PhD in Optimization (EE/IEOR): need help with school selection, and profile evaluation

[arcturus]

Hi, 

 

This is my first post to thegradcafe, so my apologies if this isn't the right place/right format to do so.

 

I want to pursue a PhD in optimization- this falls in many departments in different universities: signal processing (EE)/ operations research( IEOR)/ computer science. 

 

My background:

 

Bachelor's in Electronics:   from top 25 school in India, GPA: 8.78/10. 

 

Master's in EE from top-15 US school for Electrical Engineering, specializing in signal/biomedical image processing.

 

Master's GPA: 3.48/4. Got A's in all relevant classes, screwed up (got B's) in two not-too-relevant classes.

 

Publications:

1.  A 2nd author publication in a biomedical image processing conference (not relevant to optimization, but relevant to signal processing).

2. A 7th author publication in a biomedical journal, project in biomedical image processing (again, relevant to signal processing)

3. Currently working on a publication directly tying optimization and signal processing (very relevant to desired PhD area)

 

Patent: One patent corresponding to the first publication listed above. 

 

GRE: (taken in 2009, scores still valid): Quant: 800/800, Verbal: 690/800, Essay: 5/6

 

Recommendation:

1. Top professor in optimization, whose class I got an A in. No research experience with him, but I have kept him in the loop about my research.  

2. Grad school adviser. He is a biophotonics/signal processing professor, and it was in his lab that I got publications # 1 and  # 2 and the patent.

3. A post-doc in a good school in my city, with whom I am working on publication # 3. 

 

 

Work experience:

1. One and a half years, algorithm engineer in research team of a medical device company.

 

2. I am also currently working on the research project with the above mentioned post-doc, and hoping to get a publication by app deadlines. 

 

3. Interned (in 2008); at a space research organization for three months.

 

4. Interned (in 2009) : at a research group in a top engineering school in my country. No publication. 

 

GRE Subject Test in Mathematics: Taking in October. 

 

Desired PhD area: Optimization in signal processing. However, optimization in any other context (finance/OR) is my next choice, and one that I would gladly take up if I don't get anything in signal processing.

 

Shortlisted schools:

(school name--  some of professors shortlisted)

 

1. UMichigan Ann Arbor, EES-- signal processing group (Professors: Balzano, Fessler, ...)

2. UWashington, Seattle , EE-- they have professors in optimization and machine learning with whom I'd like to work (Professors: Fazel and Bilmes)

3. UWisconsin, Madison, EE-- Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery in this school has a great optimization program. (Professors: Novak, anybody else in CS)

4. UChicago, Toyota Technological Institute--- Professors: Nati Srebro, and lots of stats professors. 

5. GeorgiaTech, ACO program in ISYE. Lots of optimization professors.

6. Columbia, IEOR

7. Cornell, ORIE

8. Northwestern, IEMS--- lots of optimization professors (Dolinskaya, Nocedal, Klubjan, ...)

9. UCSD, EE --- COSMAL group, DSP group.

10. Univ of British Columbia-- OCANA group.

11. John Hopkins University-- Professors: Vidal,...

12. Rice University: they have a big compressed sensing group. 

13. EPFL, Lausanne-- LIONS lab, BIG lab. 

 

 

Can you please tell me which of these are too ambitious, which are moderate, and which are 'safety net' schools, given my background/profile? As of now, I greatly fear that I wouldn't get into any of these programs at all, mainly owing to my rather average Master's GPA. 

 

I am also having a hard time finding schools that aren't too highly ranked, but have good professors/research programs in optimization. Can someone please recommend a few such schools too? It's hard because these professors are scattered across EE, IEOR and CS departments in different universities. 

 

Finally, I am taking the GRE Subject Test in Mathematics, because Northwestern, Cornell, Columbia and GeorgiaTech clearly say that a GREAT score in that test will be looked upon favourably- any comments on this? Assuming I do get an outstanding score in this, will it kind of balance my low GPA?

 

Thank you very much for reading through this wall of text, and for any advice at all!

Edited September 28, 2013 by arcturus

[ssk08]

Have you thought of Applying to the Adaptive Systems Lab at UCLA under Prof  Ali Sayed? 

[arcturus]

Hi ssk08,

 

Thank you so much for your reply! 

 

Actually UCLA is where I got my Master's from, and I also took Ali Sayed's Adaptive Filtering. I have asked the EE grad admin people at UCLA, and they very frankly told me that with a GPA < 3.5 (even if it's as close as 3.48), the department won't even look at my application.  

 

So I guess UCLA is out. Otherwise I would have of course loved to go back there- they also have the amazing Vandenberghe and a really awesome Math department.