1. Department of Physics & Astronomy
1 Park Place South, Suite 700
Atlanta, GA 30303-2911
March 27, 2013
To whom it may concern,
I am writing this letter in support of Mr. Bruce Clair’s application for an (ISC)2 Under-graduate
Foundation Scholarship. I believe Mr. Clair is simply an outstanding student, and
is therefore a superb candidate for the scholarship.
I first met Mr. Clair in my Astronomy 1010 class during Spring 2012 at Georgia State
University (GSU) in downtown Atlanta. He was one of a few standouts that semester among
(exactly) 100 students in the class, which is a general survey course of basic astronomical
concepts that are applied as we tour the Solar System. Mr. Clair finished with a final grade
of 97% in the class, in which the median score was 68%, ranked #2 in the class overall, and
earned an A+. What is remarkable about Mr. Clair is that he not only scored quite well on
each of the four exams, but he took advantage of nearly all of the optional bonus activities,
when he clearly didn’t need to to do well in the course. On top of all this lecture-related
work, he also finished with a perfect score in the labs.
In addition to his impressive raw scores throughout the semester, Mr. Clair was an active
participant in the class, asking astute questions that prompted me to explain concepts better
to the entire class. He became one of those students we professors wish we had in every
class — the ones who pinpoint where we need to spend more time, and the ones who are
conscientious enough to familiarize themselves with material before class so that they are
ready to learn.
I suspect that Mr. Clair will go far in whatever endeavor he chooses, so I highly recom-mend
him for an (ISC)2 Foundation Scholarship. Please do not hesitate to contact me for
any further information I might provide.
Sincerely,
Todd J. Henry, Ph.D.
Director, Research Consortium on Nearby Stars
RECONS, www.recons.org
Distinguished Professor of Astronomy
Georgia State University
phone: 404-413-6054
email: thenry@chara.gsu.edu