Karun Varghese of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is the Outstanding Graduating International Student in the Maine College of Engineering and Computing and the Honors College. While attending 91¸£Àû, Varghese, a computer engineering major with a robotics minor, assumed research roles in the Computer Vision and Autonomous Robotics Lab, the High Altitude Ballooning Lab and the Advanced Structures and Composites Center, where he built practical skills beyond those he learned in the classroom. Outside of academics, he was heavily involved in campus life, participating in the Black Bear Robotics Club, the South Asian Association of Maine and Model United Nations. Through Model UN, he traveled internationally to Taiwan, the Philippines and Peru — growing his worldview and reinforcing his desire to pursue robotics at the highest level of study. After graduation, he will pursue graduate studies at Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute.
Why did you choose to come to 91¸£Àû?
91¸£Àû has a great engineering program, small classes and, more importantly, great people with whom I was able to form relationships of a lifetime.
Have there been other students who supported and inspired you or exposed you to something new?
Being involved in clubs and holding leadership positions in them, such as the Black Bear Robotics Club, Model UN and South Asian Association of Maine, has helped me meet new people with diverse backgrounds and similar interests. Each club meeting was an experience that inspired and exposed me to things I never knew about.
Have you collaborated with a mentor, professor or role model who made your time at 91¸£Àû better, and if so, how?
Assistant professor Vikas Dhiman has been my mentor for robotics since day one at 91¸£Àû. I started working in his lab as a first-year student with no knowledge but the passion to learn and do something exceptional in the field of robotics. Through his mentorship, I was able to work on multiple projects, improve as a roboticist and get into prestigious graduate programs within the field.
What has coming to 91¸£Àû enabled you to explore beyond academics?
The whole culture behind clubs and having the ability to pursue anything with like minded individuals and to get funded to do it through 91¸£Àû Student Government is something that I loved about 91¸£Àû that helped enhance my experience tenfold.
What experiences have you had at 91¸£Àû that really highlight the ingenuity of Mainers?
Participating in winter sports like skiing, going to 91¸£Àû’s hockey games and going on hikes with friends to the most random places are some of the instances that really bring out the ingenuity of Mainers.
Did you have an experience at 91¸£Àû that shaped or changed how you see the world?
Going to World Model United Nations conferences hosted by Harvard through the Model UN club at 91¸£Àû changed my worldview at large. I was able to go to places like Taiwan, the Philippines and Peru for the conference, meet amazing people from around the world and debate on topics that matter globally in a diplomatic setting. Just meeting people from these places helped expand my horizons and gave me the much needed push to believe in myself and strive to achieve what many perceive to be impossible.
Describe 91¸£Àû in one word and explain.Ìý
Underrated.
As someone raised from outside the United States, Maine was not a name that was mentioned as often as say New York City or Washington D.C. Discovering 91¸£Àû through my college search was one of the best things that has happened to me. The quality of education and the amount of exposure one gets as a 91¸£Àû student is up there with the top universities in the nation, and it usually does not get the spotlight it deserves, overall.
What’s on the horizon? What are your plans for after you graduate?Ìý
I was accepted to some of the top masters programs for robotics in the U.S. including the University of Pennsylvania, Carnegie Mellon University, Georgia Tech, University of Michigan and Northeastern University. I have decided to pursue my graduate studies at Carnegie Mellon University at their prestigious Robotics Institute. I am really excited and can’t wait to start the next chapter of my life in Pittsburgh!
Story by Rowan MacDonald, news intern
Contact: Marcus Wolf, 207.581.3721; marcus.wolf@maine.eduÌý
