Others

Writing letters of recommendation is part of a faculty member’s responsibilities, and I am happy to write letters for students and postdocs who are motivated, dedicated, and well-prepared.

When requesting a letter, please carefully follow the instructions written by Vakil.

For students I do not know well, I will arrange a brief in-person conversation to assess their background and understanding before deciding whether I can write a meaningful letter.

I am not so familiar with universities in Japan, but I may be able to help you to some extent. To apply for graduate schools in Japan, I would recommend you to collect information early, say from September, because deadlines can be in October or November. In Japan, the academic year usually starts in April rather than September although some top universities accept entrance in September. In general, I would suggest you to use VPN and Google to collect information about graduate schools.

For instance, you can first refer to informative websites by Prof. Yamazaki, Watari and Hamaguchi at University of Tokyo.

I know some theoretical and mathematical physicists in Japan in the field of string theory, quantum field theory, and quantum topology/geometry. I may be able to give you some useful information about applications for studying theoretical and mathematical physics in Japan. You can contact me if you are interested.