Thomas M. Cormier
Professor of Physics
Wayne State University
Detroit, MI 48202
313-577-0750
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Texas Service Center
P.O. Box 852135
Mesquite, TX 75185-2135
Re : National Interest Waiver Petition Filed by Dr. Ahmed Hamed
Dear Sir/Madam:
I am writing in support of Ahmed Hamed's petition for permanent residency in the United
States.
I am a Professor of Physics at Wayne State University and former Chairperson of the
Department. My field of study and teaching is experimental nuclear physics. I received
my Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1974. I am a member of the
STAR Collaboration/Experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at
Brookhaven National Laboratory and the ALICE Experiment at the CERN Large Hadron
Collider in Geneva Switzerland. I am a member of the ALICE Experiment Management
Board and I am a Fellow of the American Physical Society.
I have known Dr. Ahmed Hamed for over 5 years as the co-advisor on his Ph.D. research
dissertation at Wayne State University, working on the STAR experiment at RHIC.
Dr. Hamed’s major dissertation project concerned a device known as an electromagnetic
calorimeter. My research group at Wayne State University was responsible for building
such a calorimeter for the STAR Experiment. Dr. Hamed made extensive use of this
detector and came to be the unquestioned expert in it operation and in the analysis of
results that it produces. In particular, he developed an important new computational
algorithm used in the analysis of electromagnetic calorimeter data that has allowed a
tremendous increase in the applicability of the detector to a class of particularly difficult
measurements. The technical details of his work are beyond the scope of this letter.
Suffice it to say, however, that his work had a very large impact on the USDOE funded
STAR physics program by expanding the range of scientific questions that can be
addressed. With his extensive training and expertise in nuclear physics, it would be a real
loss to our field and to the USDOE STAR program in particular if he were not granted
permanent residency.
Dr. Ahmed’s also has very significant teaching skills. During his tenure as my research
assistant while working on his dissertation, I routinely called upon him to substitute for
me in my classes when I had to travel. I consistently heard very good things from my
classes concerning Ahmed’s organization and clarity of presentation. I am sure he would
do exceedingly well in a real teaching position as a mentor to young future scientists.
In summary, I believe that Dr. Ahmed Hamed is an outstanding young physicist with a
very bright future if given the opportunity to remain in the US. He has the potential to
become a leading US scientist and teacher and I therefore fully support his petition for
permanent residence.
If I can be of any further assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Thomas M. Cormier
Professor of Physics