1. Centre for Science Communication
PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054
New Zealand
Tel 64 3 4797939
Fax 64 3 4794512
sciencecommunication@otago.ac.nz
2 February 2016
To Whom It May Concern:
I am pleased to be in a position to write a letter of recommendation for Nikki Saadat. Nikki
was employed as a visiting research associate in my laboratory at the University of Otago in
New Zealand from July to September 2015. She also returned in late October the same year to
complete a project.
Having cold-emailed me to ask if I was willing to serve as her mentor for her summer
internship program at Antioch College (she’d read several of my books and was eager to learn
more), I was initially reluctant to take her on. As you can imagine, sponsoring a random
undergraduate student from abroad, especially when I had just started my academic
appointment here myself, was a bit of a gamble. These initial hesitations, however, were
swiftly put to rest by the many glowing letters of support she was able to provide along with
my follow-up conversations with her on email and Skype. It was clear from these exchanges
that Nikki was an exceptionally ambitious, bright young woman who could contribute
meaningfully to my developing research programme at the Centre for Science
Communication.
Indeed, Nikki greatly exceeded my expectations during her time here. A fast learner and
thoroughly engaged, her assistance became indispensable immediately. Nikki worked with me
on several projects. First, she cultivated, itemized and summarized academic material for my
next book project, which was a formidable task in itself due to the sheer volume of the
literature on the subject (suicide and suicide-prevention).
Second, she took a leading role in organizing a major event at the University of Otago, which
was a three-day symposium on the science of sex. This event, with American sex-advice
columnist Dan Savage as our keynote speaker, was attended by hundreds of New Zealanders.
Nikki spearheaded the media drive to widely publicize this “Science Festival” in the weeks
and months leading up to it, and she served as the go-to person for a broad range of radio,
newspaper, and television outlets.
Finally, Nikki served as my research assistant for an ongoing series of psychology
experiments in my lab. This work focused on people’s ability to remain objective when
evaluating scientific arguments made by researchers known to have committed either an
academic offense (e.g., data fabrication) or moral transgression (e.g., spousal abuse). Nikki
ran subjects and helped recruit participants for these experiments.
It is rare for me to be able to endorse a person so strongly, but I can assure you that Nikki is
deserving of my highest possible praise. Interpersonally, she is also delightful young woman
who brightens up the work environment. I found her to be upbeat and positive, collegial, and
