Andrea Massafra

July, 1st 2018
Reference: Andrea Massafra To Whom It May Concern,
I have known Andrea for many, many years. Indeed, I followed his academic accomplishments since he enrolled to obtain a degree in Physics. I continued to follow Andrea’s career during his PhD and through the various working experiences he has had.
I will structure my letter into two parts. In the first I will analyze Andrea’s academic contributions while in the second I will focus on his personality.
I am familiar with many of Andrea’s research interests. In particular, I have been working on data processing through algorithm and mathematical modeling. Andrea’s PhD dissertation is not only innovative but also very creative. Although the field is evolving very fast, Andrea’s dissertation remains relevant.
In the last 10 years I have also been working on network analysis applied to financial data. Andrea’s work, although applied to different fields, is technically related to the work I do. Andrea’s contributions in the field are relevant. In fact, his technical abilities are recognized internationally through his publications. His work on “Reconstruction of a Real World Social Network using the Potts Model and Loopy Belief Propagation” builds an interdisciplinary bridge between physics and social sciences. I personally encourage more interdisciplinary research since the scientific community often operates in silos. The proposed methodology might have important implications for future research.
I have had the pleasure of knowing Andrea also personally. Andrea is a committed, reliable team player. He deeply cares about the work he does and his contributions have been outstanding. He is also a very nice person, very easy to interact with. Moreover, Andrea works well in groups and while he does listen to other people’s opinion, he is also ready to defend his ideas.
Overall, I am very confident that Andrea will be successful in his endeavors. I strongly support his job market application and I am available to provide more information should you need it.
I believe Andre will be an amazing asset for your company. Sincerely,
Celso Brunetti
Chief, Systemic Financial Institutions and Markets Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System