The Italian Job

My name is Harsha Sista, and I shall be your journalist/protagonist in this edition of Thesis Tales. As a final year Mechanical Engineering student at BPHC, I had to dedicate a semester to pursue either the Practice School II program or switch to a thesis. Cultivating an inclination towards the world of research through my second and third years of college, I decided that it would benefit my future if I pursued a thesis and got a taste of how life in academia would be.

I’ve had an affinity for outer space and flying objects since childhood, and I aimed to convert that into a tangible career path during my undergraduate studies. From taking up online and on-campus courses to further my understanding to being a part of various technical teams, I attempted to mould my profile to become proficient with fluid mechanics and dynamics. Hoping to work in Aerodynamics or Computational Fluid Dynamics, I started looking up about various professors at prestigious institutions across the globe who worked in these fields, going by their research interests and the corresponding research output. After creating a shortlist, I started sending out emails in January 2019, which was rather late in hindsight. I mailed around 170 professors, out of which I received around 30 rejections. Towards the end of February, I finally got an acceptance from Prof. Luigi Vigevano at the Department of Aerospace Engineering, Politecnico di Milano (Polimi). I was elated at the prospect of going to an institute ranked #7 by QS in Aerospace Engineering, and began the formalities of the PS to Thesis conversion and my Visa Application.

Never having been out of the country – going to Milan promised to be an eye-opening experience. In addition to hosting one of the premier research institutes in the world, Milan is also a cultural epicenter, which appealed to my interests. August is the summer month in Italy, during which most colleges have holidays. Polimi was scheduled to remain shut for an entire week, so I planned a short trip across the beautiful land of Italy at that time. Hopping from Rome to Venice, while visiting Florence, Pisa, and the coastal villages of Cinque Terre, the week-long trip provided memories for a lifetime. In addition, Milan houses the San Siro, the shared football stadium of AC Milan and Internazionale, and is also home to the Formula 1 track at Monza. Being an avid fan of both sports, I attended three Champions League matches and the 2019 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, fulfilling a lifelong dream of being present at a live sporting event. Even if you disregard these high-profile sporting attractions, Milan can be described as a crossroad where the classics and the modern meet. It is truly a wonderfully vibrant city, ensuring that my free time was well spent exploring the city on foot and through the immaculate public transportation system.

I worked at Polimi from mid-July to the end of December, a duration of 5 and a half months. My work involved running simulations on their in-house software called ROSITA and investigating the aerodynamic and aeroacoustic features of rotating helicopter blades. I worked directly with Prof. Vigevano, with Jinbin Fu, a Ph.D. student, occasionally helping me out. Although I knew the principles of aerodynamics, aeroacoustics was a new field for me, and operating the Linux terminal to tweak the software and run simulations taught me a lot. It took a bit of time to get used to the new environment and the task expected of me, with most of July and August going in familiarizing myself with the software and the concepts required for me to run the simulations. Prof. Vigevano was immensely helpful in this process, and once I was confident enough, the simulations and analysis of results were familiar territories.

In terms of funding, I could not receive any funding from BITS. After consultations with Prof. Vigevano, it was decided that I would not be required to pay any fee to Polimi, although there would be no funds to support my stay in Milan. While this seemed a costly endeavor, I believe it was worth every rupee, for the enormity of the opportunity and the plethora of avenues it opened for me.

Many people ask me about the benefit of doing an off-campus thesis abroad. I would say that it boils down to two parameters: international research exposure and an opportunity to make an informed decision about your future. The research environment is very different abroad, as compared to India. While our curriculum focuses on bookish learning with provisions to gain hands-on experience, learning among peers, and meaningful academic interactions with Professors are two things I feel are underrepresented in the Indian College Education system. While BITS follows a modern approach with a flexible curriculum and a competent peer group, I feel that the system is open enough to incorporate both of the above aspects to help us learn better. Apart from that, the facilities I found at Polimi were cutting-edge in most respects, providing a perfect base for academic research to take flight.

Regarding my point about making an informed decision, the thesis gave me a glimpse into my future, teaching me the appropriate research methodology and the avenues to be explored in academia. This experience converted my initial feeling of being confused between a master’s degree a Ph.D. into a clearer idea of pursuing a Ph.D. in the subfield of Aerodynamics. This process of gaining clarity is crucial in deciding your academic future, as a hasty decision at this juncture might lead to unfavorable consequences.

Therefore, my time in Milan was fruitful and helped me learn a lot about research and myself. I would say it helped me grow as a person and gave me all the necessary tools to decide my academic future, for which I am thankful.