Dear Prof. Nelson,

We are writing to you in our capacity as the Search Committee of the Department of Theoretical Physics at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. We seek your suggestions for candidates in the areas of condensed matter theory/statistical physics for faculty positions in our Department. Our goal is to identify outstanding scientists who can play a leading role in their field.

We would be interested in candidates working in a broad range of areas including (but not limited to) ``hard'' condensed matter physics, ``soft'' condensed matter physics, biologically motivated problems, complex systems, nonequilibrium statistical mechanics, computational condensed matter physics, and novel applications of statistical mechanics ideas such as econophysics, networks and so on. Some of these areas are not currently represented in our department, but we would be happy to grow in those directions if an appropriate candidate with leadership potential can be identified.

The Department of Theoretical Physics at the Tata Institute offers an extremely conducive research environment with minimal teaching responsibilities, access to generous research funding and excellent computing infrastructure.

Our positions are open to scientists of all nationalities, but experience indicates that only scientists of Indian origin or with a strong connection to India tend to seriously consider a faculty position at the Tata Institute.

Your general impression of each candidate would be valuable to us at this stage, and we may also contact you at a later stage for a formal recommendation letter. Please note that we are open to considering exceptional candidates in any area of theoretical physics and at any time in the future.

We thank you in advance for your assistance,

Sincerely,

Profs. Kedar Damle, Amol Dighe, Sunil Mukhi (Convenor), Sandip Trivedi

(Search Committee, Department of Theoretical Physics Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India)