Thomas Haines

This professor has taught: MATH341, MATH403, MATH404, MATH406, MATH600, MATH601, MATH603, MATH606, MATH607, MATH608P, MATH636, MATH689A, MATH808F, MATH808G, MATH808M, MATH808S, MATH808T

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Thomas Haines MATH341 Expecting an A Anonymous 08/15/2023	Thomas Haines talks, walks, and acts like a mathematician. Though he won't kiss your ass, you can ask him any question about the material, and he will usually give a good answer. This class was tough, for sure. The first 4 weeks were basically a proof-based speedrun of basic linear algebra + Jordan canonical form, so make sure you have your notes handy from 340. Much of the rest of the class was proving and utilizing ODE solving methods. Conceptually, it was probably a little easier than 340, especially since we were more familiar with proofs. I would say the exam problems were generally easier, too. The workload was heavier, though, partly because I often decided to read the full textbook chapters in addition to attending lectures and taking notes. Overall, I enjoyed the class. The best parts of the semester were the fun examples: proving the math behind one of the early Google PageRank algorithms, deriving the formula for Fibonacci numbers via matrices, modeling fish populations with DEs (+ proving that fishing can sometimes increase the fish population), and some more.
Thomas Haines MATH404 Anonymous 05/29/2023	he assigned hw weekly and selected certain problems to grade but drops a couple of your lower graded HW sets. i spent A LOT of time doing the hw problems but he responds to emails almost immediately answering any questions i had. also has in person and zoom office hours. we had 2 exams, both curved. also gave out exam review sheets for both exams. overall he’s one of the most attentive professors i’ve had and genuinely wants you to do well in his class
Thomas Haines MATH404 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/23/2023	For 404, this was Haines's first time teaching, and so he seemed a bit rocky but he still managed to clearly prove and apply the main theorems and get the applications across. In class, he was very open to questions and answered them thoroughly. One thing he could improve on would be time management, as we would sometimes review a homework problem for over half a lecture, so this along with the first point meant that we didn't hit as many topics as other classes seemed to hit on their finals (constructability and polynomial discriminants). The homeworks were difficult -- a few were right out of the book (Herstein's Topics in Algebra) and could be more or less intuitive through the theorems in it, but the other half were written by him and could be extremely confusing without guidance. We had only one midterm (avg 77) and the final (88 avg) as the last assignments, and there was still a pretty large curve (turned my 88% into an A) at the end, so overall it felt like fair testing and grading for this class. As a lecturer, he definitely knows what he's doing, had clear proofs and applications of all his theorems, and made this class fairly challenging and interesting.
Thomas Haines MATH404 Expecting an A fiftyseven 05/21/2023	He's a great professor. The class start can be a bit slow if you've already covered some field theory in 403, but I know a lot of 403 professors didn't cover it in nearly as much depth in Amin did, so I'm sure people appreciated it. The class material itself can be difficult, especially towards the latter end with Galois Theory at its peak, but Haines explains it all very well, is happy to review things - even going into hw problems in-depth after they're due - and is clearly very invested in the subject, which reflects in his teaching. The exams were more than fair in my opinion, and I wouldn't be surprised if they're curved in the end. The homework is pretty difficult, as is expected from upper level courses, but he's open to give hints (which can be pretty in-depth) if you ask during class, and he has said he can help more in OH. I'd recommend him 100%. He made sure to go beyond the textbook near the end, which I think made our coverage of Galois Theory better than that in either of the individual textbooks we had, and he also put up notes for the stuff that wasn't in the textbook.
Thomas Haines MATH341 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/21/2023	Cool class and professor. Haines gives good explanations in class, very responsive to emails, and is fair with grading. For me, differential equations was the most computation-based math course I have taken. Expect lots of proofs as well. Haines goes into some interesting asides besides the standard 341 content, such as fibonacci numbers via linear algebra, an easy proof for the fundamental theorem of algebra, Google's page-rank algorithms via linear algebra, and predator-prey models via qualitative theory of DEs.
Thomas Haines MATH341 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/17/2023	If you're worried about this class because of the other 341 review, don't be: this class no longer makes you suffer. Haines has told us that he's read that review and doesn't want us to feel that way, and he's changed the class to make sure that the homework is reasonable. He's very receptive to feedback, and is willing to provide resources that the class asks for, like formula sheets for Laplace transforms or a list of topics that will be covered on midterms. He's more approachable than he seems, and he definitely lightened up as the semester went on. Exams are entirely reasonable, with mostly computational problems and a few proofs. He tends to post the homework late which may be an issue for you; homework was supposed to be posted on Mondays but it usually ended up being posted on Tuesday or Wednesday. He posted it Thursday afternoon once, but he agreed to give the class an extension on it to make up for it. Overall, I'd definitely recommend taking him, especially if you and your classmates are willing to speak up if you need something.
Thomas Haines MATH341 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/16/2023	I LOVE MATH341 WITH THOMAS HAINES. IT IS ALWAYS SUCH A BLAST. If math is what ur into then definitely try out this course with Thomas Haines if he’s ever an option. He’s so very kind and caring to ALL of his students and the work he assigns is always fair. His lectures are so fun and interesting that they become the highlight of my day EVERY Monday Wednesday and Friday.
Thomas Haines MATH341 Anonymous 05/10/2023	He's a good math professor. Go to lectures and take notes and you'll be fine. MATH341 is easier than MATH340, so if you're here, you should be smooth sailing.
Thomas Haines MATH341 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/09/2023	Haines makes sure he motivates and thoroughly proves the material. He will answer any question in great detail and seems to have a motivation to present the material in completeness. However, he sometimes goes too fast or too slow (he probably doesn't teach undergrads too often); make sure to help him gather a sense of what you do and don't know. He is a nice guy but isn't too social. If you find a lecture of his on youtube you can get a sense for his teaching style (although don't expect to know any of the words he says). 341 should be equally difficult to 340. I had already taken diffeq in high school so it was certainly much easier than if I hadn't. If you're the type to skip class and read the book, I bet it's plausible but I think going to class is far better. He drops 3 homeworks which is a lifesaver. Exams were fair but definitely study the homework. If you can find Ebrahimian's notes online those are super helpful too. Overall the difficulty of this class should really help prepare you for upper math classes as it is likely similar to an average 400-level course. I would recommend the 340-341 track to any math major or proof enthusiast but if you're an engineer or cs major and not into proofs it's probably not worth your time.
Thomas Haines MATH406 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 07/02/2022	great professor
Thomas Haines MATH341 Anonymous 05/21/2015	Haines' MATH 341 class was the toughest course I have ever taken, bar none. Unlike most 341 profs, he spent significant time on linear algebra (which is closer to his expertise) [6 weeks] before spending the last nine weeks on differential equations. To put it bluntly, you will probably not have a life if you do all of the HWK for this class. I went through a whole legal pad reviewing for the second final. Our class covered everything 246 covered and went slightly beyond 240 into some additional applications. The tests are tough, but he occasionally includes book problems, so if you have done all of the problems you'll see familiar ones on the tests. Nonetheless, he still knows how to drop the test average when he wants to. He likes theory and rigorously proves everything we use, though you will need to learn from the books for actually doing the HWK assignments. My issues: 1) He did not make it particularly clear what the final grades would be like (he told us all along he would curve, but by how much we are still waiting to see). That is not so important so long as the curve is fair, but it can still be quite stressful. 2) He can come across as a bit cold or even condescending when people ask questions. I do NOT think he means to; just sometimes his answers seemed a bit blunt and almost "did you really ask that?" in tone. In office hours he is nice enough, though not as helpful as some other professors. In terms of how much I learned this semester, he gets a full seven out of five points. In terms of his jokes (he started a bit stiff almost, in our class, but lightened up as the class went on I feel like), he gets a five. However, I think that the former is a four for Haines and the three for learning with classmates while poring over homework. Because of the two issues alluded to above, I give him a four overall. If you are willing to suffer for a whole semester in order to really, really learn math, take Haines. If you think your will could crack, be it Week 2 or Week 14, I would consider someone else for 341. I think in like five years I will look back and appreciate the suffering and effort that was this class, but right now it is simply a relief to have made it out in mostly one piece.
Thomas Haines MATH406 keyoung 01/04/2010	Haines was a good and fair prof. His lectures were sometimes boring but he allows time for HW questions. He has 2 exams which are curved and weren't that bad if you keep up with HW. He gave practice exams for both. HWs were very helpful in learning and practicing the material and he drops 3. He told some "funny" jokes to lighten the mood several times. Overall good prof, nice guy.
Thomas Haines MATH240 Expecting a B Anonymous95 04/15/2008	He is a very smart professor and will help with any problems. He does proofs about a third of the time and practice problems the other two thirds. He does curve at the end which is why I got a B. I would say if you are good or fair with math to take him. If math is a poor subject for you, look for someone else.
Thomas Haines MATH600 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/25/2007	He wants to push students towards state-of-the-art mathematics. Fastest course I've ever taken. I believe it's his opinion that understanding 20%+ of the lecture is doing a good job, and the details are really an individual responsibility to fill in at home. He proves powerful theorems with really general hypotheses (no warm-up theorems) and most of the course is a stream of corollaries -- this approach is very efficient, but also tends to make things seem unmotivated. Tests are at the level of the qualifying exams. but are never unreasonable -- but if you haven't had the equivalent of 403/405 or have forgotten the material, you will probably die. In case it's relevant, he doesn't come across as a very nice person, but I'm glad to have had him as an instructor.