In the past, when students did a university degree, they tended to study in their own country. Nowadays, they have more opportunities abroad. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this development?

It was late 2017. I was a high school senior. Four of us from the science club developed a raw working model of a Jet Engine for a science fair.

While

the other members of the group were involved primarily in its fabrication, my role, given my penchant for physics, was specifically to research and build the theoretical model of the engine, and

then

make an analytical assessment of its thrust, which I, in the hindsight, did exceptionally well for a high school student. I

also

served as the lead presenter at the fair. We won the People’s Choice Award, and my interest in Aerospace Engineering was cemented. In early 2018, I became the National Champion in

Nepal

Correct article usage

the Nepal

show examples

Physics Olympiad, and it hugely boosted my confidence to succeed in a demanding undergraduate aerospace curriculum. I graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering in August 2023. Throughout my undergraduate, I have been employing traditional

design

paradigms in my projects, i.e., assigning functions plainly to corresponding

subsystems

, and optimizing functions of each subsystem without or weakly coupling them with other

subsystems

. May it be

while

designing

a

Correct article usage

an

show examples

STOL electric aircraft, developing a UAS for RF source localization, or setting up a wind tunnel for aerodynamic measurements, I had independently developed all

subsystems

and only integrated them

at the end

.

Although

,

Remove the comma

apply

show examples

each of them was successful in their narrow scope, none of them were cross-

subsystems

optimized, and their broader application would have required “repair solutions” which would have been costly or outright unfeasible. Similar differentiation as those of

subsystems

goes for my study of engineering disciplines which are involved in the

design

and development of flight vehicles.

For instance

,

while

designing a subsonic axial flow compressor stage, or making a performance analysis of a Scramjet engine, I employed a basic aerodynamic and thermodynamic approach with complete disregard to structure, and/or the interaction between these disciplines.

However

, the growing desire for greater performance and efficiency, and the opening of new flight regimes have given rise to a strongly interacting multidisciplinary

design

-by-analysis approach where we can quantify the aero-thermo-servo-elastic properties at the initial

design

phase. Currently, I have been exploring

this

exciting realm of study, and Professor Emmanuel de Langre’s popular course on Fluids-Solids Interactions has introduced me to its scope and equipped me with the foundations of modelling and coupling. I was introduced to the University of Florida’s graduate program by Dr S.A.E Miller through his course on turbulence modelling. Today, I am applying to UF primarily because of two existing research groups: Dr Miller’s Fluid Dynamics and Turbulence Group, and Dr Lawrence Ukeiley’s Unsteady Flow Dynamics Group. Their respective theoretical and experimental works on turbulence and its potential

design

implications match my research interest in investigating multidisciplinary interactions between flow and the boundaries in the turbulent regime. I have always committed myself to learning and teaching. My friends call me, ‘guruji’ (mentor, teacher)! I was

also

one of the best-rated instructors at Clamphook, where I worked as a physics faculty. Perhaps, feedback is the compass for a career, I have always wanted to become a professor. So, I am enthusiastically looking forward to my PhD at UF.