PHYS404 | PlanetTerp

Information	Review
Howard Milchberg PHYS404 Expecting an A Anonymous 07/31/2024	I was debating whether or not to leave a review, because the problem with this class is something Dr. Milchberg probably won't change: the textbook. But it NEEDS to be changed. The entire course revolves around it, and it is by far the worst physics textbook I've ever had. My dad studied physics in college just like me, and one time we were talking about stat mech when he said, "Yeah that class was terrible because we had this awful textbook, 'Thermal Physics' by Reif." Funny enough, we used that exact same textbook for this class, so it looks like my generation is forever cursed by that terrible, terrible book. Dr. Milchberg is a very solid lecturer, but unfortunately his lectures come from that textbook. 90% of the homework and exam problems come from that textbook too. I honestly wish Dr. Milchberg could have come up with more of his own homework and exam problems, because the few that he did come up with made way more sense to me than anything from Reif. All that to say, Milchberg is a good professor who unfortunately structures the course around a poorly written textbook from the 1960s.
Howard Milchberg PHYS404 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/11/2024	This class was very hot and cold. Pros: -Dr. Milchberg is a great lecturer. I really felt like the content from lecture was sticking, and is was definitely worth my time to go -Dr. Milchberg does listen to student concerns and will accommodate students -Generous exam grading policy Cons: -The textbook. I personally didn't like Reif in the slightest. It was difficult to read and the homework problems selected from it often left me confused with the textbook providing no info on how to move forward. -Exams were pretty tough
Howard Milchberg PHYS404 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/01/2024	Milchberg has very streamlined lectures that are clear cut in terms of what you should know. I personally do not find them lacking and his style of teaching is very interactive. He likes to ask questions to the class which is great because it encourages you to actually keep up with him. Homeworks are challenging, but they encourage you to learn. He is a funny guy. I recommend taking 404 with him.
Howard Milchberg PHYS404 Expecting an A Anonymous 02/07/2024	Milchberg was one of the best professors I've had from the physics department. He clearly cares about his students very much and loves discussing physics with students as well as getting to know them personally. He might look intimidating at first (I think it's the eyebrows), but once you talk to him, you will know that he is a humorous guy who has a great passion for physics. I don't understand why some people think he is disorganized. He has a clear course structure and notes for every lecture. I have had professors who clearly seemed like they did not prepare for their lectures at all, and Milchberg is not one of them. He also has a fantastic grading method and his exam questions are relevant to the homework. If you are to take PHYS404, take it with Milchberg.
Howard Milchberg PHYS404 Expecting an A Anonymous 02/06/2024	Awful. I have no words. I meant to leave a review overview, but he is not only unclear and taught me nothing, but he's also rude and condescending.
Christopher Lobb PHYS404 Expecting an A Anonymous 06/03/2023	I've had him for 2 semesters, PHYS402 and PHYS404, and he is hands down the best professor in the entire department, the absolute GOAT. Fantastic lecturer, I very rarely had to open the textbook for either of his classes, at most to do homework problems or look up relevant formulas. Very experienced, he has taught these courses for years, and knows exactly where students normally have trouble following derivations or concepts, and is always willing to slow down, re-explain topics or math content. Exams can be difficult, but I've never walked away from an exam of his thinking that any problems were too hard or BS, they are always fair applications of course content. Grading is fair, and final grades are generally pretty lenient. He is very focused on his student's understanding of the course content, and although it may be scary to ask him questions in lecture, he is always happy to answer them. I haven't had another professor in the department that could give the same depth of conceptual understanding and overall experience for a course.
Howard Milchberg PHYS404 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/08/2023	Milchberg is a less-than-ideal professor. He would write out lessons on the board, which is always appreciated, but he would routinely write things all over the board with no discernable direction. This made writing notes and following along with his work difficult most of the time. If anyone talks in his class, even merely to ask the student next to them a clarifying question, he will pause the class and attempt to single out the student. His homework rarely relates to what is taught in class. Additionally, the book used for this course is very old and hard to read. There are no figures or thorough examples in it, so only truly dedicated readers will be capable of making it through a chapter. His exam policy is appreciated as other reviews have noted, but it is not enough to make the class worthwhile. I would avoid him if given the choice.
Theodore L Einstein PHYS404 Anonymous 12/04/2012	Prof. Einstein is incredibly nice, with a good sense of humor (dry, but he is funny). He compiles an excellent website chock-full of supplementary material. However, his lectures run very slowly and are quite dry. Much of the time, I am lost, and just mindlessly copying notes to hopefully understand later. His personal research focus is solid-state physics, and he states that he would do x "but this is not a solid-state physics course," yet often it seems as though there is a higher emphasis on solid-state things than there need be. In short: great for supplementary material, horrible for primary lecturing.
Victor Yakovenko PHYS404 Expecting a C+ Anonymous 12/22/2010	Well, his grading scheme is very fair and emphasizes homework above all: 50% homework and 50% exams (only one midterm and one final). He is indeed a brilliant and energetic lecturer; many people choose to skip lectures, but I feel they definitely enhanced the readings in the textbook. His choice of textbook was excellent (Thermal Physics, by Schroeder). This book was a joy to read, and I learned alot from it as well as from Yakovenko. I really thought I would fail this course, as my grades were poor. I still passed, mainly with my high homework average. Be wary on the exams; while the homeworks emphasize deriving abstract results for strange thermodynamic systems, the exams were seemed much more plug-n-chug oriented. Sometimes his lectures may get convoluted and messy, and he'll drop constants all the time. Nontheless, Yakovenko drives the point home well. The homeworks can be painful, however, and they virtually killed my weekends this semester. They really require you to think hard, but the instructions give many hints they help serve as a guide to the problems. Overall, great professor, despite my lower grade.
Victor Yakovenko PHYS404 Anonymous 11/09/2010	He's a likable guy and classes were interesting. The one complaint I have is he doesn't write his notes in an organized fashion, which made it really hard for me to look back at my notes and know what was going on.
Theodore L Einstein PHYS404 Anonymous 04/27/2009	Take a different class. He is absolutely incompetent at explaining things. Great guy, makes a lot of corny jokes, but cannot explain a thing.

Howard Milchberg
PHYS404

Expecting an A
Anonymous
07/31/2024

I was debating whether or not to leave a review, because the problem with this class is something Dr. Milchberg probably won't change: the textbook. But it NEEDS to be changed. The entire course revolves around it, and it is by far the worst physics textbook I've ever had. My dad studied physics in college just like me, and one time we were talking about stat mech when he said, "Yeah that class was terrible because we had this awful textbook, 'Thermal Physics' by Reif." Funny enough, we used that exact same textbook for this class, so it looks like my generation is forever cursed by that terrible, terrible book. Dr. Milchberg is a very solid lecturer, but unfortunately his lectures come from that textbook. 90% of the homework and exam problems come from that textbook too. I honestly wish Dr. Milchberg could have come up with more of his own homework and exam problems, because the few that he did come up with made way more sense to me than anything from Reif. All that to say, Milchberg is a good professor who unfortunately structures the course around a poorly written textbook from the 1960s.

Howard Milchberg
PHYS404

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
05/11/2024

This class was very hot and cold. Pros: -Dr. Milchberg is a great lecturer. I really felt like the content from lecture was sticking, and is was definitely worth my time to go -Dr. Milchberg does listen to student concerns and will accommodate students -Generous exam grading policy Cons: -The textbook. I personally didn't like Reif in the slightest. It was difficult to read and the homework problems selected from it often left me confused with the textbook providing no info on how to move forward. -Exams were pretty tough

Howard Milchberg
PHYS404

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
05/01/2024

Milchberg has very streamlined lectures that are clear cut in terms of what you should know. I personally do not find them lacking and his style of teaching is very interactive. He likes to ask questions to the class which is great because it encourages you to actually keep up with him. Homeworks are challenging, but they encourage you to learn. He is a funny guy. I recommend taking 404 with him.

Howard Milchberg
PHYS404

Expecting an A
Anonymous
02/07/2024

Milchberg was one of the best professors I've had from the physics department. He clearly cares about his students very much and loves discussing physics with students as well as getting to know them personally. He might look intimidating at first (I think it's the eyebrows), but once you talk to him, you will know that he is a humorous guy who has a great passion for physics. I don't understand why some people think he is disorganized. He has a clear course structure and notes for every lecture. I have had professors who clearly seemed like they did not prepare for their lectures at all, and Milchberg is not one of them. He also has a fantastic grading method and his exam questions are relevant to the homework. If you are to take PHYS404, take it with Milchberg.

Howard Milchberg
PHYS404

Expecting an A
Anonymous
02/06/2024

Awful. I have no words. I meant to leave a review overview, but he is not only unclear and taught me nothing, but he's also rude and condescending.

Christopher Lobb
PHYS404

Expecting an A
Anonymous
06/03/2023

I've had him for 2 semesters, PHYS402 and PHYS404, and he is hands down the best professor in the entire department, the absolute GOAT. Fantastic lecturer, I very rarely had to open the textbook for either of his classes, at most to do homework problems or look up relevant formulas. Very experienced, he has taught these courses for years, and knows exactly where students normally have trouble following derivations or concepts, and is always willing to slow down, re-explain topics or math content. Exams can be difficult, but I've never walked away from an exam of his thinking that any problems were too hard or BS, they are always fair applications of course content. Grading is fair, and final grades are generally pretty lenient. He is very focused on his student's understanding of the course content, and although it may be scary to ask him questions in lecture, he is always happy to answer them. I haven't had another professor in the department that could give the same depth of conceptual understanding and overall experience for a course.

Howard Milchberg
PHYS404

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/08/2023

Milchberg is a less-than-ideal professor. He would write out lessons on the board, which is always appreciated, but he would routinely write things all over the board with no discernable direction. This made writing notes and following along with his work difficult most of the time. If anyone talks in his class, even merely to ask the student next to them a clarifying question, he will pause the class and attempt to single out the student. His homework rarely relates to what is taught in class. Additionally, the book used for this course is very old and hard to read. There are no figures or thorough examples in it, so only truly dedicated readers will be capable of making it through a chapter. His exam policy is appreciated as other reviews have noted, but it is not enough to make the class worthwhile. I would avoid him if given the choice.

Theodore L Einstein
PHYS404

Anonymous
12/04/2012

Prof. Einstein is incredibly nice, with a good sense of humor (dry, but he is funny). He compiles an excellent website chock-full of supplementary material. However, his lectures run very slowly and are quite dry. Much of the time, I am lost, and just mindlessly copying notes to hopefully understand later. His personal research focus is solid-state physics, and he states that he would do x "but this is not a solid-state physics course," yet often it seems as though there is a higher emphasis on solid-state things than there need be. In short: great for supplementary material, horrible for primary lecturing.

Victor Yakovenko
PHYS404

Expecting a C+
Anonymous
12/22/2010

Well, his grading scheme is very fair and emphasizes homework above all: 50% homework and 50% exams (only one midterm and one final). He is indeed a brilliant and energetic lecturer; many people choose to skip lectures, but I feel they definitely enhanced the readings in the textbook. His choice of textbook was excellent (Thermal Physics, by Schroeder). This book was a joy to read, and I learned alot from it as well as from Yakovenko. I really thought I would fail this course, as my grades were poor. I still passed, mainly with my high homework average. Be wary on the exams; while the homeworks emphasize deriving abstract results for strange thermodynamic systems, the exams were seemed much more plug-n-chug oriented. Sometimes his lectures may get convoluted and messy, and he'll drop constants all the time. Nontheless, Yakovenko drives the point home well. The homeworks can be painful, however, and they virtually killed my weekends this semester. They really require you to think hard, but the instructions give many hints they help serve as a guide to the problems. Overall, great professor, despite my lower grade.

Victor Yakovenko
PHYS404

Anonymous
11/09/2010

He's a likable guy and classes were interesting. The one complaint I have is he doesn't write his notes in an organized fashion, which made it really hard for me to look back at my notes and know what was going on.

Theodore L Einstein
PHYS404

Anonymous
04/27/2009

Take a different class. He is absolutely incompetent at explaining things. Great guy, makes a lot of corny jokes, but cannot explain a thing.

Reviews for PHYS404