Makassar, July 1, 2000

LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION

To Whom It May Concern:

Mr. Samy Adwan, S.T. has asked that I prepare this official Letter of Recommendation to support his intention to continue his study to pursue a Masters Degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering or in Computer Science.  I do so with great enthusiasm.
As I write this letter,  Mr. Adwan has just completed his first degree in the Department of Electrical Engineering,  Hasanuddin University, Makassar, INDONESIA, where I myself have been with since 1983.  I met with  Mr. Adwan for the first time in 1998 when he just arrived  from his home country Jordan. In its 35 years of existence since 1963, this was the first time the Department had ever been attended by an international student from another country.  I should admit the fact that Mr. Adwan’s acceptance at the Department had helped the Department gaining a higher reputation. Nevertheless, of course, since the Department has no special program for foreigners, we had treated Mr. Adwan more or less the same as his Indonesian fellow students. Given the great difference in many aspects of life in Indonesia and in the country he was from, it must have been very difficult for Mr. Adwan to survive in the beginning. But after an amazingly short time, he can prove to be among the best students the Department has ever had.  This showed the quality Mr. Adwan has in his personality as well as his strong motivation to seek knowledge. With the degree he has completed very successfully, Mr. Adwan may have received offers to hold good positions in industry, but he has told me that he prefers to continue his study before fully joining the workforce. I appreciate his intention very highly, because this shows how much he values education.
Mr. Adwan had his continuing study program in our Department very well planned, and had his final project well in mind. His interest in system dynamics, especially in non-linearities, led him to propose a thorough study in a complicated project such as a ball on the beam simulation problem for his final project, which then I agreed to supervize. Mr. Adwan completed the project without any difficulty and produced a very high qualtity report on the subject. During his terms in the Department, he took  several of my classes among others, and these were ranging from a modelling and numerical simulation course, an electronic project course, linear systems, basic and advance control systems, computer-controled systems, and optimal control courses, which all he seriously studied and always got excellent grades for his exams, test and term papers.  
I have been impressed by Mr. Adwan’s technical competence in his field, and that he showed great interest in learning about the new technology in computer-aided control systems design, I wholeheartedly recommend him for any opportunity to pursue a higher degree programs in his field. 
Should you wish any further information, please feel free to contact me, and I will gladly respond to your inquiries.

With kindest regards,

Ir. Rhiza S. Sadjad, M.S.E.E., Ph.D.  
E-mail address: rhiza@unhas.ac.id    URL: http://www.unhas.ac.id/~rhiza/
Home Address: Perumahan UNHAS Blok H-15 Tamalanrea 
  MAKASSAR Sulsel 90245 INDONESIA
		  Phone: 62-411-585-680
Office		: Dept. of Electrical Engineering HASANUDDIN UNIVERSITY
		  MAKASSAR Sulsel 90245 INDONESIA
		  Phone: 62-411-584-600   Fax: 62-411-585-188