Prospective Students

The kind of students that I am looking for:

I am looking for creative, highly-motivated and hard-working students who are interested in the general areas of multi-sensor data fusion and machine intelligence. This line of work is best suited for those who are interested in (a) analytical topics, (b) working with data and/or hardware/instruments, and also (c) programming (your choice, but Matlab and C are staples). In terms of subject areas, sensor fusion research involve signal processing, control systems, statistical signal processing, machine learning, a lot of probability calculi, and systems engineering.

Note: Preference will be given to students with a MS degree in a related area. Students are expected to have received an undergraduate degree that provides the foundation for most of these topics, but exceptions can be made for exceptional students. Just let me know why you think you'd beat the odds and how your background suits what we do. Also, if you have reasonable amount of experience working in a related field, such as robotics, automotive or defense industry and/or you've done military service, please make sure to detail your experience in the context of our research topics.

Your GPA, GRE, etc.:

• It is obvious that graduate studies require you to have a solid academic foundation---this is a given.
• I personally do not care about your exact GPA as long as you've done very well in most classes mentioned above, with a particular emphasis on signal processing, control systems, probability and stochastic processes, and any advanced math classes that you may have taken.
• While high GPA doesn't necessarily translate to having a solid academic foundation (or potential for becoming an excellent researcher), poor GPA is often a good indicator of a weak academic background.
  
• I primarily focus on GRE analytical score, but your english writing should be above average. The college offers classes and workshops to improve your writing skills. Please make sure that you meet the GRE, TOEFL, etc. cutoffs set by graduate admissions office for the ECE department.

If you are excited about the research area and interested in working with me:

• Check out our research and other data fusion work in defense, automotive, robotics, and healthcare domains; write 1--2 page summary on your findings and explain what areas you find exciting and why.
• Send me an email with the above summary, your CV, and transcript(s) along with answers to the following questions.
Personal:
• What is your name?
• Where are you from?
• What degrees do you hold and where did you get them?
• What degree are you seeking at UMass?
• Are you planning to apply to UMass? Or are you already accepted/enrolled? If you are accepted/enrolled and living in Massachusetts, ask for an appointment to meet in person.
Academic Background & Experience:
• What related courses have you taken, and what grades have you received?
• If you had done poorly on a particular subject on a constant basis (that I will recognize from the transcript), feel free to send your thoughts on the experience and what you've learned from it
• List all the math classes you've taken along with their grades. Describe any particular area that you found to be fascinating.
• Do you have any substantial programming experience? If so, please describe along with any projects that you were involved in; clearly identify your role, contributions, etc.
• Do you have any experience in industry? If yes, please describe.
• Do you have any military experience? If yes, please describe.
Miscellaneous:
• What annoys you the most about college? What classes do/did you hate the most?
• Do you care deeply about anything intellectual? Sports? Music? Others? If so, what have you done about it?
• Do you think you have initiative? Are you a self-starter? If so, what have you done so far?
• Do you have a personal website? If so, send me a link.

Thanks in advance for your interest in joining our research group.

Best Regards,
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Thanuka Wickramarathne, PhD
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Director, S&H Fusion Research Group
University of Massachusetts Lowell, One University Avenue, Lowell, MA 01854
Office: BL222, Phone: +1 (978) 934-5375, Web: thanukavitae.com
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