PHYS165 | PlanetTerp

Information	Review
Gregory Sullivan PHYS165 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 11/28/2023	I really wanted to like Professor Sullivan as he is extremely knowledgeable and has some interesting anecdotes that he shares throughout the sem. Unfortunately this class moves a bit too quickly through concepts and as someone who already had fairly extensive numpy experience prior to taking this class I never felt like I learned anything particularly new or novel. The class feels like a "teaser" for what I am assuming will be the more interesting course, PHYS474. Extremely easy assignments so long as you attend the class and no exams made this a rather low stress experience for me but I don't think I benefited much beyond the GPA boost.
Carter Hall PHYS165 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 11/02/2023	Professor Hall does not know python. He often says that it's impossible to do something that is actually possible to do. Wait to take this class in the fall semester with Sullivan if at all possible. Hall is also bad at working with ADS accommodations, asks for extra documentation (which is not allowed), and is dismissive in general of students.
Gregory Sullivan PHYS165 Anonymous 10/10/2023	The classroom he creates is not conducive to real learning. The majority of classmates take pictures of professors' code and copy it line by line. I leave feeling like I have no better grasp on coding, but that we are expected to copy and paste his code without looking deeper into why things work.
Carter Hall PHYS165 Expecting an A- Anonymous 06/12/2023	Dr. Hall is a fantastic professor. No matter the course, (for me, PHYS165), he provides clear and concise information that is directly relevant to assignments. The programming itself was not super difficult but not incredibly easy either. You will learn in his courses and I would recommend him to anyone.
Gregory Sullivan PHYS165 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/10/2022	Honestly, this class was perhaps one of the most underwhelming courses I've taken so far. The format of the class isn't focused on learning how to code but rather learning how to apply computational/numerical or programming methods in Physics - in spite of the fact that this course does count as a programming course. For majority of this course, you'll benefit from having learned background information relating to Physics and some Mathematical Methods - that being said, those aren't necessarily required since Dr. Sullivan goes over the material on how to perform those calculations or methods. But be prepared to be confused by some materials as you progress into the semester (nothing to be afraid of though, it's just material that you may not be familiar with yet but as far as applying the methods go, it's relatively the same). Overall, this was a stellar class and the learning experience couldn't have been any better. Totally recommend taking him if you get the chance. P.S. He grades you on attendance (you can miss 5 lectures before he starts deducting points), so beware of that when signing up for any of his courses, i.e. attendance is MANDATORY.
Gregory Sullivan PHYS165 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/08/2022	I really enjoyed Dr. Sullivan’s class. He kept the material very practical and applicable. That said, this class definitely focused more on applying Python to physics problems rather than learning coding logic, so there might be a learning curve at the beginning if you’ve never coded before. Assignments included 6 homeworks and 3 labs throughout the semester, no exams. Dr. Sullivan was always open to student feedback and answering questions about assignments. He really made sure everyone to do their best. Highly recommend taking his class!

Gregory Sullivan
PHYS165

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
11/28/2023

I really wanted to like Professor Sullivan as he is extremely knowledgeable and has some interesting anecdotes that he shares throughout the sem. Unfortunately this class moves a bit too quickly through concepts and as someone who already had fairly extensive numpy experience prior to taking this class I never felt like I learned anything particularly new or novel. The class feels like a "teaser" for what I am assuming will be the more interesting course, PHYS474. Extremely easy assignments so long as you attend the class and no exams made this a rather low stress experience for me but I don't think I benefited much beyond the GPA boost.

Carter Hall
PHYS165

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
11/02/2023

Professor Hall does not know python. He often says that it's impossible to do something that is actually possible to do. Wait to take this class in the fall semester with Sullivan if at all possible. Hall is also bad at working with ADS accommodations, asks for extra documentation (which is not allowed), and is dismissive in general of students.

Gregory Sullivan
PHYS165

Anonymous
10/10/2023

The classroom he creates is not conducive to real learning. The majority of classmates take pictures of professors' code and copy it line by line. I leave feeling like I have no better grasp on coding, but that we are expected to copy and paste his code without looking deeper into why things work.

Carter Hall
PHYS165

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
06/12/2023

Dr. Hall is a fantastic professor. No matter the course, (for me, PHYS165), he provides clear and concise information that is directly relevant to assignments. The programming itself was not super difficult but not incredibly easy either. You will learn in his courses and I would recommend him to anyone.

Gregory Sullivan
PHYS165

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
12/10/2022

Honestly, this class was perhaps one of the most underwhelming courses I've taken so far. The format of the class isn't focused on learning how to code but rather learning how to apply computational/numerical or programming methods in Physics - in spite of the fact that this course does count as a programming course. For majority of this course, you'll benefit from having learned background information relating to Physics and some Mathematical Methods - that being said, those aren't necessarily required since Dr. Sullivan goes over the material on how to perform those calculations or methods. But be prepared to be confused by some materials as you progress into the semester (nothing to be afraid of though, it's just material that you may not be familiar with yet but as far as applying the methods go, it's relatively the same). Overall, this was a stellar class and the learning experience couldn't have been any better. Totally recommend taking him if you get the chance. P.S. He grades you on attendance (you can miss 5 lectures before he starts deducting points), so beware of that when signing up for any of his courses, i.e. attendance is MANDATORY.

Gregory Sullivan
PHYS165

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/08/2022

I really enjoyed Dr. Sullivan’s class. He kept the material very practical and applicable. That said, this class definitely focused more on applying Python to physics problems rather than learning coding logic, so there might be a learning curve at the beginning if you’ve never coded before. Assignments included 6 homeworks and 3 labs throughout the semester, no exams. Dr. Sullivan was always open to student feedback and answering questions about assignments. He really made sure everyone to do their best. Highly recommend taking his class!

Reviews for PHYS165