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Adam Koehler 

Statement of Purpose

After taking a multitude of computer science courses over my academic career I

have perceived that most of the courses tend to build a student’s knowledge of computer 

science outward, broadening familiarity over several areas of computer science rather than creating a concentrated depth of knowledge in any one topic. Pursuing a master’s

degree in computer science will allow me to more fully develop my knowledge in two

areas of particular interest to me: artificial intelligence and computer graphics. Bystudying these areas in depth, I hope to resolve the disparity between having a wide scope

of computer science knowledge and having a more concentrated understanding of a

single computer science field.Artificial intelligence is the foremost area of interest that I wish study further.

The attraction of artificial intelligence for me lies in its breadth of applicability, both as a

method of problem solving in itself and in a symbiotic integration with other areas of computer science. A broad spectrum of applications exist within the artificial

intelligence field, ranging from intelligent non-player controlled characters in computer game software to a ubiquitous computing solution that intelligently reacts to a variety of 

users. This diversity is one of the main reasons that I feel compelled to pursue artificialintelligence further. While I have striven to develop my understanding of artificial

intelligence during my undergraduate education, the choreographed requirements of a

 bachelor's degree have restricted my research to only a minute sample of artificialintelligence’s applications. During my exposure to the field, I have often been

unsatisfied with the level of interaction artificial intelligence displays in response to

 prompts of varying complexity. I do not believe the field has been developed to its potential in any regard, and feel that considerable progress can be made to improve the

interactive experience that users have with an artificial intelligence application. This

genuine intrigue combined with my curiosity for the subject matter and the limitless potential of the field are the reason why I wish to pursue a greater depth of knowledge in

artificial intelligence. Through the education gained in pursuit of a master’s degree, I

hope to be able to enrich the authenticity of many artificial intelligence experiences, from

computer games, to interactive toys and beyond.While artificial intelligence holds the most intrigue for me, a secondary area of 

interest is computer graphics. Akin to artificial intelligence in that I have only touched

on the subject during my undergraduate career, I hope to explore the areas of two andthree dimensional rendering more acutely. While I have always enjoyed the freedom of 

creative expression, and embrace its value in many aspects of problem solving in

computer science, the rigidity of programming has precluded my pursuit of many artisticinterests. I feel that a more in-depth review of the field of computer graphics would be

very fulfilling for me, both for its creative liberties and for its application to other areas of 

computer science. Specifically with regard to my interest in artificial intelligence, Ienvision graphics applications such as an artificially intelligent avatar, with body and

facial expressions that can create more engaging interaction between two users. It is also

important to understand just how quickly the field of computer graphics is changingwithin computer science. I believe that a deeper appreciation for the state-of-the-art in

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computer graphics will only help me in all future computer science pursuits, and I look 

forward to the new challenges while pursuing my master’s degree in computer science.

My undergraduate education has prepared me for the depth and commitmentrequired of graduate research in the field of computer science. Two projects I have

 participated in would be research with the Embedded XINU team, and a senior design

 project also involving the XINU operating system. While participating on the EmbeddedXINU team I have chosen to aide in the research and development of an external analysis

tool for embedded systems development. Personally, I have researched integrating the

front end system with the debugging system, developed by another team member, via anopen source debugging software. Once complete, it will allow users to access many

debugging features, such as single stepping through code, breaking at a certain point in

the code, and continuing the execution of the code from the breakpoint. The senior design project involves the creation of a software program to allow users building a

XINU operating system to directly use computers with a Windows operating system

installed. Currently, a direct or remote connection to a UNIX variant needs to be used toaide development. Both projects have allowed me to see the considerable amount of 

work and research that goes into software development projects. Each of the projects isteam oriented; with tasks split down so that one or more researchers can contribute. The

groups function with relative autonomy, without daily guidance of a professor, althoughguidance is provided on a semi-periodic basis. Overall, these projects have provided

useful experiences allowing me to understand both graduate and undergraduate level

research and implementation.In addition to these two XINU based projects, I have also completed several

course-based projects that assimilate the entire semester's work into a cohesive project.

One such project was a language interpreter written in Scheme that interprets primitiveoperations including add, subtract, Boolean not, and, or, and xor; as well as complex

statements such as variable assignment, print statements, procedure declarations and calls

and simple type checking. This and several other projects have helped me develop awealth of knowledge in the computer science field, and have certainly broadened my

interests. However, they have lacked depth in certain areas that I feel truly drawn to

exploring.

Through graduate studies I hope to explore the fields of artificial intelligence andcomputer graphics more fully, and negotiate the requirements of intertwining the two

more seamlessly than today's efforts produce. My ultimate goal is to produce meaningful

work that combines the acquired in-depth knowledge of both the artificial intelligencefield and the computer graphics field, while building on the solid foundation I have

created in my undergraduate pursuits.