00100					Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
00200					Computer Science Dept
00300					Stanford University
00400					Stanford, California,94305
00500	
00600	
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01000	
01100	
01200	
01300	Prof K.B.Irani
01400	Dept of Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering
01500	University of Michigan
01600	Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48104
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01800	
01900	
02000	Dear Prof Irani:
02100	
02200	
02300	
02400	This  note  is in response to your request for a reference concerning
02500	Mr.   Ram Nevatia.  I have worked closely with him over several years
02600	and  have a high regard for him as a researcher and a person.  I rate
02700	him the equal of any of the students who have received degrees in our
02800	group.  His thesis research is one of the best in the field of visual
02900	perception by computer; the system is able to describe and  recognize
03000	objects  of  the  complexity  of  dolls  and  toy horses, using depth
03100	information.  I think he is a good bet for carrying out good research
03200	in  the  future.         I base that on his judgment and concern with
03300	conceptualization, together with critical ability. He has  a  lot  of
03400	interest  and energy, and understands problems in detail.  This shows
03500	up in particular in thinking through research plans  in  advance  and
03600	raising counterexamples and finding weaknesses to be overcome. On the
03700	basis  of  past  performance,  he  has  shown  talent   at   analytic
03800	understanding  of  mathematical  tools in connection with transforms,
03900	splines, and properties of the representation used in the thesis.  He
04000	has  shown  maturity  and originality in the conceptualization of the
04100	thesis matter, and a concern for the real scientific matters.   He is
04200	also  proficient  technically.   He is a good programmer with a broad
04300	background in computer science.   He has a considerable background in
04400	hardware,  although  he has not been required to do any hardware work
04500	for his doctoral research.
04600	
04700	I have not seen him teach.  I have seen  him  present  several  talks
04800	which were coherent, organized, and clear.
04900	
05000	Personally,  he  is  considerate  and easy to get along with.      We
05100	have a large group and he has interacted  well  with  co-workers  and
05200	with  students  whom  he helped with course projects.  He contributes
05300	well in discussions and openly shares in  informal  discussions  with
05400	co-workers.
05500	
05600	
05700	
05800					Sincerely,
05900	
06000	
06100	
06200					Thomas O. Binford