Vignesh Kannan, Production Engineering (Batch of 2012)

Currently pursuing Master of Science in Engineering (MSE) in Mechanical Engineering at the

Johns Hopkins University
Profile:
CGPA (at the time of application) 8.53/10 ; GRE 1440/1600 ; TOEFL 113/120
Projects/ Research Experience:
IIT Madras Summer Fellowship 2011
Non-linear Analysis of Discrete Structures under Dr M S Sivakumar, Professor, Department of
Applied Mechanics, IIT Madras
May-July, 2011
Final Year Project (:P)
Mathematical modeling of composites under Dr V Anandakrishnan, Department of Production
Engineering, NIT Trichy
BAJA SAEINDIA 2011 and 2012
Head of Transmission Systems design, 2012
Member of the fabrication team
Industrial Training
IPT, Thirumala Auto Components
17th to 20th May, 2010
Hands-On Training In Welding, Welding Research Institute (WRI), BHEL, Trichy
July 2010
Fellowships/ Awards
IIT Madras Summer Fellowship programme 2011
Best Outgoing Student award in 10th grade for the academic year 2005-06
Recommenders
Dr. M S Sivakumar, Professor, Department of Applied Mechanics, IIT Madras
Dr. A Noorul Haq, Professor, Department of Production Engineering, NIT Trichy
Dr. Duraiselvam, Associate Professor, Department of Production Engineering, NIT Trichy
Applications
Brown University
(one of the best for
solid mechanics
research)
Caltech (needless to
say-awesome
research facilities)

ambi

Master of Science in Solid

Mechanics

Reject (expected
although was hoping
for a miracle :P )

ambi

PhD in Applied Mechanics

Ohio State

mod

MS in Mechanical Engineering
(Specialization in Solid
Mechanics)

Reject (although
expected, the reject
was a slight
disappointment)
Admit!!! (my first
admit-would have
been my final
destination if not for
Hopkins)

Johns Hopkins
University (not
very well known
among students in
our institute - but
has awesome
research and a
lineage in mechanics
research-fluids and
solids)
U Mich, Ann Arbor

Ambi

MSE in Mechanical Engineering

(Mechanics and Materials
specialization)

Admit!!! a very
pleasant surprise.
Was jubilant on
getting the admitFinal Destination!!!

Ambi

Reject

U Mich, Ann Arbor

Ambi

Texas A&M

Mod/Ambi

MS in Mechanical Engineering
(Mechanics of Materials)
MS in Aerospace Engineering
(Mechanics of Solids and
Structures Research Group)
MS in Mechanical Engineering

Arizona State
University
Penn State
University

Safe

MS in Mechanical Engineering

Mod

MS in Aerospace Engineering
(Structures and Materials)

Reject
Reject (dont think
anyone who applied
for mech. got from
our batch)
Admit not a great
surprise
Reject

I owe thanks to a lot of people who assisted me throughout my apping process- my recommenders
Dr M S Sivakumar, Dr Haq and Dr Durai. I also owe a special thanks to my senior Kaushik Sampath. I
pestered him all through the process till the day I decided on my final destination (:P) and he was
patient of enough to guide me through. I also had help from two professors from Georgia Tech and
U Mich (my IIT profs students !!!) who gave me valuable guidance regarding selection of univs with
a strong research background in solid mechanics (in fact it was one of these profs who gave me
information about Hopkins, Brown etc. ) and of course my friends who helped review my sop. Some
of us did our apping together, and made this otherwise irritating process a rather less irritating
experience (:P )
I guess people would have already started their apping process in full swing. For those who havent
it s high time you start!!! Get all your documents ready well in advance and work on your sop
atleast 6-7 times (ideally around 10 times) before sending it. Get opinions from a lot of people so
that you d get a lot of diverse views on your sop. Apping early might also get you early admits. Keep
a track of all the deadlines of your shortlisted univs.
Prof Letting:
This is an important phase of your apping process. Mostly you would nt get any replies at this point
of time (if you do you re really lucky!!!). But professors would have read your mails and it would
help when you finally decide to go to a particular university.

Most of you probably think that I had very few safe univs on my list. If you do think that way, you re
right. It is advisable to have around 3-4 safe universities on your list. But it is also important that
you apply only to those universities you would go to if you get and admit. So dont add safe univs to
your list just because they re safe. I worked on this ideology.
And for those guys from Prod, Meta etc. if you do want to pursue your higher studies in the
mechanical sciences there s no stopping you guys. You dont have to have second thoughts. All that
matters is your inclination to research/study in the field and your work in the field.

For any help feel free to contact me at vigi1991@gmail.com

All the best
Cheers,
Vignesh Kannan