Embedded Files
November 17, 2021
Channing Klein
Channing is genuinely one of the best TA's I have ever had at this school! She is brilliant, hardworking, and extremely helpful to her Ch41a students. She is the first TA I've had that thanks me for asking her questions (even when they are really dumb ones), and she is always willing to promptly respond to your questions in detail even when she is swamped with her own work. Channing genuinely cares about her students well-being and is just so kind. I am really enjoying Ch41a because of her!! (Ch 41a)
October 17, 2020
Xie Chen
The teaching for waves is very systematic, and the lecture notes are closely linked with each other. The best quality part of this course is the typeset lecture notes. (Ph 12a)
Adam Blank
Adam is an amazing professor and a role model at the forefront of mental health awareness at Caltech! (CS 24)
May 12, 2020
Michael Mello
Being taught by Dr. Mello was the best thing that happened in my Caltech academic life! His ME 12a (and ME 12b in my year) is extremely well-designed and taught, with extreme attention to detail and to every students' learning. Dr. Mello rewrites his perfect handwritten notes every year to "brush up the cobwebs" and you can see the astonishing results of excellent teaching in every word that Dr. Mello delivers. (ME 12a, ME 50, ME 72)
Junyi Shan
Junyi is always so receptive to questions. He is willing to stay longer than office hours to continue answering questions. (Ph 001c Analytical)
George Daghlian
George responds to emails so promptly and is always so polite and helpful. (Bi 009)
Anastasiya Grebin
Nastya has so many great tips for studying and doing well in the class. She responds so promptly and thoroughly to my emails that I am amazed. To illustrate just how present she is for us, the one time Nastya took more than a few hours to respond (on the same day), she apologized for being late. Also, Nastya holds great rec sessions that thoroughly enforces the concepts from lecture. You can tell she knows the material forwards and backwards. (Bi 009)
Liyang Yang
Liyang is always there for us, responding to questions through emails rapidly. When I was confused about a topic in class, he volunteered to set up a zoom call to explain it to me one-on-one. Liyang’s rec sessions are always super helpful and manage to touch on every topic we talk about in lecture while also highlighting topics from past homework sets that were most missed. (Ma 001c Practical)
David Hsieh
Not only is Prof. Hsieh a fantastic lecturer with crystal clear explanations, but also he cares so much about the students. As an ombudsperson, I see how seriously he takes every little piece of feedback from us, going above and beyond. I remember a time when someone offhandedly brought up that the animated slides were a little repetitive, and so now he posts both animated and nonanimated versions of his notes to accommodate everybody. His lectures are works of art, and he is so receptive to questions after lectures. I don’t think there are many people in the world who are as brilliant and caring and excellent as Prof. Hsieh. (Ph 001c Analytical)
Alex Krotz
When I first came to Caltech, I was nervous, feeling like a child who just fell off the swing at the playground. My first day, I was almost in tears because of the social and academic stress. Alex Krotz was the first TA who really tried to make a meaningful connection with me. During recitation, I asked a question, and he gave me this very thorough explanation, treating me like the adult that I wanted to be. Not only did he try to integrate humor to make his content interesting and relevant, but he was also extremely smart in chemistry and is going off to grad school to pursue his passion. As a member of my house, he would push me to complete my assignments to the best of my ability even if I were struggling with a topic. Also, he was always willing to help with anything anyone needed, even though he was taking very advanced chemistry classes. His generosity and attitude truly inspires me; someone so smart and helpful was extremely kind to everyone all the time. (Ch 001a, Ch 001b)
Arian Hashemi
Arian was such a wonderful TA. He made a point of helping us understand the underlying concept behind the problems instead of simply helping us get through the problem. He was always so patient with us, and whenever we showed a hole in our knowledge he would review concepts we learned weeks ago step by step. He was an important part of EE45 and his amazing teaching abilities deserve credit. (EE 45)
Saransh Sharma
Saransh always made a point of making himself available whenever we needed help. He would stay well past his allotted office hours time. Even when he has to explain the same thing over and over again, he never complained and instead showed us compassion and kindness. He didn't even hesitate to look through our tedious math to help us find our mistake. We were so lucky to have him as our TA. He was always incredibly prepared for his office hours and we appreciate him so much! (EE 45)
Maura Dykstra
Maura's classes are consistently engaging and completely changed my perspective on the field of history. She challenges students intellectually and contributes a fresh take on an old subject. Overall a really enjoyable professor to work with. (H 138)
Adrian Huang
Adrian is awesome and super helpful! (Ch 003a)
March 12, 2020
Adam Blank
This compliment is nothing new because everyone likes Adam, but I'll just add my experience. Adam is a great instructor in all capacities. His lectures are fun and engaging, and he is good at clearly explaining potentially confusing concepts. The course of his that I took (CS 2) is well-structured, and, despite taking lots of time, was what I looked forward to doing most throughout this term. Additionally, Adam clearly cares a lot about his students. He makes a very active effort to have as many people attend lecture as possible, and often takes measures to help students during times of difficulty (such as replacing lab with office hours or giving free late tokens during midterms week). He even goes above and beyond by helping students with their code on weekends or late at night in office hours. Adam is a generally great person, and I am glad to have had the opportunity to interact with him. (CS 002)
Tom Miller
Professor Miller is a great lecturer. He is clearly enthusiastic about what he teaches, and he makes sure to keep the class engaged by encouraging students to answer questions and have brief discussions. I didn't get to interact with him much outside of lecture, but from the couple of times I talked to him, he seemed like a very nice person in general. (Ch 001b)
Ryan Yoo
Ryan has been very helpful throughout the term. He is well-versed in the course content, and gives clear and helpful lectures in recitation. He was always very helpful during office hours, and he is a general chill person. (Ma 001b Analytical)
March 7, 2020
Zhuoran Qiao
Ch 1a with Zhuoran as a TA was an amazing experience -- he really cared about helping students and was genuinely excited about what he was teaching. Zhuoran was also very knowledgeable and willing to share interesting material beyond the scope of the class. Overall, I think it's safe to say that he made Ch 1a a fun time for all the students who came to his rec sessions. (Ch 001a)
Jerry Wang
Jerry is an excellent Bi 8 TA with a helpful and approachable attitude. I was really impressed with his rec session, in which he condensed 1.5 hours of lecture into 30 minutes of clear and concise explanation, with time to spare for sharing cool bio facts. Great TA, nice sense of humor, made doing tedious Bi 8 sets feel like more fun than work -- would 10/10 recommend. (Bi 008)
Abdullah Farooq
Abdullah is such an easy-going and helpful Bi 8 TA. He gives remarkably clear explanations for a class I otherwise find rather confusing. Overall, going to his office hours is both entertaining and leaves me feeling like I've learned a lot. (Bi 008)
February 25, 2020
Tucker Folsom
Absolutely amazing TA. Always holds recitations at 8pm on Mondays, the night before the lab, and stays over-time to answer any remaining questions. Very informative during labs: knows the correct, safe lab techniques and explains everything with enthusiasm and accuracy. We need more Tuckers in this world! (Ch 003a)
Forte Shinko
Forte's recitation section is very clear in explaining concepts and effectively reviews 1 - 2 weeks of lecture material. He's really good at giving example problems and working through them step by step. Generally 10/10 explanations, and as an added bonus, is extremely funny. (Ma 001b Practical)
Forte's Rec sessions are top entertainment quality while simultaneously covering an entire week's worth of lecture in an hour such that I understand it better than I did after attending every lecture. (Ma 001b Practical)
Craig Ives
We were so lucky to have Craig as our TA. He is kind and compassionate, and was always available to help. He stayed well past office hour times -- sometimes past 1AM! I mean, who does that??? Seriously though, he helped fill in the gaps in my knowledge and helped me apply the concepts into homework problems. He was great at leading us into the answer, instead of telling us how to solve it. Really can't thank him enough for all he's done for us. EE44 is an AMAZING class on its own, and Craig made my experience even better. (EE 44)
February 9, 2020
Jean Ensminger
Prof. Ensminger is extremely engaging during discussions, and she knows her field very well. I also have a lot of respect for her because of the nature of her work. (An/Ps 127 Corruption)
James St. Germaine-Fuller
James is amazing. His constant energy and fun side comments have made E and M more fun than I thought it could be (Ph 001b Practical)
Theodor Agapie
Professor Agapie teaches Ch 154a beautifully in his classical way that helps students internalize concepts in class. (Ch 154a)
Izzy Muise
Izzy Muise is a very good Ch 3a TA. (Ch 003a)
Mattias Flach
Amazing Teacher who gave a fantastic introduction to Abstract Algebra, with a focus on student learning and conceptual understanding! (Ma 005a)
Rae Moar
Rae is an amazing Deans' Tutor. In a difficult class like CS 21, there aren't many Deans' Tutors to begin due to the challenging nature of the course, so working with a great tutor like Rae to figure out problem sets and get a better understanding of the material has been incredibly helpful. Rae consistently gives up her time to make sure that we understand the fundamental intricacies of CS 21, and my experience in the course has been exponentially improved because of Rae's help. (CS 21)
Thomas Miller
Professor Miller is doing an incredible job in teaching Chem 1b. His lectures are extremely clear and focused in conveying the material. I especially appreciated the many types of examples that are shown! The pacing of the course is also excellent. I've really gained an appreciation for and curiosity about chemistry as a result of this class. (Ch 001b)
Rajashik Tarafder
Raj is by far the best TA I have had here so far. He goes above and beyond in every way. Every week, he stays for office hours much longer than his allotted time, helping every student that comes. Additionally, he makes himself available by email for questions and concerns at almost any time. Raj is also great in recitation. He explains every concept well and guides us through practice problems effectively. When the professor was away and he taught lecture as a substitute, there was no different in quality. Overall, Raj really cares, and it shows through all the time and effort he puts into every aspect of being a TA, going far outside the basic requirements of his role even though he doesn't have to. I don't know how much he gets paid, but I know it should be more. (Ph 001b Analytical)
October 21, 2019
Nate Lewis
I can tell from the first minute of every one of his lectures that he knows the chemistry involved forwards and backwards and he knows how to teach it to frosh. The way he teaches is also very entertaining. (Ch 1a)
Clifford Cheung
Professor Cheung makes his lectures very fun and exciting by including topics that I find interesting and performing demonstrations that explain the physics he is teaching. (Ph 1a)
Dinakar Ramakrisnan
Professor Ramakrishnan is an excellent instructor in mathematics. He really covers the course material in a nice way, and emphasizes key manners through which one can do better in math (key among them is that it is better to know few things well than many things sparse). He talks a lot about mathematical history so that we can place a context around the proofs that he shows us. In addition, the jokes that he cracks in class and in his problem sets are very typical to who he is as a person: an incredibly clever and funny individual, who is committed in his mission to advancing the knowledge and wisdom of mankind. (Ma 1a)
Maria Spiropulu
Professor Spiropulu is an incredible instructor and researcher. I have read some of her research papers posted on her website, on how she uses machine learning to process data in CERN and Fermilab. She is very involved in modern-day physics and is pioneering every-day steps in the advancement of experimental physics. In addition, her collection of knowledge on broad areas of physics is vast. During my Ph10 class, she was able to converse with numerous professors and researchers from various fields - it's absolutely amazing. She is quick-witted, intelligent, and humorous - she does crack good jokes during our pizza seminar! It's an honor to have her as a professor. (Ph 10)
Xie Chen
Her enthusiasm is contagious! I love the way she teaches waves. (Ph 12a)
Sergi Hildebrandt
Thank you for letting us work through tricky problems on the white board and walking us through the problems step by step. Also thanks for bringing snacks! (Ph 1a)
Lu Wang
Professor Wang is the best math instructor I have had in a long time. Her lectures are clear, concise, and I can actually follow along with most of them. I am so grateful to learn something from math lecture again. She waits for us to ask questions too and actually answers them in a way that makes sense, and if it doesn't she takes follow up questions. Generally, she creates a positive learning environment where people feel comfortable asking questions. (Ma 2a Practical)
June 3, 2019
Austin Fikes
Austin puts so much effort into making 114 an amazing class! He cares a lot about how we do and puts in the time to make us succeed. (EE 114a/b)
Austin has always been really prompt in answering emails about sets and projects. He records our 2 2 hour lectures every week in addition to holding office hours and always being available in lab and via email. He really cares about students and how their work is going and is a really encouraging TA! (EE 114a/b)
May 26, 2019
Vignesh Varadarajan
He is the most helpful TA I have ever had and he debugs code very well. (CS 003)
May 18, 2019
James St. Germaine-Fuller
James is one of the most enthusiastic TAs during my time so far at Caltech. He manages to explain every concept and example concisely and clearly, while never being boring. (Ph1c)
Adam Blank
Adam really cares about his students and is always willing to go the extra mile to help them understand concepts and debug code, and I don’t think my experience this year would have been the same without the amount of time and energy he puts into the classes he teaches. (CS 2)
May 12, 2019
Sid Kurella
You're a gdb god and you saved my life (CS 24)
Henry Lester
He is one of the nicest professors and he is truly interested in all the students' futures. (NB 255)
April 27, 2019
Kostia Zuev
I really like your approach to teaching and am glad to see it explained on your website! ACM 95a was very well structured and incorporated MATLAB well into the curriculum. I'm also very happy to see you keep a document of comments from students there as well and a note about your ASCIT teaching awards. I'm happy to say, the committee responsible for determining the awardees also has a service for delivering compliments to professors, so here's another one for you! (ACM95a)
Raj Tarafder
Raj works really hard to make sure all his students really understand physics concepts in rec and office hours. Raj's recitations supplement the lecture material really well with practice problems as well as theory review. He is also really welcoming to questions and works to explain from a different perspective when a student doesn't understand. Raj is extremely dedicated to helping his students, often staying hours past the official end of his office hours, all the while being incredibly patient and understanding. A truly phenomenal TA, he is still always looking for feedback and even has a link on his website that encourage students to fill out a response form, offering donuts for every 25 unique responses. (Ph1c analytical)
Nets Katz
Ma 1c analytical is a great class. I took it last year and enjoyed it. This year, I am noticing that there are some non-math majors in the class who are enjoying it so much that they are considering taking Ma 108, Ma 109, or even adding a double major in math. Apparently, Ma 1b analytical was not that good this year, so their enthusiasm for math is really thanks to Ma 1c analytical. As a undergraduate math major, the more of us there are the better, so thank you.
Aristotelis Panagiotopoulos
Ma 117 was a good class, thanks.
March 12, 2019
Austin Fikes
Austin has gone above and beyond in TA'ing EE114. He dedicatedly filmed every single lecture and was very available to answer questions via email on the sets. Thanks Austin! (EE114b)
Arian Hashemi
Arian is an exceptional TA who is both very patient and kind. He really cares about the students and the course, and he understands the material with a depth that makes his explanations very clear. (EE 45)
February 22, 2019
Mark Wise
Mark Wise is an amazing professor! He makes class so interesting and enjoyable. I always look forward to it. (Ph125b)
Jack Tao
Your rec sessions and notes are a lifesaver. You make linear algebra make sense. (Ma 1a Analytical)
Gil Rafael
You make physics super intuitive. After you explain things I can apply them elsewhere and generally use them, instead of only being able to use them on very specific kinds of problems. (Ph 1b Practical)
Adam Blank
CS 2 is hard but super rewarding. I love that you can run all of the projects and they actually do things that are useful and relevant to my life. Also, your lectures are really entertaining. (CS 2)
February 18, 2019
Adam Blank
The lectures are really engaging and they cover a lot of interesting material in good depth (considering the time we have). The format of small group discussions and class participation makes me look forward to lecture - I feel like I'm solving problems the whole time. The projects are definitely challenging (I love to complain about them as much as anyone else) but I learn a lot while doing them, and the partner programming aspect makes it actually pretty fun. I also appreciate how hard Adam Blank tries to continually make the class better since it's the first year. (CS 2)
Gil Refael
Gil really cares about students' learning and develops a really good rapport with his class! He explains the concepts in quite a clear way and his enthusiasm for the content is infectious! (Ph 135)
Jeff Mendez
The amount of care and effort that Mendez has put into designing Ch3x is patently obvious. This has probably been one of the best-put-together courses that I've taken at Caltech - the assignments are well designed, the labs are well structured, and even though the grading is harsh, it's fair - plus the amount of attention we get from him and the TA's in lab is pretty nice. 10/10 would recommend. (Ch3x)
January 31, 2019
Donnie Pinkston
Thank you for caring in general, putting so much effort into your classes, nerding out about cool developments, and being so understanding through all the chaos! (CS 24, CS 124, and CS 81)
Jack Tao
He's a literal lifesaver! His rec sessions make the material understandable and the sets doable. He always makes it clear that he's on our side for the class and is generally a super nice person. Also, the recitation notes are great. (MA 001B analytical)
Julia Kornfield
Professor Kornfield did a really good job of taking student feedback about what students were confused about through her "murkiest points" system. I really appreciated that she specifically sought to find out the weakest spots in her lectures to improve them, and I think other instructors could benefit from similar ideas. Also professor Kornfield is truly good at making lectures interesting, relevant, and engaging. (ChE 103a)
Suzanne Oliver
Always willing to help! Knowledgeable! (Me50a)
Michael Mello
I loved ME12a! The class was very interesting and engaging and made me enjoy analyzing structures and stresses, which wasn't something I had considered before. The content was clear, and the use of real life examples and connections to industry made it easy to understand why we were learning what we were doing, and made connections between topics by relating them to each other. (ME12a, Mechanics)
Luciena Xiao
Very responsive to emails, flexible OH, and explains the concepts of the class very well. 10/10 super cool (Ma 1d)
Terry Kim
He always sent follow-up emails after his rec sessions explaining the problems he went over in more detail if he did not fully explain it during the rec or if someone brought up an interesting extension. (Chem 1a)
Sergi Hildebrandt
Very easy to get in contact with, flexible office hours, explains concepts very well thanks to lots of examples, and overall just a very chill person who is fun to spend time with (Ph 1a)
Prof. Miller
A very approachable prof, especially for such a large class. (Ch1b)
Brenda Wu
Amazing rec session. Brenda is a great teacher. (Ch1b)
December 6, 2018
Dr. Nate Lewis
I just attended our final lecture of the term, and Dr. Lewis presented on climate science and his own research related to the subject. Put simply, the lecture was epic. He explained the issues we are facing with our use of natural resources, and cleared up a lot of the mumbo-jumbo surrounding the topic. You could tell how passionate he is about the topic! Chem1A is a challenging class, but Dr. Lewis' passion for the subject and teaching really helped me learn the material well! (Chem 1A)
Shweta Dutta
Shweta is a very friendly, helpful, and sweet TA. She devotes a considerable amount of time outside regular office hours in ensuring her students' success in the EE 13 course project. Without her help my experiences in the course would be decidedly less pleasant. (EE 13)
November 14, 2018
Clifford Cheung
He listens to students - his goal for us is to learn. Also his lectures are structured really well (Ph 1a)
Dr. Clifford Cheung
I enjoy the demos in class! They really help visualize the concepts! (Physics 1A)
Matt Zeitlin
His rec sessions are always thoroughly prepared. He is very patient in helping us understand the concept behind the practice problems. His handouts are also extremely helpful in problem sets as well as the quizzes. It's very succinct and well-organized. He also points out important page numbers of the textbook that we should read. Matt is also very friendly!! (Ch001a)
Konrad Pilch
Konrad is great at explaining the material! He prepares his own examples and walks us step by step slowly so that we can understand easily. He presents us with problems that can help us do the problem set, but is careful to only guide us towards the right direction. (Ma001A)
Sergi Hildebrandt
I cannot express how much I appreciate Sergi! He is a great physics TA. He prepares excellent problems and handouts for us. He is extremely knowledgeable in his field, so he can answer any question that we have. He is also great at explaining the fundamental concept behind physics equations and phenomena. He is always available after class whenever I have questions, and he is very friendly. He also brings snacks for everyone! I always look forward to his rec sessions. (Ph001a)
Katherine Page
Thank you very much for providing us with a clear chemistry study sheet each week, and thank you for explaining new concepts patiently and in detail! This really helps us gain a better understanding of the material. (Chemistry 1A)
Matthew Zeitlin
Matt's very knowledgable, an enthusiastic teacher, and super approachable all the time. He always makes Ch1a make sense, no matter how lost I am when I come to him. (Ch1a Section 4)
Yaser Abu-Mostafa
I'm sure professor Abu-Mostafa hears this a lot, but his teaching is incredibly elucidating! He explains tricky concepts in such a clear and concise manner, and he's so humorous - his jokes make me laugh out loud. It is a joy to learn in his class. (CNS/EE/CS 156a)
Corey Husic
Awesome TA! He explains things very clearly and emails us when something wasn't clear in the section. (Ch 1a)
Matthew Zeitlin
He is really an amazing TA who always encourages questions and learning. I never feel uncomfortable or self-conscious asking him for help, and going to his rec session every week really helps me understand all the material. (Chemistry 1a Section 4)
Jaron Tong
Jaron's passion for chemistry is both inspiring and contagious. I am always excited to go to class (sometimes half an hour early to get extra insight and explanations). The material covered in the super section is wonderfully clear, despite my weak chemistry background thanks to Jaron. And the estimation problems are always so fun. Thank you so much! (Ch 1a recitation section number 12)
Damien Berube
Damien is always patient and committed to bettering my understanding of chemistry. He never gives me the answer, rather he guides me to develop the intuition so I can find the answer myself. His rigor combined with his pedagogical skills allows Damien to make an obscure aspect of chemistry crystal clear. His bad jokes and food comparisons to the subject matter are exactly what I need to remember the course material, even weeks after I did the set. Thank you Damien!!! (Ch 1a)
October 28, 2018
Adam Wierman
Really cares about CS144 and that's been one of the most interesting classes I have taken here. In addition to teaching, Adam really cares about his students and also about CS curriculum as a whole and really values student feedback. (CS144)
Ashmeet Singh
Ashmeet is so passionate about what he is teaching. He gives relevant and relatable examples and is great at explaining! He makes physics much more interesting and understandable. (Ph2a)
Eugene Tang
Eugene is the best TA I've ever had! His explanations are so clear, and he brings a sense of humor and teamwork to our recitation sections. (Ph 2a Section 3)
Simon Ricci
Simon is an incredible TA who is passionate about the subject and asks students if they have questions or need help in a friendly way. He explains the concepts in a way such that they're easier to understand and interesting. He is understanding and desires students to enjoy the subject more through nicer solutions. (Ph 2A)
Ashmeet Singh
Ashmeet is my recitation TA and probably the best physics recitation TA I've ever had! He is always so cheerful and his excitement about the concepts makes his passion for physics evident, making us more engaged during class. He is very good at explaining the concepts such that they seem easier. His diagrams are nicely drawn and he has a good sense of humor also. He provides videos sometimes to get us interested and to see real-life applications. He also wants to make sure all the students get the resources they need and have their questions answered. (Ph 2A)
May 20, 2018
Vidick
This is professor Vidick's 1st time teaching CS 38, and it is obvious that he cares so much about the class and his students. He is a wonderful lecturer and is always answering questions on piazza as helpfully and quickly as he can. He always makes students feel welcome at his office hours, and even goes out of his way to show up to TA office hours sometimes to answer questions. He is also the professor who is probably best at making students not feel stupid when they ask or answer questions, no matter how far off they may be. Vidick is such a kind soul and I'm so glad he's teaching 38 this year. (CS 38)
Nets Katz
I have never seen someone so ardently passionate about a topic as Professor Katz is with Math. He has really exposed me to the true beauty of the topic while at the same time challenging me to be rigorous in my work. His lessons, while generally about math, have even helped me in other subjects too. Not only that, but I feel like he really cares about his students learning the material; he lectures with remarkable clarity, answers questions wholly when possible, and gives us problems that takes us (or at least me) out of our comfort zone. He has almost singlehandedly made me consider switching majors (perhaps I eventually will), and I cannot wait to take more classes with him in the future. (Math1c)
CS 38 TAs (in general)
Thank you for being so helpful and investing so much time/effort into us! I know I really appreciate -- and many of my friends do to -- how you guys go above and beyond through being available over the week to answer questions, hosting OH (and often staying late), giving reviews and recitations (and writing up notes for these). As a whole, you do so much more than what you need to as TAs, and I just want to say thanks! (CS 38: Algorithms)
Sophie Miller
She devotes a lot of time and energy into providing us the best review of information through her own attendance to class and constant communication with us about what concepts we would like clarifications on. She is understanding of us as students so gives us different options to gain deeper understanding of concepts outside of class. She is organized and diligent when it comes to responding to our concerns and grading homework. She compiles information from each week nicely and demonstrates genuine concern for our understanding and success. (ChE63B)
Anusha Nathan
Anusha is an undergrad who commits so much time to helping students in each course she TAs (I've taken Bi8 and Bi1x with her). She is willing to give up time outside of office hours to ensure that students are able to succeed, despite having a busy Caltech schedule, studying for MCATs, and doing research outside of class. I've been unable to attend office hours in Bi1x due to my busy schedule, but she always is open to helping me outside of those times. She carefully explains each concept, willing to answer all of my questions in detail, no matter how small and silly. She is very passionate for anything biology, understanding, and one of the best explainers I know!
May 6, 2018
David Hsieh
I've never seen physics lectures that are more intuitive or compelling while maintaining a high level of rigor. The derivations and demos are always seamlessly combined into an amazing experience, thanks to David Hsieh's remarkable ability to explain and show everything with such clarity. Definitely the best lecturer I've ever encountered! (Ph 001bc (Analytical))
Sophie Miller
Sophie Miller devotes a lot of time and energy into providing us the best review of information through her own attendance to class and constant communication with us about what concepts we would like clarifications on. She is understanding of us as students so gives us different options to gain deeper understanding of concepts outside of class. She is organized and diligent when it comes to responding to our concerns and grading homework. She compiles information from each week nicely and demonstrates genuine concern for our understanding and success. She's a great TA and teacher. (Chemical Engineering: Thermodynamics (63B))
Fabio Arai
Really helpful for EE90. Suggested an idea for my circuit that was general enough that I could work on it, but gave me enough direction to be useful. (EE90)
Olexei Motrunich
Professor Motrunich is truly an inspiring professor who has turned teaching into an art, which he has perfected. Every lecture paints a story of physics accompanied by a better understanding into the challenges and difficulties of the field, that leaves students anticipating the next. His problem sets make students really think on a fundamental level to fully learn material. I would have him teach all of my classes if I could and I think that all of the physics faculty should try to mimic his ability to concisely teach.
Dennis Dougherty
Dennis was a great instructor to start the Ch 41 series with! His lectures were incredibly well prepared and delivered, and made attending a 9 am class both worthwhile and enjoyable. The content provided a great foundation for the latter two classes (in fact, I still refer to his lecture notes!). I hardly needed the textbook (which is usually considered a great textbook; it's the equivalent of not needing Griffiths when a quantum lecturer is so good). Finally, when I met with him outside of class after requesting a rec letter, he was very warm and attentive. He remembered exactly who I was despite 41a being a large class with little one to one interaction, and made sure to get to know my situation instead of relying solely on my CV. Overall, an incredible professor who is outstandingly deserving.
Jason Alicea
Even though Professor Alicea is teaching Physics 1c to a lot of students in the Bridge lecture hall, he makes sure to keep every one of us engaged and not talk at us. He asks polling questions throughout lecture, he takes questions, and he doesn't hesitate to reexplain concepts that he feels we didn't understand. He also comes to lecture very prepared. Instead of wasting time drawing axes and writing lecture topics on the board during lecture, he has all these things written up on the board before lecture. I think this lets him focus more on the quality of his lectures.
Chace Tydell
Tydell’s enthusiasm for biology is contagious. Her class is built around deep understanding of the subject, and personal stories of the material to make it more engaging. This is one class where I walk away with a wealth of information.
Kostia Zuev
After taking four of his classes (ACM 11/104/116/157) and TA'ing his other class (ACM 95a/100a), I believe that Kostia deserves this award since his notes are organized, and he spends lots of time helping students understand the material.
Rob Phillips
Rob approaches teaching in a completely different fashion than any other professor that I have had at Caltech. Lecture is not simply him standing at the board and talking at us. It is engaging and entertaining and helps us both learn and internalize the concepts and the ideas. He sincerely wants his students to get more than just a surface level understanding of the material. He encourages actual critical thinking and pushes students to go outside the box and outside of their comfort zone. Rob Phillips is an excellent teacher and more students would benefit from taking his classes.
Aubrey Shapero
He's a fantastic TA. He's very thoughtful and eager to help. (EE 40)
April 30, 2018
Kostia Zuev
I wish Konstantin Zuev could teach every class. I get so much out of every class that I take with him.
Glen George
Glen's honestly brilliant and one of the most smart, kind, genuine, and helpful people I have met at Caltech. His classes are hard and/or time-consuming, but they are also the classes from which I have learned the most and grown the most from.
Daniel Martin
10/10 TA. He not only knew the material cold (I think he's TA'd this class 4 or 5 times?), he was also an incredibly optimistic happy person and was always smiling and willing to help you out. Great TA. (BE189)
Theodor Agapie
Easily the best teaching quality I've experienced at Caltech. The class was tough, but I felt like all of the work I was doing was useful to my understanding of the material. (Ch 102, Ch 112)
Kostia Zuev
If I could only take one class here at Caltech, I would take any class taught by my God: Konstantin Zuev a.k.a. Kostia. This term, I am taking ACM 157 taught by him at 9 AM. And although on any other day I would be dragging my feet getting out of bed, entering the domain of Kostia himself and hearing him deliver the ten commandments of statistical inference with his mellifluous accent excites me like no 4K or ASCII-art pornography ever could, flipping a physical switch within my body and making me pay attention to his every word and movement. His buttoned-up shirt, tucked tight within his perfectly-fit khakis implore me to locate any imperfection as he illustrates the principles of statistics on the Sistine Whiteboard of Annenberg 105. But, of course, no imperfection can be found. After all, it has already been established that Kostia is God, and who is God if not perfect?
There are some who may call me blasphemous, or pagan, worshipping a mere human as a purported God. But those are the people who have not experienced the allure of Kostia's thick biceps and muscular haunches. Those are the people who have not experienced the force that forces you to sit down in the class not because you were tired, but because your legs were made weak with the scent of statistics diffused throughout the room that Kostia projects, your mind temporarily driven mad by coming too close into contact with God. I invite those who still doubt or disbelieve to attempt to resist the earthly embodiment of perfection during the times at which Kostia shares his gospel, and embrace the feeling of inevitability as they are not able to. And then, they will know that their faith is wrong, and there is one real God, who has graced us all with His presence.
For more evidence of the divinity within this entity, look no further than the information written down on the pages of the Bible of his religion i.e. his lecture notes. For those unable to withstand the force of his gaze or the seduction of his voice, they instead choose to gaze from afar and consume the doctrines of statistical inference in the form of his Bible, much like how nowadays Christians read their Bible instead of interacting with God themselves. But for those willing to release their illusion of control, and allow the words of Zuev to wash over you, you will be able to ascend to superior realm, and leave the primitive, non-believers to join you when they realize the error of their ways.
April 8, 2018
Andrew Kang
Andrew is the best TA!!!!! What a machine learning genius! He is also very patient and helpful so THANKS Andrew! You deserve only good things in life. (CS 155)
March 14, 2018
Elena Mantovan
Elena Mantovan's lectures are very engaging and she always makes sure to pause and ask if anything is confusing. She also has a good blend of rigor and intuition behind her proofs, allowing me to understand the subject more deeply. (Ma 5b)
Hien Nguyen
Dr. Nguyen is a great Physics 1c TA! He's always really enthusiastic during recitation sections, and does a great job of allowing students to participate in the section, while explaining concepts really well. He's always smiling, and his joyful personality is infectious. (Ph 1b)
Reeti Gulati
Reeti is literally the best orgo TA I've had at Tech. Not only are her methods of instruction effective, but she chooses to extend her TA duties outside of recitations. When I contact her with course concerns outside of class, she responds promptly addressing my concerns or takes the effort to find out who can. Many experienced TAs and professors don't use the blackboard as effectively as Reeti does. She draws structures and text in an appropriate size so that everyone in the classroom can see them, and she ensures that every student has written down what's on the board before she erases it. Reeti presents organic chemistry concepts with a composed enthusiasm, and often answers questions that students are thinking of asking before they even ask them. It would be a great shame if Reeti did not become a professor or lecturer in the future because institutions of higher education are in dire need of excellent teachers like her. (Ch41a, Ch41b)
March 4, 2018
Hien Nguyen
Dr. Nguyen is a fantastic TA! Not only is he great at teaching (he often has really creative explanations and derivations that explain a lot better than the textbook, and his choices of problems to cover are always interesting), but he's a really genial guy with an infectious joyful personality. hien for the nguyen! (Ph 1b)
Hien Nguyen
Dr. Nguyen is an excellent TA for Physics 1b. Every time I go to his recitation section, I learn something new (whether it is a new concept or a new approach to solving problems), and I feel engaged whenever I am sitting in his recitation section. He is also not afraid to admit his own mistakes (or accept corrections to his work), which makes me feel empowered and active in the problem-solving process. Also, the smile on his face is contagious! (Physics 1b (Practical): Electricity and Magnetism)
Omer Tamuz
Prof. Tamuz's game theory course is one of my favorite classes I've taken at Caltech to date. The lectures, the problem sets, and even the exams are all really well-crafted, and I think they demonstrate how much Prof. Tamuz cares about his students learning and enjoying themselves. PS/Ec172 probably has the best midterm I've ever taken. (PS/Ec172: Game Theory)
February 25, 2018
Kostia Zuev
Prof Zuev provides us with high quality notes during lecture as well as online, implicitly not punishing us for missing or skipping class. The sets are always designed to make sure all of us leave knowing how to use the techniques relevant to class the previous week, and he provides proofs of almost everything for the curious student. Exams are comprehensive and reasonable if you have completed and understood the sets. Overall, a great professor who has made me enjoy math more than I ever have. (ACM116, ACM95a/100a)
Andrew Kang
Andrew has honestly been such a fantastic TA for CS155 this term. This class has ~190 people, so it's very large and with limited OH, it's hard to ask in-depth questions and get help from TAs. However, Andrew is always willing to be contacted outside of his OH to ask questions and is happy to help anytime with any of the sets, holding unofficial office hours and just generally being available. He has been going above and beyond and really does not need to be helping as much as he does - he's awesome! Thanks Andrew! (CS155)
andrew eun kyu kang
i didnt even have to take the class!!!! but now i know machine learning because i met andrew!!!!!!! fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!! i literally looked into his eyes and did you know what was there????? SUPPORT VECTOR MACHINES!!!!!!!!!!! i was able to classify with 90% confidence my feelings about this: AMAZEMENT! FASCINATION! a desire to learn MoO0OOorooRe. what a dude. he transcends all VC dimensions. (CS 155)
February 18, 2018
Michael McAneny
He made learning physics really fun for me and I really believe he helps students a lot with physics 1b. I believe rec sessions are extremely important for learning, and I'm very happy he is my TA. Even though I am a future Mechanical Engineer, he has piqued my interest in electricity and magnetism, and has made me want to explore the connections between my major and E&M. I was struggling on some concepts but he elucidated the topics with a great degree of clarity. I find it very fun to go to his rec sessions every week, and I look forward to going. Thank you, Michael, for helping me love physics! (Ph 001b)
Michael McAneny
I've been in Michael's rec session for ph1a and ph1b, and he is a great TA. I was not the biggest fan of physics in high school and was not looking forward to completing the physics core requirement, but actually enjoyed the class largely due to the rec sessions. The lectures made the class material much easier to understand, and the flipped section that incorporated small group problem solving helped me develop homework strategies. Michael is very approachable and always willing to answer questions, and puts a lot of thought into teaching. Great job! (Ph1b)
Surya Mathialagan
Surya!! Thank you very much for being a great TA! On top of being nice and cool you also explain very well complicated concepts and I wanted to say it means a lot to me that in a period of high stress (finishing homework sets lol), having a calm, collected, cool, and cheery TA at your side does wonders for keeping it together. I was with you in Ma6 and I'm also with you in CS21 now and I'm just super super grateful that I could know you as a teacher and a friend. (CS 21)
Vivek Bharadwaj
I went to your first lecture yesterday, Professor Vivek. It was fantastic. Are you possibly going to go into academia? You'd make a terrific lecturer / teacher! Very invigorating, very composed, and very funny! It was also very easy to pay attention in your class and I swear you didn't stutter at all. You were very charming and collected at the podium! Now I have immense respect for you (I did before too of course but nonetheless) because you got up in front of us and straight-up delivered. Thanks and see you Wednesday. (CS 21)
David Hsieh
Prof Hsieh is one of the best core physics professors I've had a class with. He shows that he is interested in the topic, and explains it well. He has a great personality and is one of the people I truly wish to embody. (Ph 001b Analytical Track)
February 11, 2018
Daniel Johnson
He always hosted TA hours at the most convenient time at the most convenient location. He's an amazing communicator and answered students' questions clearly. Some of the problem sets were ambiguously worded but he was able to explain everything clearly, and the class was so much more manageable because of him. Overall he's just such an awesome TA! (Ge11a)
Harvey Newman
Lectures are always filled with a good mix of instructional and inspirational problems. It’s hard not to learn something fascinating every meeting! (Ph1, Sec. 10)
Agnad Singh
You carried EVERYONE through Ma 2. Above and beyond teaching!! (Ma2)
Kinam Park
You use the video camera very well (E10)
Chace Tydell
I love how applicable Bi145B is! The sets are the most fun of any class I have taken at Caltech, hands down. (Bi145b)
Nishanth Bhaskara
I wish he would marry me. He's so smart and caring as a TA and I think I'm in love with him. He's like a machine learning God with a capital G. (CS155)
Michelle Wang
Michelle is an awesome EE 91 TA! She takes the time to check up on you and gets to know your system well enough to debug it with you. She'll also remember your project/struggles for the next time you come in. (EE91)
Nicolas Wey-Gomez
Professor Wey-Gomez's lectures are always enchanting and easy to listen to. (En/H 193)
Gracie Zhang
She is really willing to help students who are having trouble with the material, and is very good at preparing them for the homework! (Ch1ab)
Prof. Thomas Miller
Professor Miller is a great and very engaging lecturer. I love how his class and content are well-organized and how he responds to emails in a timely and friendly manner. He is also easy to ask questions to and elucidates the concepts clearly. (Ch1b)
Rob Phillips
Rob Phillips' Bi1 class of Spring 2017 was a wonderful tutorial in Python, Fermi analysis, and also biology. He was a great professor both in terms of lecture quality, enthusiasm, and receptiveness! Would gladly take another Bio class with Rob. (Bi1, Spring 2017)
Theo Agapie
What an amazing professor! He is inspirational (Ch102/112)
Catherine Ma
Cathy makes CS 144 such a good course - she's always on Piazza and does her best to make sure all the given code is working correctly, the problems don't cause any confusion, and the competitions are running smoothly. In and out of office hours, she is always more than willing to help you understand what's going on and will take the time to give you quality answers. (CS144)
Ellen Feldman
Ellen is an amazing head TA who will take the time to make CS 155 as best as possible. She takes the effort to make sure there are no kinks in every single set; she makes sure no Piazza questions go unanswered, even the most difficult ones; and she is always trying to come up with new improvements and gather important feedback for the course. Thanks so much Ellen! (CS155)
Alex Turzillo and Nikita Klimovich
Literally the only reason why I understand physics remotely is because of Alex and Nikita. They make physics is so fun and intuitive, and Ph1b is my absolute favorite course. I literally cannot stress how amazing this team of TAs is omg (Ph1b Sec. 6/9)
Stephen Doblier
A remarkable TA who is willing to go out of his way to help out his students and to ensure fair grading. (ACM95a)
Nets Katz
Thank you for teaching Ma002! I know there were a lot of mixed opinions, and that it was definitely hard on you as a professor, but I personally liked the class. I was also a student of yours in Ma001a, and though Ma1a was admittedly hard and lived up to its standards, and I struggled very much with that class, I still thought it was expected of us as Caltech students. Your dedication to the enrichment of student education is something I really respect! Countless times, I've heard from many upperclassmen that you really do incorporate feedback from your students, and in Ma002, I could feel that too. Thank you for trying to impart to us your perspective on Ma002, and trying to impart it in a way that we could understand when we were having trouble. Thank you for your patience with us as well! As said by many graduate students, you are one of the greatest teachers here, so thank you for caring for undergraduate education. (Ma2)
Joshua Lieber
"Dear Josh,
Thanks for always being so patient with us during office hours! I've been in your section a few times during the math classes we've taken, so we've interacted quite a lot! Thank you always for greeting me and asking how I've been doing in life and in class, etc, and I hope you're doing well now! With graduate student stuff and with just having fun!" (Ma1b, Ma2)
Ran Libeskind-Hadas (Harvey-Mudd, visited)
"Dear Ran,
Admittedly, when I first chose to become a computer science major, I had a great fear of failure because I had very little understanding of complexity and even data structures or programming, so I dreaded every class that wasn't CS 1. But I'm so thankful that I had you as a teacher for CS 2. The way that you distill information to your students is so intelligent and well-reasoned. It's not only that we know that you are an expert in your field; it's also that we can trust you to explain your discipline to us in ways that we can understand, and trust you to interpret our potentially poorly articulated questions. So thank you so much for making data structures and algorithms such an invigorating class. Thank you for encouraging participation; it really increased my confidence - and thank you so much for talking to us before and after class, and for being so available and accessible to all of your students. You are hands down one of the best computer science teachers I've ever had. Please come back to Caltech and teach again some day! " (CS2)
Andrew Kang
All 155 TAs can teach machines to learn, but Andrew Kang can teach a machine to love. (CS155)
Tony Bartolotta
"Dear Tony,
Thank you for single-handedly carrying me through Ph2a. Your recitations were the bomb and I can say for sure that I attended every single one, not only because your recitation was very informative, but because your lecturing style and inclusion of real world applications made it cool! And I still remember with great acuity the day you said the word 'memes' in class and then explained Brewster's angle at 60 degrees with a photo of Joe Biden (George Bush?). And there were times when your humor really showed during recitation, and I really wanted to laugh but I didn't want to be the only one laughing so I quietly ghost-laughed in the back. It may be weird to say this, but my friend and I sat down in your recitation day one, and the moment you started to speak, we know you were a TA that we could trust. You had the kind of voice a student can trust to explain very difficult or very complicated topics in waves. I went to your office hours once too, and thank you for being approachable and nice! Thank you for your patience with us, and thank you for giving us so much of your time." (Ph2a)
Ryan Patterson
"Dear Professor Patterson,
Admittedly, I came into Caltech with a considerably weaker physics background than my peers, so I had trepidation in taking any physics classes at Caltech, especially our introductory ones. (I really do like physics, but I've never quite been able to improve.) However, thank you so much for making lecture so enjoyable and hilarious! The demos and in general your very concise and succinct way of explaining concepts made it Not-Hard to understand, so I'm very thankful! I took your class last year, in 2016, and it's what inspired me to also take Ph2a. Thank you for teaching us!" (Ph1a)
Luke Juusola
Luke was extremely invested in my overall well-being throughout the term (Ma6)
Grigory Tikhomirov
Greg's Bi 023 lectures are always the highlight of my day! He discusses new and exciting topics, and explains complex concepts while keeping the language simple. He does a great job explaining motivations and applications, and throws in fun examples to keep us entertained. (Bi23)
Omer Tamuz
Game theory is the most engaging class I have taken in a long time. I genuinely look forward to it every week. (PS/Ec172)
Tony Bartolotta
Tony always puts a lot of effort and thought into his recitations (for both Ph 2a and 2b) and office hours, in terms of explanation and organization. (Ph2)
Kostia Zuev
I really appreciate how efficient the lectures are, and how neatly and organized the material is presented. (ACM95)
Victoria Orphan
I always leave your lectures astounded by some aspect of biology I've never considered before. When I speak to friends/family about what I'm learning at Caltech, it's always the most fun to share about the world of microbes. (Bi/Ge105)
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