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My long-term career goal
is to pursue research in an academic environment. I feel that first step
towards this goal would be to get admitted to an excellent graduate program
which will hone my skills as an independent researcher and will have the
infrastructural facilities to support all my endeavors. To this end after
having my Masters degree at the University of Tokyo, Japan, I am applying to
your university for a graduate program specializing in Transportation
Engineering and strongly believe that it would provide me a great opportunity
to advance towards this goal. In
this objective, I do feel that my strong educational background coupled with my
experiences in both research and professional lines will have formed a solid
foundation to contribute in research and development.
My fascination for transport
systems dates back to my childhood. As a young boy, my attention was diverted
to transport systems and infrastructures. I was overwhelmed by transportation
structural marvels like multilevel expressway intersections, computerized city
center control rooms, and traffic control systems on the road. This childhood
fascination never died. I think now I have the technical qualification required
software background, strong motivation and strength of character to be
successful in graduate studies and later on as a researcher in this field.
My academic performance has been excellent since my
schoolboys. After analyzing my strong points in my science subjects, I decided
to pursue Engineering and selected for admission in BUET (Bangladesh University
of Engineering and Technology), which is the best engineering institution in my
country. After having a brilliant performance in both engineering courses and
undergraduate research projects, I was selected for prestigious Japanese government
“Monboshu Scholarship” to study Masters in Civil Engineering in University of
Tokyo. The curriculum and research activity at BUET and University if Tokyo is
broadly based and comprehensive. It allows me to gain an insight into all
aspects of Civil Engineering and lays a strong foundation for my chosen area of
specialization. There was a distinct emphasis on basic and fundamentals of
research in these institutions build a strong interest for original research in
my academic life.
I would like to mention
that after finishing the masters from university of Tokyo, I started my
professional career in at Nippon Hodo
Company Limited, located in Tokyo as a project engineer in two giant
project; Ken-o Do Expressway and Tokyo
International Airport East Terminal. Later I join in Hokoku
Engineering Company Limited, Tokyo, as
a CAD Engineer for civil engineering design and survey of building construction
and Consolidation. Here my performance is outstanding and came to know about
various things regarding the analysis and design of transportation systems and
structures. I think from my practical experience I have the required background
the details of transport design and structures that will be very helpful
pursuing my graduate program in your university.
In my undergraduate and masters
study my major field of interest in Civil Engineering with major emphasis in
transportation engineering.
My undergraduate research is related to “A Study on Demand
and Supply of Domestic Air Transportation in Bangladesh” and in masters my
research topic is “Risk Evaluation Model for Traffic accident at Signalized Intersections
and Its Application in GIS”. For details of the research, please click on abstract.
Improving motor-carrier and
highway safety has become the number one priority for the future safe and
comfortable transport. Motorists who enters a motorway today, expects both
safety and comfort. Traffic safety becomes more and more important in transport
research and management. Specific research on traffic accident also becomes
important when we consider high cost of accident. Application of statistical
technique in combination with computer modeling is my key research interest in
traffic accident analysis.
The emergence of new technologies
such as global positioning system (GPS), geographic information system (GIS),
hand-held computers, electronic clipboards, digital imaging equipment (e.g.,
digital video, and digital orthophotography), multimedia software, and bar code
and magnetic strip readers has opened new opportunities to acquire, store,
access, and use pertinent information on crashes, roadway features, traffic,
and environmental conditions.
In future these new technologies
is going to dominant in all Civil Engineering worlds as well as in Information
Technology and other field of science. Especially in my major field of study,
Transportation Engineering needs more emphasis on GIS. Future transport system
ITS (Intelligent Transport System) depend on efficient and appropriate
application of new technologies on the roads. I am fascinated to research to
initiate in response to the need to evaluate the potentials of new technologies
(like GIS/GPS systems); develop innovative concepts for designing safer roads,
and recommend fundamental architectures for improved safety-information
resources to address the needs of urban roads and highway designers.
While doing masters study I tried
to apply GIS (MapInfo and ArcInfo) in my research field – Traffic Accident
Analysis at Intersection. Although I cant finish this part of research due to
main concentration of the development of new model for various types
intersection accident modeling, the partial effort of this application of GIS raise
my interest to work on transport and GIS and its various application to various
fields of transport. For this reason, I am planning to extend my knowledge in
this field having graduate program on intersection traffic safety and particular
implementation new technologies like GIS/GPS or others.
Usually government agencies
initiatives directed have concentrated on improving mechanical fitness of
vehicle, controlling drivers behavior on road, and auditing and rating
motor-carrier safety performance. These are sensible and desirable initiatives,
they ignore the significant safety enhancement opportunities offered by road
design, traffic engineering and highway maintenance. Because of the geographic
nature of these three elements, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are an
ideal tool to use in the analysis and evaluation of traffic safety.
Application of GIS in various fields
of engineering through perfection in computer will be a research interest all
over the world. Civil Engineers have started to use GIS only after 90’s. Visualization
of analysis also demands GIS to apply in Civil Engineering research. In this
regard GIS-T helps to integrate data and complex transportation models for
complex decision-making. Comprehensive traffic safety strategy and
transportation planning with a geographic information system (GIS) will be one
of the key research issues in future.
GIS-T allows for the manipulation
of data on a geographical platform, facilities integration of different
databases through the use of geographic identifiers; and allows the engineer to
conduct extensive and expansive condition-based analyses. While the huge data related to traffic
safety provides broad statistical data, a clear understanding of the spatial
and temporal properties of the collision set is necessary to better analyze
various types of intersection collision information, draw meaningful
conclusions and provide valid analytical insights that will help mitigate the
current collision situation. When analyzing collisions from
transportation-engineering perspective, the spatial distribution of the
collision set is essential to identify several spatially related facts. The
information could be used, for example, to help design or traffic engineers
determine the occurrence of collisions at locations with specific
geometric-design characteristics.
Concentration of collisions at the
same location may be identification of black spots or problems regarding
intersection design or traffic engineering. Also, by incorporating the
attributes of geographically positioned collisions with road inventory
databases, it is possible to evaluate relationships between probability of
accident risks and types of collisions, and geometric, traffic, road
environment related factors. This information is then integrated using GIS-T
with separate databases to calculate the probability of accident risk both on
the total road network, as well as individual intersection.
Applying GIS-T to intersection
safety analysis and programming offers many benefits to engineers and other
responsible for the improvement of motor-carrier safety. Some of theses benefits are – 1) GIS-T in
its most basic function allows for the straightforward processing, management
and display of tabular collision databases related intersection accident on geographical
platforms which provides valuable insights into spatial and temporal
characteristics of various types intersection accidents; 2) GIS-T is the
analytical tool that allows integration of independent databases utilizing
geographical descriptors in their basic structures; 3) Data sets integrated
using GIS-T allow engineers to perform extensive and expansive condition-based
analyses on intersection safety.
Insights obtained from applying
GIS-T help transportation agencies utilize the large “tool-box” of available
countermeasures, which is the purview of the urban road, and
traffic-engineering profession to effect improvements of intersection safety.
Also, the police could start working on GIS-based maps when filling out reports
to enhance the accuracy of the location.
But some constraints of the
benefits of GIS-T application, there is a need to develop a better system to
establish collisions locations either manually or through GPS techniques.
Without GIS-T and its ability to allow for data integration, spatial
intersection-safety analysis would be extremely tedious, and in a practical
sense, impossible. With it, a world of opportunities is opened to the engineer
at the desktop level.
Therefore, I would like to
research to extend my knowledge in the concerned field mentioned above. I am confident to perform the research based on my previous research
experience, which is enclosed in the list of
Journal papers and proceedings.
I think the research on
traffic safety and GIS will help me to understand its application on various fields
of civil engineering and also i can utilize this knowledge to develop my career
as an engineer in a better way. For these reason i am applying to your
university to complete the master degree in my interested field.
The most important thing is that now while applying
to your university, I am well informed about the Civil Engineering department
of your university through various projects and journals published some
renowned professors of your institution. I am well prepared for the education
system I am expecting to have in your institute. From esteemed seniors in your
university, I came to know friendly environment and dedication to give proper
idea and research facility for one’s chosen field.
My ambition in life is to become a thoroughbred
research professional in the field of Transportation Engineering. I realize
that a career in research and academics involves tremendous amount of
dedication, ability to fight setbacks and a lot of sacrifices. However, given
my scholastic performance coupled with my research and professional experience,
I am confident that I posses the required credentials.
Through the Department Brochure and journals of
various professors of the university I have come to know that the department
presents a promising opportunity for intellectually stimulating research. Sincerely hope to obtain admission with
suitable financial aid in the form of a fellowship or assistantship at the
department to help contribute my bit to the pursuit of academic excellence
underway there.