To all ME's who are at least seniors:

I've been told by a few people not to take Thermo 2 w/ Boles next semester, to wait 'til later to take it with someone else.

I just got done w/ thermo 1 (lyons), vibrations (tran), fluids (ward). Pretty sure I got an A in them all. Next semester I'm signed up for:

Thermo 2 w/ Boles (Boles is the only one teaching it next semester )
Structures (316) w/ Zhu
Heat Transfer w/ Kuznetsov
Circuits (ECE 331) w/ Gyu
ISE 311 w/ Ayoub

-Do I need to take thermo 2 right after thermo 1 or does the material differ enough that I can take a break if I had to?

-It makes sense to me to take thermo 2 in the spring because most of the senior ME classes have 302 as a prerequisite. Do they even offer it in the summer? Would it be worth waiting to take it with Echekki or someone else?

-Anyone know if those teachers I listed about for next semester assign semester projects? (like tran does in vibrations)

Thanks

-btw, I'm not trying to "avoid the hardest guy," but I've heard some others are just as good as Boles. (Would you agree?)

[Edited on December 12, 2008 at 6:57 PM. Reason : ]

12/12/2008 6:35:43 PM

to me, thermo 2 wasn't that difficult, even though i took it 2 or 3 semesters after thermo 1. as i recall, it's basically going one step further with application of steam tables and whatnot. however, i sooo wish i could have taken boles. (i had echekki and he was one of the most worthless profs i had...he basically just read from the text. like lyons, only worse)

12/12/2008 7:42:27 PM

Boles is hands down the best teacher for the Thermo 2, he's been teaching it forever and wrote the book, literally. However, seeing that you had Lyons for Thermo 1, you probably (maybe) are not prepared to jump right into Bole's class, there will be a learning curve involved. This is what I realized when I went from Lyons to Boles and I definitely had to play catch up, but if you are willing to stick to it (and turn your cell phone off in class), you can learn the material.

ECE 331 with Yu is good, she is very nice and clear and seems to genuinely want to help you learn the material. (no project)

12/12/2008 7:46:44 PM

I guess I'll just go ahead and take Boles. I'll just have to work extra hard to get used to his style! Thanks for the input. I've also heard Yu is good for ECE. Thanks!!

12/12/2008 10:48:48 PM

I had both Dr. Boles and Dr. Yu this semester. My thermo 1 class didn't get as far as we needed to, so the first week was a little rough and intimidating in Boles' class. However, once you get used to his style he is one of the best professors you can have and having someone that knows virtually everything on the topic matter makes a huge difference.

I think as many people have said your grade may suffer in his thermo II class, but you will most likely come out with a greater understanding of the material than if from another class.

As for Dr. Yu, she is a very energetic and positive professor who wants to see everyone succed. Her hw's are nicely scheduled and planned out for the entire semester from day 1. She has a mini-test/quiz every two weeks that allows you to be tested on the material gradualy until the final. She also determines the grade cut-offs from the averages of the class. From other what other people have told me about other classes, I think she is the way to go.

Btw, what is that ISE class?

12/13/2008 2:00:10 AM

you have 316 and ece 331 with me!!!! yayyyyyyy

but seriously, if you are willing to put in the work and go to boles with questions, he will help you out. He is the best teacher for thermo 2 and you will learn the most from him. I'm psyched about his 400 level tech elective class (turbines)... ok maybe not psyched, but more excited than I should be about a technical elective....

bottom line, you probably haven't learned everything boles will have expected you to learn with lyons, but nonetheless, if you're willing to put forth the effort, you'll be fine.

also... 310 with kuznetsov.... have fun...

[Edited on December 13, 2008 at 4:02 AM. Reason : .]

12/13/2008 4:00:52 AM

yes, you should take 302 now because its a prereq for most 400 level classes & electives. As for boles, the only way youre going to get a good grade is if you show great interest in the class, and constantly go to him for homework questions & help. The material is pretty difficult, plan on investing a lot of time into this class.

There werent any projects in any of those classes when i took them. (i cant account for ISE 311 though as im taking it in the spring).

12/13/2008 10:49:36 AM

jasong: ISE 311 is an Engineering Economics class, unfortunately now required for ME grads (Can't remember when it took effect), but it replaces one of our three electives.

dgspencer: I was thinking about takin' that turbine class (407?) and I know Boles teaches it too. Let me know how it turns out. I also wanna take the Solar Thermal 421 class. too bad they're both in spring, i'd like to start one next fall.

And what should I "have fun" with concerning Kuznetsov? Is there a pet peeve or something of his or does he grade weird/ test weird?

dyne: Thanks for the info! I think Ima stick it out w/ Boles!

12/13/2008 10:57:31 AM

i kind of liked kuznetsov...thought he was funny. but then again, i thought kleinstreuer was funny, too, so feel free to take that with a grain of salt.

but yeah, when i took him, his tests got progressively harder. the first was cake, but i think a lot of people in my class just gave up on the final. still, i think he curved fairly decently overall.

12/13/2008 12:05:06 PM

dgspencer: How did 316 end for you?

I think that is the highest grade I have ever ended with ever, or ever wll.

Did that 302 final screw you over as well?

12/13/2008 12:26:33 PM

I didn't mind boles at all.

I had Dr. Ma for heat transfer, she was fine, as long as you dont mind taking very meticulous notes... She is a chalkboard marathon writer i'm pretty sure.

Circuits, Ginger Yu is amazing. You're really lucky to be in her class.

I had IE 311 with Ayoub... it is a class with good practical concepts but Ayoub finds ways to make it very frustrating. Definately not an easy A.

As far as taking thermo 2 right after thermo 1, it's certainly preferable. You can plan on using all of thermo I in thermo II so the fresher it is, the better. Plus, thermo II is when you get to start applying all the things you learn from thermo I, it's pretty cool to start seeing it all piece together.

whatever you decide, goodluck

12/13/2008 6:08:51 PM

Take it with boles. He's not hard. Pay attention when he tells you how to do the problems, he grades your tests based on whether you followed his 7 step method. make sure you sketch the system and use units. You don't need to "show interest" or go to office hours, it's a 120 seat class, he won't even know who you are. You'll have a homework a week with maybe 2 problems, each problem amounts to 4 thermo 1 problems.

I don't think it would be worth putting it off *just* to take someone else, but that's a pretty intense semester you have lined up. No labs? 302, 310, and 316 should only be homework and midterms, I don't know about ISE or ECE.

also, don't put 302 off. If you have 316, 315, 310, and 302, you can take 415. when you've passed 415, you can take 416. they do offer it both summer sessions, but if you wait to take it in the fall it'll put graduation off.

kuznetsov was interesting. makes his TA run a problem session where they do the homework. if you go, you can follow along and get the solution. 310 is not that intuitive so it helped. Also his tests will be 10 or so multiple choice questions, with about 7 choices in each.

how was ward for fluids?

^Dr. Ma is not at NCSU anymore.

12/13/2008 11:07:54 PM

This semester Boles gave a 4-5 problem hw each week.

Yea, 302,305,310,315,316 and ece 331 in the same semester isn't fun.

12/13/2008 11:16:29 PM

capncrunch: yes, I have the 306 lab in there too. And Ward was an interesting experience for fluids to say the least. The department was really excited about him. He just got his PhD from Stanford (I think) and they snatched him up quick. Lyons asked me how he was doing during the semester (maybe Lyons was involved in hiring him?). I also heard through some other professors that fluids in general doesn't have the departmental structure that thermo (for example) does, that's why senior ME's can have really differing fluids experience. The same material may not be emphasized for ALL the teachers.

Ward has a strong math background. You do alot of differential equations in his class. His degree is NOT in Engineering! I think his undergrad may have been in math and his higher level in fluids or something. So, he gets stuck on some things that we would think ridiculous. For example, he argued that 2Pi radians does not equal 1 revolution because that only applies in Earth's spacetime (or something bizarre like that). Also, he argued with us for a while in class about a REALLY easy summation of moments on a weir (ask anyone in the class, they should remember it). No calculators on any of his tests. It's not that big a deal to me, but for numerical problems with lots of steps, it can be annoying.

His grading is ok. He started out strict and lightened up some over the semester. His tests are very original. If you know the homework problems, you should do fine on the tests, but he comes up with very creative problems sometimes (like shotgunning a beer). Also, Ward spends alot of time on UNITS and DIMENSIONS. At first I thought it was lame, but I've actually used some of that stuff in other classes to check answers and such. I guess having one class that spends the first few lectures on units isn't so bad after all. ~ 1 HW/ week, 3 quizzes or so, 3 tests. He adjusts his grading scale a little, but it mostly benefits the C-range grades. And for us he replaced the lowest test grade w/ the next lowest.

As for my class, I'd say 90% of the class hated him or his teaching style a few weeks into the semester. By the end of the class, ~ 50% still did. At first he was REALLY disorganized and scribbled a bunch of crap on the board, but he got alot better. I actually grew to like his teaching style, but there were still aLOT of people who didn't. I think I got an A in his class.

That's probably more than you wanted to know, but o well!

12/13/2008 11:41:58 PM

Quote :

"dgspencer: How did 316 end for you? I think that is the highest grade I have ever ended with ever, or ever wll. Did that 302 final screw you over as well?"

I dropped 316 (heeter) this semester so I could work more... probably a bad decision in hind sight. My 302 final was tough, but the whole class with Boles was, if you put in the effort and did the work, the final wasen't really any harder than the tests... I took 302 in Fall 07 by the way.


As far as the Kuznetsov comment, he just tested really off base... I did well, but I didn't learn much. And the only reason I did well was because he curved so much. I think I ended up with a B+ in there when my average was probably a D.

12/14/2008 2:08:11 AM

boles is great, i had him last year, he'll do everything he can to help you, as long as you make an effort to come see him after class, and he's damn straightforwrd, will tell you exactly what will be covered on the test and the problems ae similar to hw

12/14/2008 10:08:16 AM

Quote :

"he's damn straightforwrd"

as i remember his tests sometimes had one "trick" (some obscure method that was buried in the book somewhere or something that took the way you do a problem and flip it around) on them that if you didnt know you would lose points and miss out on an A.

12/14/2008 12:01:19 PM

you mean he tested to see if you actually knew the material instead of just memorized some shit? Oh my, what a bad thing for a teacher to do.

12/14/2008 12:24:52 PM

^^

if you mean you don't know how to do basic algebra to rearrange and substitute equations to get what you need to solve a balance with the info given, then yes thats "tricky"

if you have a basic understanding of the material, he is by far the easiest thermo prof, if you like memorizing and plugging in numbers, then maybe you should consider parks and rec, or physical education

12/14/2008 12:30:14 PM

^^ i understand that now and I thought I knew the material then.. but at the time I got back the test it was one of those "doh!" moments.

^ glad you know exactly what I got wrong on his test and informing me. also thanks for the personal attack I hope you enjoyed as much as I did

anyway anecdotal accounts of teachers are almost worthless unless they all have a common complaint/praise.

with that being said, Ayoub is hilarious.

12/14/2008 1:38:51 PM

boles is a great teacher but you HAVE to put effort into it. Cant just skate through it like some other classes. Take 310 with someone else Kuznetsov is fucking terrible. could be im only saying that cause i did terrible in his class. I did however not try very hard.

[Edited on December 15, 2008 at 12:49 AM. Reason : i slacked ]

12/15/2008 12:46:10 AM

I have to say Boles was def the best Thermo prof but what a fuckin jackass!!!

12/15/2008 8:09:20 AM

I had thermo 1 with Klienstruer(sp?) and was well prepared for thermo 2 with Boles. I don't think I'd put it off solely to get a different teacher because he is a good teacher.

^I also though he was kind of a jackass, but then I took steam & gas turbines and he was a lot better in the personality department. He even joked about having somebody call his cell phone during the last day of one of his thermo lectures to see how the students would react. I don't know if he ever did it, but it would be funny to see that.

12/15/2008 11:05:09 AM

haha he busted some balls in my thermo2 class.


Boles, the man

12/15/2008 11:39:10 AM

^^ someone called the room we were in for the FE exam review all the ME's started laughing everyone else was like WTF?

12/15/2008 7:30:38 PM

Quote :

"Take 310 with someone else Kuznetsov is fucking terrible. "

hahah but he sported the jean jacket/jeans every day. 80's russian wear!

Boles is great if you put effort into it. I can't figure out where all his money goes though, cause he still drives a shitty car.

12/15/2008 8:53:44 PM

I think he is wise enough to know that a car is a terrible investment.

12/15/2008 9:08:44 PM

well he liked cars, i just can't remember what he drove. Like an old lincoln or something.

12/15/2008 9:11:14 PM

Quote :

"hahah but he sported the jean jacket/jeans every day. 80's russian wear! Boles is great if you put effort into it."

agreed on both accounts

12/16/2008 9:15:49 AM

Quote :

"hahah but he sported the jean jacket/jeans every day. 80's russian wear!"

It takes some serious Russian gumption to refer to Dr. Boles:

As MIKE BOLES would say....

12/16/2008 10:01:15 AM

Russian wear as in what Kuznetsov wore.

12/16/2008 11:10:54 AM

^^ "The famous mike boles"

12/16/2008 7:14:22 PM

^^ I knew what you meant, looks more like 80s american wear, I wonder what that translates to in Russia?

12/18/2008 12:42:10 AM

Don't sell yourself short.

12/18/2008 4:01:43 AM

Bowls is difficult but you'll ACTUALLY LEARN SOMETHING.. which will make other classes much easier...

i say do it.

12/29/2008 10:15:24 AM

Take it for sure..you don't want to get behind because you don't have that pre-req..Not sure if I would recommend ISE though..I don't see jumping into a 300 ISE class as being a smart idea..Take another elective later

12/29/2008 3:07:40 PM

^ scratch that...didn't know ISE 311 was required now..that blows for yall..

12/29/2008 3:09:41 PM