How is the Math Department?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pittsburgh
21

<p>panther: oh, well that was my main problem with the math department then. Especially since due to my schedule only one class of “higher level math” (i.e. past calculus) fit into my schedule, I had to take it. And this got stuck with a not-so-great teacher. And I did talk to him about “how he would curve” but it doesn’t seem to match up with what he did. I’m still working on it, we’ll see ;)</p>

<p>anyways that was my problem, is that if I didn’t like a professor, i was stuck because it was the only section that fit into my schedule (in the fall, luckily, my teacher was fantastic)</p>

22

<p>Who was your diffeq professor out of curiosity? I have a funny feeling I’ll know the answer.</p>

23

<p>Jasun Gong. note: he is a TEACHER not PROFESSOR (he explained that to us the first day of class).</p>

24

<p>Huh, that’s not who I thought it would be. And it’s kind of weird he would say that, since I’ve seen that even undergraduate T.A.'s get folders that say “Professor So-and-so” on them; he must have meant he didn’t have a doctorate yet.</p>

25

<p>ah. He just explained that he “hadn’t earned his stripes yet” and so shouldn’t be referred to as “Professor Gong”. So yeah. Who did you think I was referring to?</p>

26

<p>MTnest, who did your son have for calc 3? (I’m keeping notes in case D majors in math!)</p>

27

<p>I thought it was a post-doctorate named Yin, I heard his grading curve was pretty intense this year too.</p>

28

<p>Has anybody had ANY math teachers who are good and who you would recommend?</p>

29

<p>lkf725 - mentioned in post #19</p>

30

<p>Thanks, noted.</p>

31

<p>eep! I just noticed #19 is MY post. </p>

<p>Anyway:</p>

<p>Constantine should be AVOIDED for calc. I know he at least teaches calc 3, not sure about 2 or 1. I had a grad student for Calc 3 in the fall, she is supposed to have graduated I don’t know if she will still be at Pitt, if she is, her name is Lucy Spardy and she is FABulous. I love her! (spring semester she was a TA for Calc 1). </p>

<p>Jasun Gong, should be avoided for Linear Algebra and Differentials, he doesn’t really like teaching those courses, nor is he particularly good at them (this is what he told another student (the liking part)). However, from what I have heard from other students, he is not bad for Calc 3, and he overly prepares you for the final :slight_smile: Which is always nice.</p>

<p>Don’t know much about other teachers. sorry! I know the teacher I have for Linear this coming fall (Dehua Wang I think) is supposed to be good/easy. Which is a relief after a stress-filled spring semester in math</p>

32

<p>He had a negative rating on Rateyourprofessor but his was the only section that fit in the schedule. Overall, don’t know how accurate those ratings are but for him – it was on point.</p>

33

<p>Son thought Dehua Wang was okay (for calc 3, I think).</p>

34

<p>I hear Sysoeva is good for calc - she’s tougher, but prepares you well for the final</p>

35

<p>I had Anna Vainchtein for DiffEq and she was very good. Very fair exams, and I felt very well prepared for the final.</p>

<p>For Calc III I had Sysoeva, she is my favorite math professor I’ve had at Pitt. She wasn’t the easiest, however I felt she prepared me the best for the final. She has challenging but fair exams. At least for my class, she did not collect assigned homework, which made doing the homework harder. However, if you do the homework and study properly you will do fine in her class.</p>