Thomas Beigel

This professor has taught: EDSP652, ENES102, ENES220, ENES221, ENME400

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Thomas Beigel ENES220 Expecting a C+ acthakur 01/24/2024	Biegel was a mediocre teacher, and for some reason didn't spend anytime explaining the spatial concepts and notation (the most grade-heavy part of the course) like the other teachers did. At some point in the semester I began attending a different professor's class, which was a world of difference. Calabro is a much better option, and contributed much more to my understanding of the class in three weeks than Biegel did in the entire semester. I ended up relying on the TAs, students, and other professors much more than Biegel, who didn't contribute much to my understanding of the content of the course.
Thomas Beigel ENES102 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/20/2023	Beigel is hands down the funniest professor I've ever had in my opinion. He can come off as a bit of an asshole but it just depends on your type of humor (I found his sarcasm to be absolutely hilarious). His teaching style worked very well for me being an online class. Beigel gets straight to the point and tells you what you need to know without explaining bs and goes super in depth with great explanation when working through in class examples. My only concern would be that I found his exams to be quite more difficult than other sections and his grading was a bit harsh. Other than that I would totally recommend Beigel and you should probably choose someone else if you can't take a joke or get easily offended.
Thomas Beigel ENES102 Anonymous 12/16/2023	Beigel was an extremely mediocre teacher. Yes, he was amusing and entertaining however, his teaching style sucked. You have to watch pre-recorded lecture videos before class because all he does is do problems during the actual class. Because of this, I didn't feel like I was learning concepts, instead, I was learning procedures for completing problems. This class is also online, you never see him once in person. He also does not respond to emails, so I really wouldn't even try. Honestly, I thought the exams were fair. Before the exam, he gives practice problems that were on previous exams. If you do those and understand them, you should be fine. I learned more from my TA (shoutout to Hemant Kumar, he's the best!!). Kumar was super helpful during Friday's group work days and his office hours.
Thomas Beigel ENES102 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/06/2023	A comical person and a true personality, but a really awful teacher. If you already know the material take this course, since he records literally everything (don't even have to bother coming to class except for the comedy of seeing him drink his 4th monster in 2hrs). Otherwise it's kind of hell, since he doesn't explain anything, ever. Literally sarcastically makes fun of students who ask questions, so I learned everything in this course from the TAs. HW is tough and extremely time consuming, and he does NOT give ANY extensions EVER - a literal doctor's note documenting a concussion he just was like oh yeah sorry no can do.
Thomas Beigel ENES102 Expecting a B vishal128 06/01/2022	One of my favorite professors in the engineering department. He's a lot of fun, and his review sessions for midterms saved my grade. He's hilarious (depending on your type of humor) and he likes conversing with students. His iconic "celebratory chug" is great, and he made taking the class a great experience.
Thomas Beigel ENES102 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/26/2022	Most of the things said about biegel I agree on, good and funny professor, teaches by example, but grades fairly harshly. However I do want to highlight a grading issue. All grades do not go in canvas. Some are on prairie learn, some are in gradescope, and I didn’t even get a grade back for the project. A week after the semester ended, I just see a grade pop up in testudo with no breakdown or explanation anywhere (from what I can find). Very disorganized.
Thomas Beigel ENES102 Expecting a C+ Anonymous 05/15/2022	Good guy really nice and I felt like I did learn things. I did not like a couple of things: The hw took 6 hours or more some weeks, the exams were too hard and they weigh too much and if you screw up on one or 2 it's hard to recover, he doesn't answer emails frequently. I felt like I learned thou and he is definitely better than other professors. Go with him.
Thomas Beigel ENES102 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/12/2022	Concepts were taught mainly through examples so I felt that I wasn't actually learning the concepts. Exams were harder than the homework or practice exams that were given. He also didn't put grades into canvas ever so I was have to calculate my grade myself every time an assignment was given back. He isn't a bad teacher, just his teaching style and the way that the class worked didn't work well with me.
Thomas Beigel ENES102 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/10/2022	Beigel is a good professor. This was an asynchronous class and his video lectures were concise and easy to follow. He would always do practice problems during lecture. The one downside is that beigel is an extremely harsh grader, so you have to be nigh perfect on your exams to maintain an A (this class isn't curved). I'd recommend him though, he's good.
Thomas Beigel ENES220 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/04/2022	Beigel is a fantastic teacher. While he occasionally was a little slow on posting notes, he was very responsive to students concerns. He occasionally makes jokes that some may find a little off-putting, but he does it all in good humor and truly cares about his students and making sure students actually understand what's going on in class. The one annoying part of the class was the pre-lecture videos we had to watch before class, but they did help me to learn the course concepts very well.
Thomas Beigel ENES220 Expecting a B Anonymous 09/03/2021	Mechanics is not an easy course. Most students have to retake it. I took it for the first time during the summer. Do not take this as a summer course under any circumstances. Pros: * No textbook is required. * Helpful lectures. The examples he provides are useful and similar to problems seen on the exam. * Equation sheet. He allows you to use both sides of a standard 8.5 by 11" paper. You are allowed to put anything on it. Examples, equations, whatever you want. I recommend creating your sheet digitally and then printing it in high quality. That way you can utilize the most out of both sides of the paper. Cons: * Long exams, not enough time. The exam problems are too difficult to be completed within the time allotted to the exam. You won't have enough time to solve each problem correctly. Focus on what you know, prioritize accordingly. Go into this class expecting a B. * Groupwork. The groupwork is horribly categorized, the problems are too numerous and too creatively difficult. Try to complete as much as you can before class, so that you'll have some progress to show during class. The only way you can solve these is with hints. So whenever you get stuck, ask your groupmates and then ask the Professor or TA, do not hesitate!
Thomas Beigel ENES220 Expecting an A Anonymous 11/05/2020	Its covid time so that means its online but the way he runs the class is so easy to follow and keep up with the work. I love his short and concise videos for instruction and the homework isnt bad. the review sessions before exams are a lifesaver and Beigel is a really enjoyable person. Even with that rockstar addiction he has.
Thomas Beigel ENES220 Expecting a B Anonymous 07/21/2020	This review is strictly based off of his online class as that is what people will be dealing with for the next semester or so. He was amazing in person, but lacks a little on the online transition. It was difficult to reach him, his lectures were released at 1am at night, and the first exam was difficult. That being said, he understood this and gave curves generously based on the struggle given to students. Extra credit opportunities were given and he consistently changed homework due dates based on the convenience of the class. His TA was great and usually the one people would contact. This was a summer class and was extremely accelerated so I imagine during the semester it will be easier.
Thomas Beigel ENES220 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/11/2019	Beigel was an excellent professor who knows how to explain concepts better than most other professors. He has taught the course so many times at this point that he knows exactly what he's doing. He is consistently ahead of all other professors and therefore can take the time to tell you some of his best jokes or engineering facts. As long as you attend lectures (most of them at least), understand homework problems, attend his review session before exams (extremely helpful), and most of all take the time to make an equation sheet, there is absolutely no way you won't get an A in this class
Thomas Beigel ENES220 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/26/2014	Up until the week before thanksgiving, I would have given Beigel 5 stars. When he teaches, he is excellent. He explains things clearly, and even manages to make it entertaining. He engages the class, and makes sure you are not afraid of asking a question, no mean feat for a class of 40+. However, by thanksgiving, his teaching took a turn for the worst. Never have I had a teacher who is more lazy. By the end, he started class 20 minutes late because he was sitting outside the room, too lazy to come in. He can be rude too. He once ripped someones homework in half to entertain the class. One girl asked for him to do a problem for final exam review. He said he didn't feel like it a proceeded to tell a joke. He seems to care more about coming off as smart, funny, aloof, and all knowing. Instead, he can be off-putting, lazy, and inconsiderate.
Thomas Beigel ENES220 Expecting an A jschel 12/09/2014	Unequivocally the best prof I've had at UMD. I don't even know how, though. He goofs off for the first 10+ minutes of class, and pretty much everything everyone else said, but when he gets to teaching... He says more with less time and words than any other prof, but you can still understand it; he's not just fire-hosing you with information. I'm choosing a senior elective based about 50% on the fact that Beigel is teaching it.... TAKE BEIGEL. Caveat: He's not for everyone. A friend of mine really didn't like him because he does more physical, visible explanations rather than derivations and proofs. I hate derivations so this was perfect, but not for my friend.
Thomas Beigel ENES220 Expecting a B cheesecake 05/15/2014	Overall, Beigel is a friendly and approachable teacher. However, I do not like his teaching style and I think he is somewhat lazy for a teacher. He basically writes down stuff on the board and you just copy what he writes down. He doesn't really explain material as he writes it down.
Thomas Beigel ENES102 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/06/2013	Beigel is a very good teacher. He doesn't beat around the bush and is very effective in teaching his students the best way to complete each problem. If you pay attention and make an effort to understand all the homeworks, you should be fine to pass the class. He is very approachable during office hours too, but sometimes instead of explaining a problem to you, he will just do it for you. If you ask, though, he won't have a problem explaining what he did. Also if you are like me, you have difficulty trying to pay attention for a whole class period. He doesn't necessarily start teaching right away and will keep you engaged with stories which are always pretty interesting. His classes go by pretty fast so you're not sitting there watching the clock the whole time. Definitely take Beigel.
Thomas Beigel ENES220 Expecting a B Anonymous 11/14/2013	he is a good person. I like him as a person. As a teacher, it goes back and forth. He doesn't really teach as much as he just shows examples- and sometimes he lies when doing the problems just to see if someone will call him out on it. So... now I'm lost in the class. Just take him if you're a genius who wants a chill environment- if you really want to learn things- take another teacher, but go to Tom's office hours or review sessions.
Thomas Beigel ENES102 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/17/2013	He's a really nice guy in general, and a pretty good teacher. The homework load was alright, especially if you did the problems throughout the week. If you waited until the last minute, it would suck, but you could still get them done. The reason I won't give him 5 stars is because he was extremely inappropriate at time, especially towards females. He makes dirty jokes that were usually funny, but a lot of the time were downright offensive. One girl I know stopped going to his office hours and was afraid to ask him for help because of the things he said to her. Gives good examples, and is helpful, but sometimes his jokes go way too far.
Thomas Beigel ENES220 Expecting an A Anonymous 11/28/2012	Pretty easy class, didn't need to study too hard for the exams and the homeworks are not too bad if you work with other students. Beigel is a funny guy and a decent teacher. He wastes a TON of time at the beginnings of classes, so you can show up 10 minutes late and usually miss nothing. He allows a lot of freedom with the project, which is nice compared to what others have had to do (ie Bonenberger's classes). I can see how some students may have trouble since he does not really teach concepts, but in reality these students are probably not cut out to be engineers.
Thomas Beigel ENES220 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/10/2012	One of the best professors in the engineering department. People complain that he only does one or two examples a day, but the examples he does are exactly what you need to know he explains the examples thoroughly, showing each step. He does bs for most of this class but he can afford to because he's not teaching you the stuff you don't need to know. Pay attention in class and study his examples before the test, you'll be fine. If you want a teacher who goes the full time doing pointless examples and proofs just because it makes you feel like you're learning something, don't take him. Oh, he's also one of the nicest and funniest people out there.
Thomas Beigel ENES102 Expecting a B Anonymous 01/05/2012	I'm obviously a minority here, but I was not a big fan of Beigel. He teaches by example, and not by concepts, which really screwed me over when I got to the final - a couple of the problems I had never seen before, and thus had no idea how to do them. The homework and the in-class problems (he has us do some in discussion in groups) were easy, as all you needed to do was copy from the solutions manual. However, office hours were nice, even though they are always crowded. You can ask him questions one-on-one. Finally, his personality. Most people love it, I couldn't stand it. He would talk for 30 minutes into class, and then do one example problem. I would much rather spend that time sleeping since it was a 9am class, or let us out early. And I felt as though you couldn't come late or you might miss something, because the time he talked was irregular. tl;dr: Teaches by example, copy the homework, go to office hours, deal with him wasting your time.
Thomas Beigel ENES102 Expecting an A Anonymous 11/30/2011	Tom is a good statics teacher. The concepts in statics are pretty easy: sum of all forces and moments equal 0, with a little bit of material properties included. Tom teaches with 1-2 examples per class. This is fine for people who learn through example, but I found I would not fully understand what was being taught. The homework problems ended up being a pain. I ended up in office hours every week to do them because I may miss a concept tom showed during lecture. Tests (which are generally the same among all statics teachers) can be tricky because there can be problems you have never seen before, but can surely apply the big concepts to solving the problems. He gives out a lot of practice problems to prepare you for exams, so take advantage of those.
Thomas Beigel ENES102 Expecting a B- Anonymous 05/30/2011	Wow after that final, I'm glad I even passed. I'll be honest, I think I learned more by doing the homework with the solution manual (obviously written out by Bonenberger), than going to Tom's lectures. We did on average one example a class, which definitely was not getting the material into my head. Others might have been at an advantage if they had physics or calc 3. Its a tough class, but enjoyable with Tom. You could always turn in stuff late, and he is so willing to help. I love him as a person, just not as a teacher. Get on his good side, and make an effort to show you're trying at least! He's not for everyone.
Thomas Beigel ENES220 Expecting an A- Anonymous 04/23/2011	Great professor - definitely worth taking his class if you get the chance. The other reviews are pretty spot on.
Thomas Beigel ENES220 Expecting a B Anonymous 01/04/2011	Ehhhh..I'm going to be honest in that I really don't see what the big deal is with this guy. He blazes through the material with one or two examples per topic which for boneheads like me simply is not enough to get the 'A' that everyone wants, nor is it enough to learn the material sufficiently well. I did laugh my ass off all semester though, and he is highly amusing, but looking back I would have rather had someone more rigorous because I feel like I would have definetly gotten my moneys worth having not had Tom. Pros: - You can turn your all of your crap in pretty much as late as you want if you just tell a dead baby joke or make a general remark regarding the end of the human race as we know it (highly inevitable). - Is definetly sympathetic towards his students, and realizes that this university pretty much sucks ass in all aspects of teaching engineering (he went here too). - Makes classtime very quick and concise (could also be a bad thing for people like me) Cons: - Rushes through material with one or two examples and not a very thorough or memerable approach (I've already forgotten a good amount since class has let out and its only been a few weeks.) - Is late, and is a HUGE slacker which for someone like me was annoying (again...didn't feel like I got my $ or time's worth) Overall I'd say go for it. Engineering is awful here anyways, so its not like you are going to find another teacher with an actual sense of humor like him. If you are smarter than I am (I'm an idiot and I got a B) and can extrapolate a lot out of a few simple problems, then this class will be a very easy and enjoyable experience with him. If you need to be smacked in the head with a hammer to learn the material then I would definetly go with someone else who is going to have a much more thorough and in depth approach to this class. His class notes were only slightly helpful most of the time in attempting homework problems, and I found them to be very jumpy and illogical.
Thomas Beigel ENES102 Anonymous 12/17/2010	VERY smart, funny, nice guy. Not once did he ever get angry at a student for asking a question or for clarification, no matter how stupid the question. He is very approachable and helpful, and really knows what you need to know and what you dont - he's been doing this for almost 20 years. However, the final exam was brutal, even though the midterms were easy, so be warned. I definitely recommend Beigel for ENES102.
Thomas Beigel ENES220 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/16/2010	Tom is easily the best professor I've ever had. He's a great guy, hilarious, very reasonable, strives to help his students however he can, and he's legitimately a good teacher. While most professors earn their teaching position simply by knowing the material (some don't even meet this qualification), Tom actually knows how to teach it as well, a skill that seems to be in strikingly short supply amongst UMD professors.
Thomas Beigel ENES220 Expecting an A+ fiddlerkrt 03/01/2010	The best engineering professor I have had at this university by far. I agree with all the other comments posted about him thus far: 1. Comes to late pretty much every class 2. Teaches you more in 25 minutes than you would learn in any other 50 minute class 3. Tells semi-offensive jokes that you either find hilarious or slightly alarming. 4. Cancels class whenever he isn't up for teaching that day 5. Explains the material extremely well. 6. He is extremely interested in answering any questions you have. I strongly recommend him for ENES102/220.
Thomas Beigel ENES220 terp315 12/18/2009	Tom is the man. Definitely take him for 102/220 if you can. Who knew you could learn material and have a good time in class? Blows my mind...
Thomas Beigel ENES220 Expecting an A a778999 11/21/2009	For some reason, he teaches a lot less than the other professors yet the students learn a lot more. Sometimes, the hour-long lecture is taught in as little as 20 minutes. Having him as a teacher drastically increases your chances of doing well on the midterms and finals. But he tells a lot of offensive jokes so if you're the sensitive type, avoid him.
Thomas Beigel ENES102 Anonymous 04/15/2009	Beigel is the best instructor i've had. He only teaches about 25 minutes out of a normal class, but i guarantee you will learn more in those 25 minutes than you do in any other 50 minutes class. Also, the beginning of statics covers a lot of material from the beginning of physics and calc 3 and i learned my stuff for all 3 classes in beigels lectures. He also tells you exactly whats on tests and is the funniest teacher youll have. He sometimes will give you the option of leaving or staying and listening to his stories. Stay for the stories.
Thomas Beigel ENES220 Expecting a B Anonymous 04/01/2009	Either you like him or you hate him. hes a no BS kind of guy for problems, but a complete BS guy when it comes to doing work. he will occasionally cancel class within the first 5 minutes because he doesnt feel like teaching that day. this is great if you have other shit to do, but not so good if you want to learn and just walked all the way across campus to his class. He is willing to help out if you make an appointment to see him but dont count on him being in his office hours. his sense of humor is such that if u ask a question he will call you retarded but is clearly kidding and will proceed to answer. He doesnt teach from the book though so just write down the equations he give in class. they make things easier anyway.
Thomas Beigel ENES220 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/26/2008	Beigel is only for certain types of students. If you have trouble with Physics and ENES then he is definetly not for you. He doesn't really teach but if you are the type that can learn off one or two examples off the board and dont need every thing explained to you this is for you. He does however teach you only what you need to know and does not overload you with information. And somehow the class always seems to know exactly what problems will be on the exams.
Thomas Beigel ENES220 Expecting an A Anonymous 08/05/2008	Had him for ENES 102, ENES 220, and ENME 400...Great teacher. Strips the confusing bs down to what you really need to know. I'll warn you, he is pretty vulgar at times and is almost always late to class. If you don't care about that stuff, take him, he is a great teacher. If you follow what he does in class and review what he tells you will be on the tests and finals, you will get an A.
Thomas Beigel ENES102 t69 05/11/2008	His class is definatley an experince. I'd recomend if you can get him. He'll always be late and won't always teach, which is a lot better than it sounds. He'll help you all you need at office hours and is a very understanding guy. Very freindly and funny. Highly recomend.
Thomas Beigel ENES102 jmartin1 05/06/2008	tom is probably on of the most hilarious teachers ive ever had. he will come in late every day, and will tell some of the dirtiest, yet hilarious stories. sometimes he can be lazy when teaching the stuff, but he does explain it pretty well, and he'll help you if you really need it
Thomas Beigel ENES102 Anonymous 05/06/2008	Beigel is awesome. He will take a problem, tell you how to do it the long way, then show you the easiest way to do it. He is a genius. Most of us are not. So if you ask him a question he will try to lead you through it, but if you're too slow to understand he will move on and you will have to go to his office hours or ask him after class. Easier to just ask kids around you. Here's one thing you really don't know: Beigel is Chuck Norris in disguise. It could be a good thing, or a bad thing. Either way, it's awesome. Just take his class.
Thomas Beigel ENES102 Anonymous 05/02/2008	Beigel is by far one of the most unusual instructors I have encountered. He generally shows up late to class, tells lots of jokes and stories and can be quite profane. If you don't mind listening to his dirty jokes and frequent swearing, he actually does a pretty good job teaching. He does lots of examples that are likely to show up on exams and does a good job answering any questions if people don't understand.
Thomas Beigel ENES220 Expecting an A almostdone 12/04/2007	A great teacher. I never went to class unless there some concept I didn't understand in the homework. Beigel would then go over that type of thoroughly so it would be pretty difficult to not understand. His reviews for the tests also go over everything you would need to know. Overall Mechanics is not a hard course. You could easily just not go to class and teach it to yourself. But, if you to class you have to do very little work outside of it.
Thomas Beigel ENES220 Anonymous 12/04/2007	Beigel teaches the students how to finish the problems they have to complete for the homework and exams in order to pass the course. He teaches with the minimal amount of academic BS that you will encounter from every other professor. It's almost like he has worked in the real world as an actual practicing engineer! The lectures are straightforward and to the point: 1. Here is a concept 2. Here is a problem involving this concept 3. Here is how you solve the problem 4. next concept On the first day Beigel is very up front about his teaching style and encourages students to switch to a different section if they don't like it. If you want a professor that reads the book to you verbatim, then don't take Beigel's class.
Thomas Beigel ENES220 Expecting an A vocke 10/23/2007	If you like being taught the easy and stripped down version, this is the teacher for you. I personally found him unprofessional. He consistently treated the class like his social hour and would start 20 min late and then keep us late because he didn't get through all of the material. If you want to get on his good side, bring him food/mountain dew.
Thomas Beigel ENES220 Expecting an A scroofoo 10/23/2007	This is the professor you want for mechanics of materials. Tells you what you need to know for the test, how to think through problems, and how to apply that knowledge to real-world situations. He's also hilarious. Work is identical to statics- 1 hw/week, 3 tests or so, and a sweet project. Take Beigel, he's the man.