Vince,

Please find below some text for Eric's letter.  I hope it is helpful for your development of the letter.  If you have questions or would like some other information, please let me know.  Also, on the question of Enron letterhead, I suppose the desired form of submission is via the web site.  Unless you have electronic letterhead, the issue may be moot.

Martin

Eric Cope worked as a summer associate in the Research Group during the summer of 2001.  During this time, Eric worked on a variety of projects requiring a diverse set of skills.  In all cases, he quickly grasped the scope and context of the problems at hand.  While some direction was given in each case, Eric was often charged with developing the approach details independently, and he executed the tasks very effectively.

One major project for the summer was to develop a web-browser-based trading simulation platform (TSP).  The TSP would create user accounts, require user logons, post simulated market information, post simulated commidity prices, accept and execute buy and sell transactions for users, and track user account information such as positions, order history, and buying power.  The TSP would allow for the use of human users as well as software agent.  Simulated commidity prices could be histroical prices, ficticious calculated prices, or bid/offer prices based on some update algorithms.  The primary goal was to create a framework to test different udpate algorithms and trading strategies.

Eric immediately arranged for the appropriate reference materials to develop the database and associated software infrastructure.  In short order, a simple site was up for users to create accounts and begin "trading" commodities.  The project ended before extensive algorithm evaluation could begin, however, the TSP goes a long way to making such evaluations possible.

Other projects included the development of forecast models for motion picture box office revenues, advertising media placement prices, and long-distance voice telephony prices.  In many of the cases, data were scarce, as were definitive instructions.  Eric analyzed the problem to develop a focused approach, always in consultation and discussion with others, but never with "hand-holding" or intense oversight.  His co-workers and immediate supervisor quickly developed confidence in Eric's ability to take general direction and achieve productive results.  Such confidence and ability is crucial in an environment with limited structure, such as we had.

 -----Original Message-----
From: 	Kaminski, Vince J  
Sent:	Friday, January 25, 2002 1:00 PM
To:	Lin, Martin
Subject:	FW: Reference request regarding Eric W Cope S05371/R966


Martin,

A request for the letter of recommendation.

Vince


 -----Original Message-----
From: 	VKaminski@aol.com@ENRON  
Sent:	Thursday, January 24, 2002 8:03 PM
To:	Kaminski, Vince J
Subject:	Fwd: Reference request regarding Eric W Cope S05371/R966



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Date: Thu, 24 Jan 2002 17:38:57 -0500 (EST)
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From: AT&T Web Resume Database <resume@research.att.com>
To: VKaminski@aol.com, kbl@research.att.com
Subject: Reference request regarding Eric W Cope S05371/R966
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Dear Colleague:

Eric W Cope has submitted an application to AT&T Labs,
with a request that we seek a reference letter from you in support of this application.
We thank you in advance for providing this letter.  The reference letters are
a very important part of our evaluation process, but we also recognize that
they call for a significant measure of time and attention on your part.
In this message, we first describe below the three options for submittal
of the letter, and then, in the final paragraphs, you will find some
comments about the nature of the job applied for.

We know your time is precious, so we have tried to make the
process as efficient as possible.  If you have access to a browser
from your mailer, then the easiest thing is to use the URL given below:

  http://www.research.att.com/~kbl/cgi-bin/resumedocs/S05371/R966

Via this web page, you can submit text, html, postscript, or pdf files.
Please note that this URL should be used ONLY by you, and ONLY for
this particular student.  It is linked directly to the student's resume,
and the processing occurs automatically and immediately.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
If it is inconvenient to use the URL, you may email your letter by replying
to this email, but please help us out, if you use this option, by sending
the letter as plain text only, not as a word processor file, without indent, and
not as an attachment.  Also please make sure that your mailer includes
the entire subject line in your reply message.
If you use this option, please note that the processing of your letter
will occur manually, and therefore may entail a considerable delay.

Our system will format the emailed text appropriately for display, unless
you ask that it be treated as fixed-format.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
As a third option, if you prefer you may submit your letter as hard copy.  Please
note that we discourage this approach, since electronic letters can be
distributed far more effectively to the hiring managers.  However, if you
wish, please see http://www.research.att.com/academic/Addresses.html
for information on the proper address to use for various purposes.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Finally, a word about the position for which the student has applied:

This student has applied for a summer internship.
We hire summer interns roughly from the third year of undergraduate
work through graduate school.  The summer projects vary in level,
depending on the student involved.  The students normally work in
a one-on-one fashion with a member of staff on some facet of the
ongoing research work in the lab, but they are expected to function
somewhat independently after an initial period of familiarization
with the work.  Accordingly, we are interested in information you
may have as to the student's adaptability, ability to learn new
material, and to work effectively with minimal supervision.


Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Ken Lyons,
AT&T Labs Web Resume Database