This
letter is in strong support of Dr. Batur Uyghur’s application to your
department for the position he seeks. My
association with Dr. Uyghur is from three theoretical studies of
optical
diffraction by a biological specimen that were collaborative efforts of
Dr. Uyghur,
his dissertation advisor Professor John Walter, my colleague Professor
David
Baskin, and myself. From
our collaboration, I have come to look upon Dr. Uyghur as an
accomplished
theoretician in the area of optical interaction with condensed
materials. He was able to utilize his
knowledge of the
coupled-wave theory of diffraction and apply it to a completely new
situation. The introduction of biological
material
presented no problem to Dr. Uyghur. He very capably developed a model
that has
the critical essentials to be realistic. Yet
the model was tractable physically and
mathematically.Reviewers of the latest
manuscript have called it the most comprehensive and most significant
piece of
work in this area. Even
though I have not had the occasion to see how Dr. Uyghur teaches
students, I do
know that he is very enthusiastic, patient and thorough in his
explanation of
new ideas and concepts. Above all, Dr.
Uyghur has an excellent command of basic physics and applied
mathematics; he is
also able to easily draw analogies and correspondences from different
fields,
making it possible for young students to appreciate not only the
concepts but
their relevance. He has the makings of
an excellent teacher while being a competent theoretician in condensed
matters or
in the matter-wave interaction area. I
support his application very strongly. If
I can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me. Sincerely
yours, Paul
Cohen