My Interest in Pursuing a Master's Degree at the Lehigh University

'The scientist explores what is, the engineer creates what has not been' - Theodore Von Karman

The world has become an engineering nexus and engineering application and usage can be seen in almost all division of action, including energy, telecommunication, healthcare, logistics, production, transportation, manufacturing and finance. As increase in engineering applications and utilization have become more evident a need for process optimization is paramount. My propensity towards industrial engineering emerged from my strong predilection for Process systems, Optimization and Efficiency during my final year in college. As a curious and avid learner, I hoped to widen my understanding of Industrial Engineering by attending Lehigh University. In this supplemantal essay I will emphasize on my passion - Engineering and Machine learning, also I will write about my academic background and experience which I have alredy had during this path. 

To start with, the significance of industrial engineering is to improve the proficiency of operation and productivity of business processes has, as I learned through various researches. Also, it is well known that the true value of industrial engineering lies in the advancement of complex systems and processes. Utilization of cutting edge manufacturing methods to improve quality and productivity and optimally reduce wastage of time and resources is a key aspect of Industrial engineering. The efforts to fulfill that desire led me to build a career in the subject where my passion thrives—to pursue the Master’s in Industrial Engineering at Lehigh University.

After a prolong and enduring research, I comprehended that the course—with its curriculum involving such topics as Optimization Models and Applications, Computational Methods in Optimization, Operations Research, Automation and Production Systems—will help me develop myself to be an insightful industrial engineering professional who can effortlessly utilize scientific principles and engineering methodologies to conduct and manage integration and operations of complex systems that supplement the growth and development of industries and businesses. Further, the application of these methods can be seen everywhere so unequivocally. 

I got my first exposure to the concept of industrial research and optimization through my undergraduate research projects. As part of my degree requirements, I was tasked with both a design project and a research project. The design project was a collaborative project which required the modelling and design of a steam distillation plant for the optimal production of 500kg of essential oils. In the course of the research, I delineated various methodologies for producing essential oil, analyzing and assessing which best suited my home country Nigeria, based on availability of raw materials and available technology. I was able to come up with a production method that only required no importation of materials and relied majorly on local raw materials, by tweaking existing procedures. This journey re-emphasized the assiduity and patience required for fruitful research, how to independently structure and drill down research problems, the importance of a supervisor and the joy of making progress – as I felt when my research supervisor, Dr. D.B. Ayo informed us that external bodies were willing to fund our project. This project gave me industrial insights into process design and optimization of already existing frameworks and also ability to communicate and present our findings.

The latter, which was my undergraduate research thesis was on a comparative study of single and repeated batch system for extraction of collagen from fish scales. It was an extensive experimental research that tasked me with the study of two different methodologies, analyzing both experimentally and proffering the better of the two methods. This research exposed me to industrial research, understanding research papers and scholarly articles.

Beyond academia, I was a student leader and a developer, birthing programs like Academic and Research Team, the biggest student organized research club in the faculty. This platform helps students horn their research skills, understand theories taught in classes better and also compete and collaborate amongst the team. The competition provides the opportunity for student to come up with ingenious solutions to problems in Nigeria, leveraging science and technology. I was part of the executive council, which organized meetups and tutorials for other members of the association to learn. My spark for programming was birthed during a Process control and Process optimization course in my final year. The courses required convoluted and complicated numerical calculations and analysis. Upon graduation, I seek to understand the concept very thoroughly and found myself in the field of Machine Learning and Artificial intelligence and its underlying effect of Process optimization.

Pursing my interest in Optimization and Machine learning, I currently work as a software engineer at Ariosh Limited, a foremost EPCI company in Nigeria and also took up a remote role as a Machine Learning Engineer at Hotels.ng with the aim of improving my programming capabilities as well as understanding the underlying theoretical, mathematical and statistical approach to optimization. Moving forward, I am eager to employ all the knowledge I have acquired thus far in solving practical industrial engineering problems.

In this regard, I want to pursue a master’s degree at Lehigh University and work under relevant research field. I sensibly chose Master’s Program in Industrial Engineering as it will offer me the opportunity to equip myself to discover innovative solutions to challenging problems. On successful completion of the program I aspire to further pursue my career in industrial research and thus seek a PhD in Industrial Engineering with focus on Operation Research and Optimization at the department of Industrial Engineering at the Lehigh University. The department of Industrial Engineering at the Lehigh University provides an environment to learn and work with excellent Professors in top-notch research laboratories, and a body of students that share a similar goal of making the world a better place. The high level of interdisciplinary and collaborative research work at the institution is also something I am ready to leverage. I would be honored to be a part of this program. Thank you for your time and consideration!