August 15, 2003

I am a Product Manager at Invitrogen Corporation, a leading supplier of products for molecular biology research. Reid Hankins was the lead programmer on a software project I managed from March to June 2003. I would like to give him the highest recommendation possible and to describe his outstanding performance in detail so that his future clients will understand the benefits that his programming and project management expertise will bring to their projects.

Reid was hired by Invitrogen's IT department to work on an entirely new type of project that would bridge several different disciplines and departments. The objective of the project was to create a new online bioinformatics application that would allow customers to input their lab's DNA sequences to order Invitrogen's products. Thus, development of the application required knowledge of professional software development, web programming for global compatibility (multiple browsers and operating systems), bioinformatics, quality control, and e-commerce. We were fortunate that Reid had expertise in all but one of these areas, because these skills are very wide-ranging. The only area in which Reid didn't have a background was bioinformatics, and he was able to 'translate' the requirements for this portion of the application into professionally developed software. Reid's proactive nature and his consistent attention to detail assured that this transfer of information was highly successful. As a result, the finished application, OligoPerfect™, launched June 11th. In the first two months that the application was online, it had over 3,800 visitors and was Invitrogen's 4th most popular URL. Despite the high number of visitors, absolutely no complaints were logged by our technical services department during this time.

I am certain that the OligoPerfect™ application was robust because Reid's wide range of technical and project management skills allowed him to oversee all aspects of development and integration. In addition, we were able to meet all deadlines because Reid facilitated communication between all parties involved, ensuring that he was able to obtain the information he needed and that others understood their responsibilities. Because of his experience, he was able to understand the scope of the project and to set expectations accordingly, which is important to every project but a skill that is hard to find in a software developer.

In conclusion, I give Reid my highest recommendation as a software developer and project manager, and I would be eager to employ him on any software project I am involved with in the future. I would be happy to speak with anyone who is interested in hearing more about his capabilities.

Sincerely,

Mary A. Canady
Product Manager
Invitrogen Corporation