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% \address{Department of CSE\\
% University at Buffalo\\
% 226 Bell Hall\\
% Buffalo,  NY  14260--2000}

\signature{Dr. Kenneth W.\ Regan}

\begin{letter}{Graduate Admissions Committee\\
Department of Computer Science\\
Boston University\\
111 Cummington Mall \# 140D\\
Boston, MA 02215\\
Re: M.Sc.\ applicant Zhihao Lin
}

\opening{\vspace{-1.5ex}
Dear Graduate Admissions Committee:
}

I am delighted to recommend Mr.\ Zhihao Lin for admission to your Master's program. I have known him as a student in my CSE396 course last spring.  I am an Associate Professor with long happy service at UB.  I'm afraid to say I conflated him with a similarly-named student who is applying to Canadian universities while thinking I had written for him already.

Mr. Lin earned an B+ in CSE396.  His A-level work on homeworks was balanced by grades of B on both prelims and the final exam.  He was completely adept in the mathematical reasoning needed for success in the course.  His final exam included a perfect 30/30 on a proof problem (applying the ``Context-Free Pumping Lemma'' and some further reasoning).  I don't have anything more particular about weaknesses except that he didn't get everything right.  I see this is consistent with his grades on the whole.   
[His B+ was 35th in a class of 207, right near the 15\% (or 85\%) line.   My rankings average to ``top-10\%.''  because of other strengths below.]

While he may not be a ``CS theory maven,'' I am impressed by his dedication and intensity of thinking about software.  I have a side interest in object-oriented language theory and I've taught our bellwether CSE250: Data Structures (in C++) course with attention to this.  I've not taught it since 2014 and so of course did not have Mr.\ Lin there, but it is neat to read and hear how he reallly uses abstract classes and hierarchies in his program design.  Thus I'm saying it's a nice reflection of those who did teach this material to him, by my standards.  

What it certainly means is that he is completely and maturely equipped with the tools for construction of projects toward his Master's degree.  And from CSE396, I can vouch for the analytical power needed to design the programs to achieve research goals.  His writing and speaking are good; I wish I had seen more interaction during the course by forum, e-mail, or office hours.  In sum, I can recommend him most highly as a rewarding addition to any MS program, and will be happy to answer any further question you may have.





\closing{Yours sincerely}

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