ENCE305 | PlanetTerp

Information	Review
Barton Forman ENCE305 Anonymous 05/14/2024	Amazing professor. The class was given 4 note packets throughout the semester that we would annotate during lectures which were extremely helpful. There were homework assignments due every class which were rather short and might take you an hour or two to complete on average. Your lowest 1-2 HW grades were dropped. Exams were curved on an as need basis. Our average for the first exam was rather high so there wasn't much of a curve, but there was a curve for exams 2 and 3. Before each exam he gave us plenty of relevant practice problems. Overall a very straightforward class taught by a great professor. I would totally recommend Forman for 305.
Barton Forman ENCE305 Expecting a B Anonymous 04/27/2024	The instructor was incredibly unhelpful, and I'm unsure of to what degree he really understood what he was teaching. He was incapable of answering 97% of student questions or explaining anything that diverted from exactly what he had in his packets. He spent 90% of class going over derivations that he ran through so quickly that no one understood them, nor did he spend any time going over example problems that were as hard as the ones on the exams, which would have been way more helpful. The occasional problems we did in class were so simple that going through the example was rather pointless. He would regularly assign homework based on content we hadn't covered yet. The exams always had at least two problems, unlike anything we had covered or what was in the practice exams, which brought everyone's grades down and made it impossible to score as well as you prepped to do on an exam. This was incredibly discouraging and demotivating. He also tried to create an atmosphere of cutthroat competitiveness between the students in his class, saying we had to do better than everyone else if we wanted to pass. Hardly an encouraging and welcoming environment. He also would not discuss errors in grading or ADS accommodations and would try to avoid those discussions entirely by making students follow a long and tedious process to get ahold of only to keep pushing the discussion back. His attitude in class was also perpetually annoyed and crabby. His homework was not helpful for preparing for exams and was essentially a major daily waste of time.
Michael Galczynski ENCE305 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 01/22/2024	Mike is very personable and seems to care about everyone's success, which is great for ENES100 but leads to issues in ENCE305. He was all over the place in class, sliding desks across the floor, running into walls, handing out $10 to a student for answering a question. These antics were an attempt for us to understand topics, but in reality, they distracted us from learning. I found myself learning very little from his lectures and had to teach myself before exams (he did provide lots of good practice problems). Additionally, I feel unprepared for the classes that require an understanding of fluid dynamics as we did not go as in-depth or cover as much material as the other class (taught by Forman). If I had to take fluids again, I would choose another professor.
Michael Galczynski ENCE305 Anonymous 12/17/2023	Mike is genuinely one of the best professors I have had at UMD. He keeps class fun and engaging for all students and provides a ton of resources in order to help study for exams. This class is challenging, but Mike truly cares about his students and puts them in the best position to succeed. I highly recommend taking this professor.
Michael Galczynski ENCE305 Anonymous 12/15/2023	Mike is one of the best professors I have had at UMD during my time here. He keeps students engaged by making each lecture fun and entertaining. He provides so many useful resources to help study for exams which can be difficult at times. Most importantly, he really cares about his students and wants to see them succeed. At the end of the semester he even hosted a "Wisdom Lecture" where he shared quotes and personal stories on how to be happy, successful, and well rounded throughout your time in college and even beyond. I highly recommend taking this professor for fluids or any course.
Barton Forman ENCE305 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/08/2023	A stellar professor! The homework assignments due every class do not take up much time, maybe 1-1.5 hours to complete per homework at most and Barton holds office hours twice a week (in addition to the TA holding office hours twice a week) to help students with homework assignments. He provides good practice material for exams as well as curving exams when needed. He does not post his lecture notes on Canvas, so attendance is important but if you miss something in class he will go back and give you more time to write it down (or you can ask him to see it during office hours). He ended up dropping our two lowest homework assignments which was a big help for some people's grades. Like the other review said, he does not want students to panic and be afraid and really does want everyone to succeed. He is 100% worth it!
Michael Galczynski ENCE305 Expecting a C+ Anonymous 07/11/2023	This class is very difficult, however, Professor Mike makes it easier to understand and tries to make the class more enjoyable. I would advise you to not skip any lectures because they are very crucial for understanding the material covered in class. Don't take the class LIGHTLY because Professor Mike is nice. You have to study a lot and go to tutoring or his office hours if you have any questions. Do not wait till the exams are around the corner before asking for help. You may not have enough time. He also ensures that we collaborate with our coursemates in preparing for the exams and this helped a lot in my opinion. Try to make friends in the class and study together. Seats go quickly, sign up as quickly as possible.
Michael Galczynski ENCE305 Expecting a B- Anonymous 06/02/2023	Mike is an extremely good professor. He does a good job of explaining the concepts, but also does a handful of practice problems in class as well. Exams are hard, but never really unfair, chances are the question was taken from a lecture slide, practice exam, a homework question, or supplemental practice problems. The only real issue is out of class stuff. The feedback on the exams is pretty unclear, usually just being -X points. He does explain what you got wrong if you go to office hours, but that can be a problem as well, as he teaches so many classes that you may be able to ask more than one question. He's still a very good professor all things considered.
Kaye Brubaker ENCE305 Expecting an A- Anonymous 03/08/2023	Besides the fact that this class was at 8 AM, I have no complaints. Her slides are helpful and relevant to homework sets and exams. She is approachable and easy to ask questions in class as she ensures everyone understands the material before moving on. The exams were not that bad. I studied the night before and easily got B's on all the exams. I was expecting a B in the class until the final where if you did better on questions from a certain unit she would replace one of the midterms which bumped me to an A-. (From around an 84% to 90)
Kaye Brubaker ENCE305 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/31/2022	This class was hard at times (especially at 8 AM), but Dr. Brubaker made it so you were engaged and absorbing as much information as possible. She attempted to answer every question asked during class and made herself available multiple times a week if you needed any extra help with problem sets. These homework assignments, despite being frequent, made me understand the material better and mirrored the exam material well. The three midterms given during the semester were a little difficult, but fair. She gives partial credit if you manage to write down your thought process for a question (just shows that you understood something about the problem). You could even make up the score on one of your midterms with the final exam (if you did well enough)!
Kaye Brubaker ENCE305 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/20/2022	The class was difficult, but the lectures were very engaging and she did here best to answer any and all questions. Very friendly. Exams were hard but fair, she posted plenty of study materials beforehand. She also gave out problem sets/homework assignments that were due every other day. Lots of people didn't like them but I thought they really helped me understand the material and prepared me for the exams
Michael Galczynski ENCE305 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 06/09/2022	Fluid mechanics has a reputation as maybe the hardest civil engineering class, but Mike went out of his way to make it accessible and easy to understand. Lots of good examples, clear lecture notes available online, and a very forgiving extra credit system to help you with the exams. The only thing I'd say is definitely don't schedule another class starting 10min after the end of his, because he definitely doesn't always finish on time and you'll be late to your next class a lot.
Michael Galczynski ENCE305 Expecting a B Anonymous 06/07/2022	Mike provides very interactive lectures that are entertaining and fun. The examples in class are very valuable because he explains every step of the process and they help build your own understanding of the material. Homework load is every week and is very manageable.
Michael Galczynski ENCE305 Expecting a B Anonymous 01/11/2022	Mike was a great and amazing professor for 305! He definitely takes time to explain things and kept exams to be done in a reasonable amount of time within a 50 minute time limit. The course was very engaging with Mike's great real-world examples that went along with concepts learned in lecture.
Michael Galczynski ENCE305 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 01/06/2022	Mike is of the two best professors I've ever had at UMD. Fluids was a course that he has never taught before and from the first day of class he laid out his plan simple. This was historically a challenging class for all CE students that is taught rather harshly and dry with many derivations, textbook readings, and excessive assignments. With every lecture I attended, every slide he posted, every joke (that was almost always related to the material) that was cracked, he made the course very engaging, easy to comprehend, and overall fun. Mike is a guy who works with his students, wanting to see us succeed in the classroom and far beyond. He is truly an educator ahead of his time. Of the many things he valued (including baking....giving us many delicious goods through the year,) one of them is the point that our time in college should be about cultivating our minds from what we learn, instead of just jamming and dumping it for the exam. This went into his wisdom lecture at the end of the semester that truly set my visions and goals for myself and my career on a better, accelerated path. I digress, this outstanding approacgh was clear for me to see by the end of the year, as he didnt drown us in homeworks or confusing concepts like other professors for this course do, but taught the material in with a simple and very managable approach that left me with far much more value in what I learned than just dreading the exam and hating the course, not caring that I forgot what I learned. My semester with Mike made me find my passion for being an engineer that I have not been able to find in a long time, and I thank you for that Mike. Take him as a professor and take the wisdom he loves to share to his students. I use this website for every class and professor I've ever taken, and this is the only review I've ever left. Take my word for it
Michael Galczynski ENCE305 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 01/03/2022	Mike is a great teacher, I truly enjoyed his class. His teaching and personality actually made class enjoyable so that I wasn’t checking my watch to see if it was 10:50 already. Oftentimes the end of class snuck up on me because I lost track of time. He also is very fair and reasonable in the course load that he gives his students, he encourages feedback so he can improve, and he offers extra credit. I wish he taught more classes because he is very good and if you have the chance you should take him
Michael Galczynski ENCE305 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/30/2021	Mike was a great professor. Super personable guy and his lectures were interesting and great to use to learn the material. It didn't feel like a chore going to class and typically time flew with him teaching. There weren't many HWs, but even then, they were great tools to practice to prepare for exams and to just generally learn the material better. He had a ton of ways to help prepare for exams, from HWs to in-class examples, to supplemental problems, etc. He helped prepare you as best he could for the exams. Now since its fluids, the material was still semi-difficult, but Mike was great in helping me understand the material and enjoy it as well. Fluids is probably one of my more favorite courses taken in college because of him and his teaching.
Michael Galczynski ENCE305 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/30/2021	Mike is a great professor! It was his first time teaching fluids but he taught the material very well! His lectures were great and the examples really helped you understand the material. He did a great job making sure everyone understood concepts especially since the class is hard overall. I would recommend taking any class with Mike that you can!
Barton Forman ENCE305 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/21/2021	He is one of the best professors I met. He would curve the grade for each exam and don't want any student to be panic and afraid. Also answer the questions nicely. I got an A- in the end when I thought I might get a B. CHOOSE HIS CLASS if you can!!! He is totally worth it!!!
Jongmin Park ENCE305 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/29/2020	In short. New. But a solid professor. Although Dr. Park is new to lecturing, in the Fall 2020 semester, Dr. Park demonstrated an insane ability to be adaptable and empathic as a professor. I will admit, he gives intense exams, but he always trys to explains concepts in detail and completeness. Go to office hours and he will recognize your efforts for sure. 100% a fair professor who I am excited to see grow.
Richard McCuen ENCE305 Expecting a B- Anonymous 10/06/2018	Nothing anyone else has not said, very strict(do not even try to go to the bathroom). but you learn and he makes things applicable to real engineering problems. He grades VERY strict, i received a 2/5 on a homework problem, when it was the right answer, because i did not box my clear answer.
Richard McCuen ENCE305 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/24/2015	You will know the material cold after this class. It will be drilled into you through countless in class examples, nightly homeworks (each only taking about an hour) and of course, dilligent studying that is absolutely necessary for the three exams and the final. McCuen is a strict teacher. Make sure your phone is off and away before you walk into his class! Walk in late and you will not get credit for that days homework. His exams are a speed game, and points fly off with his grading. Don't talk to other students during his lecture. Go to class, take good notes, practice practice practice, and you will do fine. McCuen is a thorough, respectable, dilligent and demanding teacher.
Yaron Sternberg ENCE305 Expecting an A skinter 05/21/2012	Great professor. Very clear and focused on problem solving. Has obviously been doing this for years and used them to hone his lectures to near-perfection. Helpful with questions. Unusual grading system, but no harder than any other.
Yaron Sternberg ENCE305 Expecting an A bjp2011 12/14/2011	An excellent professor. Clear lectures, straightforward content. Tests usually have two problems with relatively obvious answers and one that involves a trick before you can use the equation. Grading system is unusual, but all you have to do is beat the average of the other schlubs in the class, and they tend not to do well. His voice is very similar to Mel Brooks' 2000 Year Old Man, which is fun. Certainly no complaints. The class I took was very technical; don't take it unless you need to learn fluid mechanics.
Richard McCuen ENCE305 John Martin 04/26/2011	if you know about fluids and its reputation, you should know how difficult it is. and most people know that mccuen is probably the strictest teacher in civil engineering. however, he is the one professor ive had that kept me engaged in the class and really taught the concepts in an understandable way and a way that related to real world engineering problems. his tests are hard and you have to really know the concepts and be able to retain them instantly. in short, the students who put in the most time and work will do the best in his class. because of that, id say hes a very fair teacher.
Richard McCuen ENCE305 Expecting a B Anonymous 01/20/2011	I was not a fan. He knows how to teach the material but goes a little fast. He does not use a text book, only very old handouts which I really did not like. He recommends a text book or two but they do not compare well to the types of problems he does. I did not see him as a very fair professor. He claims to be the most strict grader in the engineering school. I do not know if it is being strict or just taking off an arbitrary amount of points for the solution not being perfect. Not to scare anyone--but 5/31 (or so) people dropped or withdrew from the class. Now recalculate the grade distributions... I would not take him again. But good luck with whoever you take!
Yaron Sternberg ENCE305 Expecting a C Anonymous 06/21/2010	One of the best professors in the Civil engineering. Go To EVERY class. He explains the content extremely well. If he sees class attendance drop he'll give quizzes that end up becoming worth 10% of your grade. Huge downside is his grading system. If you make one little mistake on your exams you lose a majority of your points. Takes the sum of your exam score divided by the average as a great. Sucks if you get a little lower than average on exams but also allow you to raise your grade if you kill the test. I went from a F to a C with the final.
Richard McCuen ENCE305 Expecting a B purplemonkey 12/23/2009	McCuen is strict, but he has his students' success at heart. If you go in to seem him for homework help or show concern in your grade, you'll realize his objectives are to prepare students for the real world. That being said, stay on top of the homework, and always always always go to class. He tends to have a pop quiz once or twice in a semester on precisely the day you're not there, and missing it could strongly hurt your grade. You'll learn a lot and remember more material than you'd expect in his classes.
Richard McCuen ENCE305 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/20/2009	I wholeheartedly agree with the previous review.
Yaron Sternberg ENCE305 Expecting an A vigcs 05/16/2009	He's a very tough professor but he's one of the best I've had in the Civil curriculum so far. If you know the material well you should do decently on the tests. Just watch out for any tricks the problems may have (one of the questions on our final had you take the sqrt of a negative number, which was right, because the answer was 'no flow'). He makes the final fairly straightforward. I ended up with a final score of 4.17 and he gave me an A, so it really depends on how well your class does.
Richard McCuen ENCE305 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/07/2009	Dr. McCuen is the best professor I have had at the university, thus far. Although he tends to be strict, his teaching style (very real-world based) and ability to keep us on our toes all throughout class are unlike any professor that I have ever taken. A good number of people drop/fail/do badly in this course and it's known to be one of the hardest classes in the civil engineering curriculum. I think that if you stay on top of your work and get engaged in the subject (which isn't that hard because fluids is very interesting), you have a very good chance of getting at least a B. I like the fact that this is my most challenging course this semester and I will definitely retain the knowledge I gained from this course long after I graduate.
Yaron Sternberg ENCE305 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/29/2008	Very hard class, you must pay attention in class and also keep up with the reading and do the homeowork, even though it is optional. He has a very unique but fair grading system. He takes your exam score and divides it by the average for that exam to calculate your score. 3 exams and final, drop lowest score. He then gives grades out according to the grade distribution. 3 might be a C, with B's starting at 4 or 4.5 and A's starting around 6. Sounds crazy but exam averages are usually in the 30's
Yaron Sternberg ENCE305 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/15/2008	Work your ass off in his course. I'm serious, never let up, go to office hours every MWF and do every problem in the book. If you're taking this class then you probably will need to know this material for your career, and there is no one better to learn from than Sternberg. Don't be scared of him.

Barton Forman
ENCE305

Anonymous
05/14/2024

Amazing professor. The class was given 4 note packets throughout the semester that we would annotate during lectures which were extremely helpful. There were homework assignments due every class which were rather short and might take you an hour or two to complete on average. Your lowest 1-2 HW grades were dropped. Exams were curved on an as need basis. Our average for the first exam was rather high so there wasn't much of a curve, but there was a curve for exams 2 and 3. Before each exam he gave us plenty of relevant practice problems. Overall a very straightforward class taught by a great professor. I would totally recommend Forman for 305.

Barton Forman
ENCE305

Expecting a B
Anonymous
04/27/2024

The instructor was incredibly unhelpful, and I'm unsure of to what degree he really understood what he was teaching. He was incapable of answering 97% of student questions or explaining anything that diverted from exactly what he had in his packets. He spent 90% of class going over derivations that he ran through so quickly that no one understood them, nor did he spend any time going over example problems that were as hard as the ones on the exams, which would have been way more helpful. The occasional problems we did in class were so simple that going through the example was rather pointless. He would regularly assign homework based on content we hadn't covered yet. The exams always had at least two problems, unlike anything we had covered or what was in the practice exams, which brought everyone's grades down and made it impossible to score as well as you prepped to do on an exam. This was incredibly discouraging and demotivating. He also tried to create an atmosphere of cutthroat competitiveness between the students in his class, saying we had to do better than everyone else if we wanted to pass. Hardly an encouraging and welcoming environment. He also would not discuss errors in grading or ADS accommodations and would try to avoid those discussions entirely by making students follow a long and tedious process to get ahold of only to keep pushing the discussion back. His attitude in class was also perpetually annoyed and crabby. His homework was not helpful for preparing for exams and was essentially a major daily waste of time.

Michael Galczynski
ENCE305

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
01/22/2024

Mike is very personable and seems to care about everyone's success, which is great for ENES100 but leads to issues in ENCE305. He was all over the place in class, sliding desks across the floor, running into walls, handing out $10 to a student for answering a question. These antics were an attempt for us to understand topics, but in reality, they distracted us from learning. I found myself learning very little from his lectures and had to teach myself before exams (he did provide lots of good practice problems). Additionally, I feel unprepared for the classes that require an understanding of fluid dynamics as we did not go as in-depth or cover as much material as the other class (taught by Forman). If I had to take fluids again, I would choose another professor.

Michael Galczynski
ENCE305

Anonymous
12/17/2023

Mike is genuinely one of the best professors I have had at UMD. He keeps class fun and engaging for all students and provides a ton of resources in order to help study for exams. This class is challenging, but Mike truly cares about his students and puts them in the best position to succeed. I highly recommend taking this professor.

Michael Galczynski
ENCE305

Anonymous
12/15/2023

Mike is one of the best professors I have had at UMD during my time here. He keeps students engaged by making each lecture fun and entertaining. He provides so many useful resources to help study for exams which can be difficult at times. Most importantly, he really cares about his students and wants to see them succeed. At the end of the semester he even hosted a "Wisdom Lecture" where he shared quotes and personal stories on how to be happy, successful, and well rounded throughout your time in college and even beyond. I highly recommend taking this professor for fluids or any course.

Barton Forman
ENCE305

Expecting a B
Anonymous
12/08/2023

A stellar professor! The homework assignments due every class do not take up much time, maybe 1-1.5 hours to complete per homework at most and Barton holds office hours twice a week (in addition to the TA holding office hours twice a week) to help students with homework assignments. He provides good practice material for exams as well as curving exams when needed. He does not post his lecture notes on Canvas, so attendance is important but if you miss something in class he will go back and give you more time to write it down (or you can ask him to see it during office hours). He ended up dropping our two lowest homework assignments which was a big help for some people's grades. Like the other review said, he does not want students to panic and be afraid and really does want everyone to succeed. He is 100% worth it!

Michael Galczynski
ENCE305

Expecting a C+
Anonymous
07/11/2023

This class is very difficult, however, Professor Mike makes it easier to understand and tries to make the class more enjoyable. I would advise you to not skip any lectures because they are very crucial for understanding the material covered in class. Don't take the class LIGHTLY because Professor Mike is nice. You have to study a lot and go to tutoring or his office hours if you have any questions. Do not wait till the exams are around the corner before asking for help. You may not have enough time. He also ensures that we collaborate with our coursemates in preparing for the exams and this helped a lot in my opinion. Try to make friends in the class and study together. Seats go quickly, sign up as quickly as possible.

Michael Galczynski
ENCE305

Expecting a B-
Anonymous
06/02/2023

Mike is an extremely good professor. He does a good job of explaining the concepts, but also does a handful of practice problems in class as well. Exams are hard, but never really unfair, chances are the question was taken from a lecture slide, practice exam, a homework question, or supplemental practice problems. The only real issue is out of class stuff. The feedback on the exams is pretty unclear, usually just being -X points. He does explain what you got wrong if you go to office hours, but that can be a problem as well, as he teaches so many classes that you may be able to ask more than one question. He's still a very good professor all things considered.

Kaye Brubaker
ENCE305

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
03/08/2023

Besides the fact that this class was at 8 AM, I have no complaints. Her slides are helpful and relevant to homework sets and exams. She is approachable and easy to ask questions in class as she ensures everyone understands the material before moving on. The exams were not that bad. I studied the night before and easily got B's on all the exams. I was expecting a B in the class until the final where if you did better on questions from a certain unit she would replace one of the midterms which bumped me to an A-. (From around an 84% to 90)

Kaye Brubaker
ENCE305

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/31/2022

This class was hard at times (especially at 8 AM), but Dr. Brubaker made it so you were engaged and absorbing as much information as possible. She attempted to answer every question asked during class and made herself available multiple times a week if you needed any extra help with problem sets. These homework assignments, despite being frequent, made me understand the material better and mirrored the exam material well. The three midterms given during the semester were a little difficult, but fair. She gives partial credit if you manage to write down your thought process for a question (just shows that you understood something about the problem). You could even make up the score on one of your midterms with the final exam (if you did well enough)!

Kaye Brubaker
ENCE305

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
12/20/2022

The class was difficult, but the lectures were very engaging and she did here best to answer any and all questions. Very friendly. Exams were hard but fair, she posted plenty of study materials beforehand. She also gave out problem sets/homework assignments that were due every other day. Lots of people didn't like them but I thought they really helped me understand the material and prepared me for the exams

Michael Galczynski
ENCE305

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
06/09/2022

Fluid mechanics has a reputation as maybe the hardest civil engineering class, but Mike went out of his way to make it accessible and easy to understand. Lots of good examples, clear lecture notes available online, and a very forgiving extra credit system to help you with the exams. The only thing I'd say is definitely don't schedule another class starting 10min after the end of his, because he definitely doesn't always finish on time and you'll be late to your next class a lot.

Michael Galczynski
ENCE305

Expecting a B
Anonymous
06/07/2022

Mike provides very interactive lectures that are entertaining and fun. The examples in class are very valuable because he explains every step of the process and they help build your own understanding of the material. Homework load is every week and is very manageable.

Michael Galczynski
ENCE305

Expecting a B
Anonymous
01/11/2022

Mike was a great and amazing professor for 305! He definitely takes time to explain things and kept exams to be done in a reasonable amount of time within a 50 minute time limit. The course was very engaging with Mike's great real-world examples that went along with concepts learned in lecture.

Michael Galczynski
ENCE305

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
01/06/2022

Mike is of the two best professors I've ever had at UMD. Fluids was a course that he has never taught before and from the first day of class he laid out his plan simple. This was historically a challenging class for all CE students that is taught rather harshly and dry with many derivations, textbook readings, and excessive assignments. With every lecture I attended, every slide he posted, every joke (that was almost always related to the material) that was cracked, he made the course very engaging, easy to comprehend, and overall fun. Mike is a guy who works with his students, wanting to see us succeed in the classroom and far beyond. He is truly an educator ahead of his time. Of the many things he valued (including baking....giving us many delicious goods through the year,) one of them is the point that our time in college should be about cultivating our minds from what we learn, instead of just jamming and dumping it for the exam. This went into his wisdom lecture at the end of the semester that truly set my visions and goals for myself and my career on a better, accelerated path. I digress, this outstanding approacgh was clear for me to see by the end of the year, as he didnt drown us in homeworks or confusing concepts like other professors for this course do, but taught the material in with a simple and very managable approach that left me with far much more value in what I learned than just dreading the exam and hating the course, not caring that I forgot what I learned. My semester with Mike made me find my passion for being an engineer that I have not been able to find in a long time, and I thank you for that Mike. Take him as a professor and take the wisdom he loves to share to his students. I use this website for every class and professor I've ever taken, and this is the only review I've ever left. Take my word for it

Michael Galczynski
ENCE305

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
01/03/2022

Mike is a great teacher, I truly enjoyed his class. His teaching and personality actually made class enjoyable so that I wasn’t checking my watch to see if it was 10:50 already. Oftentimes the end of class snuck up on me because I lost track of time. He also is very fair and reasonable in the course load that he gives his students, he encourages feedback so he can improve, and he offers extra credit. I wish he taught more classes because he is very good and if you have the chance you should take him

Michael Galczynski
ENCE305

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
12/30/2021

Mike was a great professor. Super personable guy and his lectures were interesting and great to use to learn the material. It didn't feel like a chore going to class and typically time flew with him teaching. There weren't many HWs, but even then, they were great tools to practice to prepare for exams and to just generally learn the material better. He had a ton of ways to help prepare for exams, from HWs to in-class examples, to supplemental problems, etc. He helped prepare you as best he could for the exams. Now since its fluids, the material was still semi-difficult, but Mike was great in helping me understand the material and enjoy it as well. Fluids is probably one of my more favorite courses taken in college because of him and his teaching.

Michael Galczynski
ENCE305

Expecting a B
Anonymous
12/30/2021

Mike is a great professor! It was his first time teaching fluids but he taught the material very well! His lectures were great and the examples really helped you understand the material. He did a great job making sure everyone understood concepts especially since the class is hard overall. I would recommend taking any class with Mike that you can!

Barton Forman
ENCE305

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
05/21/2021

He is one of the best professors I met. He would curve the grade for each exam and don't want any student to be panic and afraid. Also answer the questions nicely. I got an A- in the end when I thought I might get a B. CHOOSE HIS CLASS if you can!!! He is totally worth it!!!

Jongmin Park
ENCE305

Expecting a B
Anonymous
12/29/2020

In short. New. But a solid professor. Although Dr. Park is new to lecturing, in the Fall 2020 semester, Dr. Park demonstrated an insane ability to be adaptable and empathic as a professor. I will admit, he gives intense exams, but he always trys to explains concepts in detail and completeness. Go to office hours and he will recognize your efforts for sure. 100% a fair professor who I am excited to see grow.

Richard McCuen
ENCE305

Expecting a B-
Anonymous
10/06/2018

Nothing anyone else has not said, very strict(do not even try to go to the bathroom). but you learn and he makes things applicable to real engineering problems. He grades VERY strict, i received a 2/5 on a homework problem, when it was the right answer, because i did not box my clear answer.

Richard McCuen
ENCE305

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/24/2015

You will know the material cold after this class. It will be drilled into you through countless in class examples, nightly homeworks (each only taking about an hour) and of course, dilligent studying that is absolutely necessary for the three exams and the final. McCuen is a strict teacher. Make sure your phone is off and away before you walk into his class! Walk in late and you will not get credit for that days homework. His exams are a speed game, and points fly off with his grading. Don't talk to other students during his lecture. Go to class, take good notes, practice practice practice, and you will do fine. McCuen is a thorough, respectable, dilligent and demanding teacher.

Yaron Sternberg
ENCE305

Expecting an A
skinter
05/21/2012

Great professor. Very clear and focused on problem solving. Has obviously been doing this for years and used them to hone his lectures to near-perfection. Helpful with questions. Unusual grading system, but no harder than any other.

Yaron Sternberg
ENCE305

Expecting an A
bjp2011
12/14/2011

An excellent professor. Clear lectures, straightforward content. Tests usually have two problems with relatively obvious answers and one that involves a trick before you can use the equation. Grading system is unusual, but all you have to do is beat the average of the other schlubs in the class, and they tend not to do well. His voice is very similar to Mel Brooks' 2000 Year Old Man, which is fun. Certainly no complaints. The class I took was very technical; don't take it unless you need to learn fluid mechanics.

Richard McCuen
ENCE305

John Martin
04/26/2011

if you know about fluids and its reputation, you should know how difficult it is. and most people know that mccuen is probably the strictest teacher in civil engineering. however, he is the one professor ive had that kept me engaged in the class and really taught the concepts in an understandable way and a way that related to real world engineering problems. his tests are hard and you have to really know the concepts and be able to retain them instantly. in short, the students who put in the most time and work will do the best in his class. because of that, id say hes a very fair teacher.

Richard McCuen
ENCE305

Expecting a B
Anonymous
01/20/2011

I was not a fan. He knows how to teach the material but goes a little fast. He does not use a text book, only very old handouts which I really did not like. He recommends a text book or two but they do not compare well to the types of problems he does. I did not see him as a very fair professor. He claims to be the most strict grader in the engineering school. I do not know if it is being strict or just taking off an arbitrary amount of points for the solution not being perfect. Not to scare anyone--but 5/31 (or so) people dropped or withdrew from the class. Now recalculate the grade distributions... I would not take him again. But good luck with whoever you take!

Yaron Sternberg
ENCE305

Expecting a C
Anonymous
06/21/2010

One of the best professors in the Civil engineering. Go To EVERY class. He explains the content extremely well. If he sees class attendance drop he'll give quizzes that end up becoming worth 10% of your grade. Huge downside is his grading system. If you make one little mistake on your exams you lose a majority of your points. Takes the sum of your exam score divided by the average as a great. Sucks if you get a little lower than average on exams but also allow you to raise your grade if you kill the test. I went from a F to a C with the final.

Richard McCuen
ENCE305

Expecting a B
purplemonkey
12/23/2009

McCuen is strict, but he has his students' success at heart. If you go in to seem him for homework help or show concern in your grade, you'll realize his objectives are to prepare students for the real world. That being said, stay on top of the homework, and always always always go to class. He tends to have a pop quiz once or twice in a semester on precisely the day you're not there, and missing it could strongly hurt your grade. You'll learn a lot and remember more material than you'd expect in his classes.

Richard McCuen
ENCE305

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/20/2009

I wholeheartedly agree with the previous review.

Yaron Sternberg
ENCE305

Expecting an A
vigcs
05/16/2009

He's a very tough professor but he's one of the best I've had in the Civil curriculum so far. If you know the material well you should do decently on the tests. Just watch out for any tricks the problems may have (one of the questions on our final had you take the sqrt of a negative number, which was right, because the answer was 'no flow'). He makes the final fairly straightforward. I ended up with a final score of 4.17 and he gave me an A, so it really depends on how well your class does.

Richard McCuen
ENCE305

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/07/2009

Dr. McCuen is the best professor I have had at the university, thus far. Although he tends to be strict, his teaching style (very real-world based) and ability to keep us on our toes all throughout class are unlike any professor that I have ever taken. A good number of people drop/fail/do badly in this course and it's known to be one of the hardest classes in the civil engineering curriculum. I think that if you stay on top of your work and get engaged in the subject (which isn't that hard because fluids is very interesting), you have a very good chance of getting at least a B. I like the fact that this is my most challenging course this semester and I will definitely retain the knowledge I gained from this course long after I graduate.

Yaron Sternberg
ENCE305

Expecting a B
Anonymous
12/29/2008

Very hard class, you must pay attention in class and also keep up with the reading and do the homeowork, even though it is optional. He has a very unique but fair grading system. He takes your exam score and divides it by the average for that exam to calculate your score. 3 exams and final, drop lowest score. He then gives grades out according to the grade distribution. 3 might be a C, with B's starting at 4 or 4.5 and A's starting around 6. Sounds crazy but exam averages are usually in the 30's

Yaron Sternberg
ENCE305

Expecting a B
Anonymous
12/15/2008

Work your ass off in his course. I'm serious, never let up, go to office hours every MWF and do every problem in the book. If you're taking this class then you probably will need to know this material for your career, and there is no one better to learn from than Sternberg. Don't be scared of him.

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