Statement of Background and Goals

University of Tennessee Knoxville

MS program in Electrical Engineering, fall 2010
Focus on Power Systems
Student applicant – Vipul Ujjiyel Gholap

Frustration has accompanied me every single day of my school and

college life. My community has been subject to severe power cuts over
the last few years. Often, my preparation for examinations was
hampered, my mother had difficulty cooking meals – it was not easy.
And all of these happening in Mumbai, one of India’s premier cities,
only made me wonder about the state of other regions. Over time, I
have committed myself to the cause of power generation and
distribution, to bring clean power to all homes in India. To this end, in
the long-term, I see myself join the Government of India as a
technocrat adviser in the Energy and Power department.

My short-term goal is to work for corporations like ABB or General

Electric, where I can grow and enhance my knowledge in power system
applications and the control systems involved in it. Specifically, I wish
to work in the John F. Welch Technology center of the General Electric
in Bangalore. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited is another place which
holds the lure of practicing principles of productive engineering.

Post high school, I began studying Electrical Engineering at VJTI and

have exploited every opportunity in the last four years to maximize my
learning’s. My professors have helped me navigate through elaborate
coursework and a number of relevant projects and research.

In the second year of my program, the course in Electrical Machines

fascinated me with its applications like motors, generators, alternators
and transformers. Experiments in the subject lab further strengthened
my basic concepts and were complemented by the Industrial visit to
Crompton Greaves Co., leading manufacturers of electrical machines in
India. Application of semiconductor power devices in various industrial
drives also interested me a lot. I have also delivered seminars on
various topics in electric machinery.

Another visit to the Jayakwadi Hydro Power Plant gave me an

understanding of hydropower generation. The technical challenges and
the triumphs of the Hydro power project greatly amazed me. My
interest in power and energy increased greatly thereafter and I read
extensively on energy and power systems.

In continuation with my interest, my final year project is an energy

audit of the Electrical Engineering department of V.J.T.I. It assumes
significance due to the fact that V.J.T.I’s power consumption has
increased during the last few years. The audit is aimed at obtaining a
detailed idea of the end use energy consumption activities and
identifying, enumerating and evaluating energy saving opportunities.
The target is to achieve savings in the energy consumption of the
Electrical engineering department to the extent of 20%.
Simultaneously, with my final year project, I am working on a POWER
QUALITY SENSOR using a microcontroller.

Besides, I am actively involved in research on Random Walks in

Electrical Networks under Dr. N. M. Singh. This particular field of
research has interested me because it links the probability theory to
electrical networks. Using the probability theory as a tool for solving
some of the basic electrical networks has already been achieved. We
are further expanding this theory for applying it to the large, infinite
networks. The first stage of the research is to establish a connection
between electrical concepts of current and voltage and corresponding
descriptive quantities of random walks. Further the research aims on
solving infinite networks and also to link the probability theory with
some of the basic network theorems. I am keen on investigating how
different systems are linked to each other and how can we use this
common chain to solve some of the major problems smartly. The
complexity of a network, if solved by using the probability theory
would certainly be a boon.

The research has helped with my long term goal of developing a

SMART POWER GRID wherein each entity would be connected to a
particular grid. The interconnection of many systems to the grid will
increase the reliability and efficiency of the whole system. Nationwide
array of TALKING GRIDS will certainly make my country energy
sufficient as well as energy efficient.

It is such practicable projects that I wish to work on even at graduate

level. Since the American education system primarily focuses on the
practical applications of existing concepts and promotes innovative
research, I aspire to study here. University of Tennessee, Knoxville,
with its excellent research facilities at the Power Engineering
Laboratory, strives for developing new technologies. Prof. Yili Liu
research interest in Power Systems and Smart Grids has further incited
me to apply. I would also like to work under Dr. Fei Wang in the field of
Motor Drives. I am sure that my graduate research work will help me
eventually alleviate the power problems around the world.