Ms. S. Harry,
Human Resources Manager,
Brunel University,
Uxbridge,
Middlesex, UB8 3PH
Dear Ms Harry,
Re: Promotion to Chair, Dr. A. Kahn
I have known Akram for nearly 10 years now and worked closely with him in the field of
Accelerator Technology. During that time, particularly the last few years in Brunel, he has demonstrated he has all the qualities necessary to meet your promotion criteria:
(1) He has made significant contributions to research, on both a national and international scale, in all the areas he has worked in. This is demonstrated by the refereed papers he has authored, in particular those he has led, and his selection to present results at major conferences.
(2) He has initiated three grant proposals with my institution, the STFC, two of which have been successful so far. The outcome of the third is not yet known. By doing this, he has opened up a new area of research in Brunel (on FFAGs), brought two excellent
Ph.D. students to the University who would not otherwise have come and allowed
Brunel to join a large international collaboration of world renown accelerator laboratories. The development of FFAG accelerators by this collaboration could bring a sea-change in accelerator technology.
(3) He has developed research plans in a number of areas. The one I am most familiar with is the FFAG project described in (2). This is a large international project to develop this technology for a range of applications. The particular application that
Akram is involved in is the acceleration of carbon ion beams to treat cancer, a very important method which is currently missing in the UK. He has obtained funding for, so far, 2 Ph.D. students to work in this area.
(4) He has developed an excellent national and international reputation through his very active participation in the BaBar experiment in California and in Accelerator
Technology R&D. His knowledge and excellent communication and presentation skills mean that he has a strong positive impact in all his areas of work. This is demonstrated by the leading roles he has been given on a number of important national and international bodies.
(5)
I have no direct experience of Akram’s teaching abilities, but, due to the qualities he has demonstrated in his research, I have no doubt he will meet your requirements.
As a result of the above, I have no hesitation in recommending Akram’s promotion to
Chair.
Yours sincerely,
Dr T.R. Edgecock
EMMA FFAG Project Leader