Gaurav Chopra, Ph.D. Student
ME, IIT-Delhi
Why I Chose Stanford
The iCME program at Stanford recognizes the broad inter-relation of mathematics with engineering and various sciences. It also sufficiently focuses to provide intellectual rigor and challenge. I have always been intrigued by the abstract element of Mathematics. Studying at Stanford in a diverse program where you can learn the application of computer science and mathematics in different research areas, ranging from basic science to complex engineering problems, were deciding factors for me to choose iCME. I think interacting with a group of faculty from different schools at Stanford, makes iCME a very unique program, in terms of learning how to really apply mathematics, in practice.
My Background
I did my undergraduate education at Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT-Delhi) in India in July 2002. My major was Mechanical Engineering, with a focus on Robotics and Controls. I took this major, as I wanted to be a part of my father’s business in pharmaceuticals in India, and thought that my engineering skills would help me run the factory better, and also satisfy my interest in science. At the end of my B.Tech., I got interested in the mathematics used in robotics and controls and thus I went to do M.S. in Mechanical Engineering at University of California, Irvine and graduated in June 2003. My interest in science continued at Irvine, which encouraged me to work in the field of Bio-MEMS. The opportunity at Stanford iCME was the one which could really satisfy my interests in mathematics and science together, and it pulled me towards the M.S. program in iCME. I completed M.S. in ICME in 2005 and since then I am a Ph.D. candidate in ICME.
What Do You Work On
My research interests are fairly broad ranging from computational techniques (both Mathematical and Algorithmic) for protein folding problems (e.g. Molecular Dynamics techniques / challenges / improvements) to Computational Drug Design problems like docking etc. I am very interested in application of computational techniques for disease related research (like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson's etc). Currently I am working on hydrophobic collapse and protein structure refinement and would be moving to strategies/methods in computational drug design. In summary, I work in the area called Computational Structural Biology.
What's Great About Studying Here
The feeling that no matter how hard you try, there is always some area in which someone can do much better, than what you have done, really gives me a lot of motivation and respect to be studying at Stanford. Not only the faculty is great here, but also the feeling of competition between students to always give their best, makes Stanford and iCME the best place in the world to give your prime years in your life to graduate school. Everyday is a lot of learning for me and I hope to find similar colleagues in future, to never stop this learning process.
What Advice Would You Give Prospective Students
Learn as much as you can from your peers. Experiment with lots of different courses in many different fields. You would be amazed to know how the solved problem in one field can lead you to an answer in a completely unrelated field of research.
What I Hope To Do After Graduation
I am very keen on academia as a career to work on important problems in science. I am also open to industries, doing exciting research in science.