My first approach to computer simulations was in the year 2014 when I started my

thesis for my bachelor�s degree. What drove me to that area was an affinity to
computer software throughout my career and my life in general, since I would always
look for a way to make use of software and its advantages, even if it wasn�t a
requirement for an assignment or task; before simulation, I learned to how to use
CAM/CAD to create part drawings and assemblies.

So by 2014 I had experience in CAM/CAD software using Autodesk Inventor, but I

didn�t expect how much I would enjoy working in CFD with the simulation and study
of wet natural-draught cooling towers, which was the topic of my research in that
time. While I was making the thesis I had the opportunity to talk to a lot of post-
graduate students who worked at the same lab, do a lot of tutorials and start
reading journals, which in the end led me to push forward my goal of working in the
field of computational fluid dynamics. This same motivation led me to pursue my
first Master�s degree in Mechanical Engineering, with a specialization in
Computational Fluid Mechanics.

Nevertheless, after all this time I have to admit it�s very easy to be led astray
from a goal I set in 2007; before even starting my thesis in CFD there was a
research offer regarding foundry equipment design, which I turned down because I
wanted something related to Computational Fluid Dynamics; my internship was in
PDVSA (Venezuela�s state oil company) and there was an offer to work in a thesis
there as well, which I also turned down because at that time I already had a
complete research proposal on the study of the trajectory of droplets outside of a
cooling tower. Even after graduating, my current job is in the procurement and
oilfield equipment trading business, and I have even received offers to move to the
USA branch in a long-term commitment; an offer which I also turned down because my
long-term goal is to work with simulation and CFD, whether on an industry setting
or as part of a PhD. I have even turned down job offerings since they were outside
of the city where I was taking classes for my master�s degree. All of these past
occurrences show how important it is for me to work in this field, and how I have
prioritized that above anything else.

In my master�s degree program, I learned about the inner workings of the simulation
software I used and many of the commercial code packages, either with courses that
explored the governing equations, or courses that explained the algorithms of in-
house codes and programs as examples. For my master�s degree thesis I chose to work
on multiphase flow mainly because it is a field with a lot of ongoing research, and
also because I had already worked on it as an undergraduate, using the lagrangian
model on droplets. My thesis was on the simulation of slug flow in an horizontal
pipe using Ansys CFX; I used a model specific for this flow pattern and tested it
with different boundary conditions and the Shear Stress Transport model, and I
showed a possible application with the calculation of safety factors in pipes
submitted to slug flow, using results obtained using Ansys CFX and the model
tested.

In the School of Mechanical Engineering of my university the thesis is only graded

as approval/dismissal, but the results of my work prompted my advisor to submit an
abstract to the 1st Conference of the Venezuelan Fluid Mechanics Society, which was
on November 5th, 2012; my abstract was accepted and I received a lot of good input
on my presentation, and that experience strengthened my conviction to keep studying
simulation. What I�ve also realized is that with the current state of the art in
this field, my first master�s degree might not be enough for the current demand of
knowledge from PhD research projects or the industry. Therefore, I have searched
for a course that would mesh together with what I�ve learned in my master�s degree,
and I�ve finally found it with TUM Computational Science and Engineering.

CSE�s program has a focus on programming and scientific computing that isn�t found
elsewhere, with courses on parallel programming and scientific computing that
complement my current knowledge in object oriented programming. The elective
courses that also interest me are those in the D2 catalog such as Computational
Thermo-Fluid Dynamics with Open Source Tools and particle simulation methods, which
would be useful for a thesis in simulation of multiphase flow.

After I obtain my master�s degree at TUM I feel I�ll be ready for anything that is
thrown in my direction in this field; I would be able to pursue a PhD research on
the field of computational fluid dynamics or work in the industry. With all the
scientific programming and courses I will learn at TUM and the current engineering
basis I have gathered so far, there will be no obstacles to deter me from
performing successfully in the interesting field that is Computational Fluid
Dynamics.