibility and high energy efficiency in most advanced settings, are experiences I eagerly await. I
intend to utilise openings for research assistantship and work on academic papers as well, be part of dynamic knowledge
exchanges, and share intellectual space with subject experts and visiting professors. I was an avid quizzer in school,
played many sports, continually represented the institution at state level General Knowledge competitions, and was also
the School leader. In college I coordinated various events during fests, and secured the first place in a debate event. On
returning to academics I am keen to explore more of my own personality, leadership acumen, and creative interests, as and
when time permits. Learning and working with a global community will present many more avenues outside the core
technical.