If you have been to MATLAB Answers recently you have noticed the name Madhan Ravi climbing up the Leaderboard. Here is a Q&A with Madhan Ravi.

I am a student at Warsaw University of Technology in Poland. At the moment I live in India as I am on a medical break but as soon as I recover I will get back to Poland to continue my studies.

I have a diploma in Automobile Engineering from India, but I am currently doing my undergraduate program in Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Engineering.

Yes. It’s really exciting, my undergraduate program is really advanced compared to my diploma (pre-engineering) . Diploma is like a foundation which gives an idea of practical engineering knowledge . I like the way they teach us to analyze and visualize with certain problems in undergraduate program which is really immense. Looking forward to learn some core subjects in the upcoming semesters!

Yes that’s the plan. As you can see I am currently doing my studies related to vehicles. It’s a dream to be achieved. It all depends on how my thesis goes and the opportunities available so let’s see what the future holds.

Formula 1 (F1) cars for sure. The technologies they have – phew!  Just mind blowing. Engineers work day and night to build a car that meets all the requirements, finally to pounce during the race. The understanding between the driver and the car is so deep (they even name their cars). Especially 500 engineers (every engineer’s dream job) work from the headquarters to make sure the car works during the event. I like the KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System), Kevlar (the material used for fuel tanks), and so on.

Starting in February of last year I had a MATLAB Laboratory class that gave me a chance to indulge with MATLAB. I became so obsessed with MATLAB that my friends started to call me “MADLAB.” I even stopped using calculators. I was able to improve my math skills because of MATLAB.

I like its simplicity. Any person can learn it. For me, I had no clue what programming was all about. But MATLAB made me think that I am capable of programming. In the first semester I had to learn C++ but couldn’t understand the core but after encountering MATLAB I was able to do it. The main pearl of MATLAB is the documentation. It really shows how hard the MathWorks staff works to be precise.

My friend once had to do a project with differential equations. MATLAB Central looked like a good forum with lots of experts, so why not? The knowledge and patience that some contributors have amazes me!

The main motivation is that the more you answer the more knowledge you gain. It’s also like a news feed whenever a new syntax is introduced it’s known through answers which makes life a lot easier. To quote A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, “Excellence is a continuous process and not an accident.”

My favorite thing is there are different solutions and different ways to approach a problem. Every day there are different possibilities and different things to learn from someone.

It’s definitely an answer by Walter Roberson. Once there was a question “Replacing NaNs with zero in a matrix within a cell array.”  Walter Roberson just used a one-liner, using subsasgn() and substruct(), to answer.

I like to take walks to the park or go on long drives. I do like to gather information about vehicles. The essential hobby is watching Formula 1. I cannot miss any Grand Prix races and I even enjoy watching old documentaries about F1 drivers.

Unfortunately until now I haven’t been. In the future I will.