Here's a blurb about each of the classes I've taken at UC Berkeley.

Mechanical Engineering 105 (Thermodynamics) with Prof. Chen: This is actually a class for mechanical engineering undergrad students, which I took because I need a foundation in thermo in order to work in product design. I completely wrecked the curve for most of the semester, sleeping through lectures and still scoring high 90's on the midterms and perfect scores on the homework. Professor Chen has a little bit of an accent but usually has interesting stories to relate class concepts to his work in the fields of aeronautics and automotive design. The GSI was Dan Prull, who was very helpful during office hours though not nearly as responsive in email as he promised. I really got raped on the final, though, so don't think you can coast all the way through this class.

Mechanical Engineering 227 (Mechanical Behavior of Composite Materials) with Prof. Dharan: This class was totally awesome. It was kind of an offshoot of CE131, but with a focus on composite materials (usually fiber/matrix composites). There were design problems and crazy mechanics. Dharan is funny and has extensive experience in aeronautics, space, and automotive industries. He tells great stories and has a firm grasp of the material. The GSI was Kwok Teh, who was very friendly and very helpful via office hours and email.

Civil Engineering 221 (Nonlinear Structural Analysis) with Prof. Filippou: Friggin' hard, that's the only way to describe this class. The Prof tried to slow it down because he knew most of us didn't want to be there (seems a lot of other classes that semester were cancelled), but I still felt it moved too fast. The exams alternated between fair and ridiculous, while the homework assignments were more work than my other three classes combined. The GSI, Afsin Saritas, was friendly and helpful during office hours, but his discussions were useless because he doesn't project. Overall, not a course I'd recommend unless you really like structural theory.

Civil Engineering 222 (Finite Element Method) with Dr. Puso: Dr. Puso is a local professional engineer. This class was a lot more fun than ME 180, which I took the previous year. It starts out with some heavy math, but that's largely background and not really important. The homework problems are relevant, simple, and interesting (usually), and the tests are open book/note. Dr. Puso is eager to help out after class, during office hours, and via email. The GSI was Anurag Gupta, who tends to explain things in a different way than Dr. Puso, which can add to confusion. We learned about FEAP and a variety of element models, and I really felt it directly prepared me for applications in professional engineering.

Civil Engineering 131 (Advanced Mechanics of Materials) with Professor Li: This class continues where CE130 left off, just like CE120 did. Now we investigate solid mechanics with more of an analysis bent than a civil/structural bent. Despite the "131", most of those enrolled are graduate students, as this is a prerequisite for many other materials courses in civil engineering. There is no midterm, only homework and a final. Professor Li's accent has improved only slightly since junior year, and the class is already looking like it's going to be tough. The GSI was Anurag Gupta, who knows his stuff but has a tendency to spend an entire period talking about one problem.

Civil Engineering 220 (Structural Analysis, Theory, and Applications) with Professor Filippou: I was hoping this class would pick up where CE121 left off, but instead we reviewed most of the material from 121 for the benefit of those grad students from other schools. Professor Filippou, enthusiastic as he is, still isn't able to keep me from drifting off at 8AM. We gain the benefits of increased use of MATLAB for this course, including the Prof's own structural analysis toolbox: FEDEASlab. This class has no midterms either, only homework, quizzes, and a final. The final was very difficult, so don't let the quizzes lull you into a false sense of security. The GSI is Margarita Constantinides, who's still looking just as good as she was last year ;-)

Civil Engineering 225 (Dynamics of Structures) with Professor Stojadinovic: I only took this class because it was a prerequisite for other classes in the program. It was horribly dry, and I fell asleep at every lecture I attended. I feel bad saying that, because Boza is a really nice prof and was generous enough to give me a passing grade on my dynamics comprehensive exam. We covered single-DOF systems and basic shear buildings, and the midterms/final were be open book/note. This made studying for the comprehensive exam difficult, because it was closed book. There was a lot of homework in CE225, and it became quite daunting when mixed in with 220 and 131.

Civil Engineering 240 (Civil Engineering Materials) with Professor Ostertag: Ostertag's accent has improved considerably since sophomore year CE60, and she's very enthuastic about the material. We covered failure modes of concrete, steel, and polymer materials, in addition to discussing ways to strengthen and create new materials. The class has no homework and no final, only two midterms, a few labs, and a presentation/research paper on a topic of your choice (from her list of topics).

Letters & Science 122 (Renaissance Engineers) with Professors Filippou, Casey, Hahn, and Tobriner: This class is essentially about the connections between history, art, science, and engineering, and therefore more interesting than a class without contextual background. Mostly filled with humanities majors, this course covers history from Greek civilization to the industrial revolution. The grade is made up of class participation (and a few childish homework assignments), an easy essay-based midterm, and a final project. Ours was a mock episode of the Science Channel show "Connections", which we feel is the most appropriate way to present the material in this class. The engineering professors are entertaining, but the history and architecture profs lack any enthusiasm and often just read their lecture notes verbatim. Our GSI was Eva Kanso, an Mechanical Engineering grad student who, in my opinion, gives engineering grad students a bad name. Totally incompetent and completely unwilling to concede when she's wrong.

Engineering 177 (Advanced Programming with MATLAB) with Prof. Frenklach: This class picks up where E77 left off, teaching object-oriented programming in MATLAB. The class is all assignment and project-based, with no finals or midterms. My final project was a soil stress calculator. The professor is excited, but never uses 3 words when 300 will do, which is kind of annoying when I want a quick solution to a programming question (like, say, "yes"). The GSI was Andy Schuetz, and he knows a lot of MATLAB stuff that the professor doesn't. Very helpful. The real downside to this class was having to learn Java (even if we didn't have to implement it). I'd never develop in Java.

Civil Engineering 133 (Engineering Analysis Using the Finite Element Method) with Prof. Papadopoulos: This class is very interesting because we get to understand the finite element method that we'll likely be implementing in our careers. Unfortunately, most of the work is based around solving differential equations, and I don't like doing that. The professor is brilliant and sympathetic to the students, frequently tailoring course content to our interests. The homework is mostly FEMLAB problems, and FEMLAB is a pain-in-the-ass to use. The GSI was Nicolas Rumigny, who makes up for his thick accent with his willingness to meet and help out on the assignments.

Computer Science 199 (OS X-Men) with Prof. Garcia: This is basically a free unit for having an on-campus Mac User Group (MUG). Prof. Garcia is the computer science department's resident mac zealot, and he organized a group of would-be OS X programmers to write cool applications for the Mac. The group study also has a lecture and lab component run by my roommate, who teaches Cocoa (Apple's Objective-C API). I tried picking it up at the same time I'm learing OOP in E177, looking for ways to intertwine my knowledge of the two languages. I've since given up on this endeavor. I'm just not a programmer.

Civil Engineering 199 (Experimental Mechanics) with Prof. Glaser: A bunch of graduate students are working in the Experimental Mechanics lab in Davis Hall to assemble and operate a one-million-pound rock-crushing load frame. My job was to assemble and develop the control systems, which basically involves building computers piece by piece. I worked with a fellow undergraduate student (an electrical engineering major). Lots of fun, but only when we actually do work, which wasn't very often.

Civil Engineering 121 (Advanced Structural Analysis) with Prof. Filippou: A really interesting class where we use matrix arithemetic and linear algebra to solve the equilibrium and displacement of structures. The professor is VERY enthusiastic and the class itself is usually entertaining. The material can be a bit difficult at times and we often felt like we didn't have enough examples to attack the homework with. The GSI was Margarita Constantindes, a first year grad student who really seems to know her stuff (and she's cute, too!).

Civil Engineering 122 (Design of Steel Structures) with Prof. Stojadinovic: The class continues where CE 120 left off, with the design of steel beams, columns, and trusses. The exams are open book/note/computer, and a knowledge of excel is exceeding useful. The professor is clearly interested in the material but is a bit dull because he's quiet. The GSI was Frances Yang, a girl who's a bit anal retentive when it comes to grading but usually able to explain the concepts clearly.

Civil Engineering 124 (Structural Design in Timber) with Andy Fennell, P.E.: Andy is not a professor but rather a local professional engineer who teaches this class. He's very funny and knows the material very well. The focus is on actual practical engineering and not on theory of design, which makes the class much more useful to budding home designers. Exams are open book/note, and not terribly difficult. The GSI was Kevin Lee, who I've never seen so I can't comment on his abilities.

Civil Engineering 171 (Introduction to Geological Engineering) with Prof. Glaser: Unlike the engineering geology class I took with Prof. Glaser during sophomore year, this class had no trouble keeping me awake. Geology that we learned then is built into the class where appropriate and ignored elsewhere. The class focuses on drilling, tunneling, and blasting. There are Prof. Glaser's areas of expertise, and he is quite enthusastic about them. Homeworks take a while but aren't too difficult. The GSI was Michael Capooze. All I can really say about him is that he's friendly.

Civil Engineering 120 (Structural Engineering) with Prof. Fenves: This class goes from where CE 130 left off, delving into all kinds of interesting structural analyses. It looks at designing for wind loads, earthquake loads, live loads, various building codes, plastic analysis, elastic analysis, and a whole bunch of other stuff. Not the easiest class I've taken (though I consider the midterms to be very fair), but I definitely learned a lot. The labs are very design-oriented, while the homeworks are more general. And Prof Fenves is really cool (he's a mac user, to boot) and knows his stuff. My GSI was Matt Worster, a kid from Cornell who really knows his stuff also. Very friendly and helpful.

Civil Engineering 150 (Transportation Engineering) with Prof. Daganzo: This class is sort of an overview of many elements of transportation engineering. It looks at pavement design, earthwork, design of roadways, operations analysis, logistics, to name a few. The material isn't exactly riveting, but the massive lab project that counts for a third of your grade is pretty interesting. The exams are open-book (keep your notebook organized, you'll be graded on it!) and there are only a few homework problems. Figuring out how to do them, however, often requires several hours and the help of a GSI. The GSI's for this class were Juan Carlos Munoz (in lab) and Jorge Laval (homework and grades).

Civil Engineering 167 (Project Management) with Prof. Horvath: In this class we learned all about time and labor management. We also learned about engineering economics and how to figure taxes and interest into calculating the cost of a project. It was taught jointly by Prof. Horvath and Angela Guggemos. The engineering economics part was a bit dull, but the project management was very interesting. The paper, though it seems daunting, is a real breeze; with basic english skills it can be written in your sleep. The midterms and final were very fair, and the homework did not take too long if you aren't afraid to ask the professors for help when you need it. The GSI was Kristian Benson.

Civil Engineering 175 (Geotechnical Engineering) with Prof. Seed: This was my toughest class in Spring 2002. Professor Seed is absolutely brilliant and very funny. Made 9:00AM worth waking up for. We covered seepage, permeability, stress/strain, compaction, USCS, and a host of other topics. The major downside is that the final is half of your grade. The homework was impossible without the aid of our GSI, Carrie Foulk. Brilliant girl. Hot, too (but married, sadly).

Civil Engineering 100 (Fluid Mechanics) with Prof. Sobey: This class is a look at the physics involved in fluid movements (liquids and gases) in both natural and man-made environments. Its reasonably interesting, not too difficult, with weekly assignments and six labs due through the whole semester. The labs are alternated, so you actually only have to write three; your partner writes the other three. All in all, not a terrible class...but then again not something I want to do with the rest of my life. Professor Sobey is a quiet Brit with a penchant for deadpan humor. Most of it goes by unnoticed. GSI's were Levi Brekke and Gian-Marco Pizzo, both very nice and very knowledgeable.

Civil Engineering 130 (Mechanics of Materials) with Prof. Li: This class is woefully painful. First of all, half of it is just more of Engineering 36 (see below), so it appears pretty simple. But it gets really tough really fast, and you have to work hard just to get the weekly assignments done. Office hours are a must. Professor Li speaks with a thick accent that makes going to lecture difficult. I recommend, if you must take this class, that you develop a fast friendship with either your TA or someone else that can help you. My GSI was Colleen McQuoid, who was very willing to help me after class during her free time.

Mathematics 54 (Linear Algebra and Differential Equations) with Prof. Zworski: This class is kinda fun, actually. Not because its math, but rather because most of the stuff in this class we've done before in other classes (like Engineering 77N). So I get to kind of kick back a little. Its easy if you've had a lot of math before, but hard if college is your first trip into calculus. The workload isn't too bad for four units. The three weekly discussions begin to get annoying. My GSI, Kendra Eyer, was incredibly bright and very funny.

Mechanical Engineering 104 (Dynamics) with Prof. Bogy: I said that Engineering 36 was the first half of Physics 7A, and this is the 2nd half. Its pretty much the same types of force balancing, energy, and momentum, but now suddenly things are starting to move. Kind of funny, actually. We deal with things in multiple coordinate systems and a host of different kinds of problems. The problem sets are challenging, but they don't take too long, so its cool. A fair class for 3 units. My GSI was Joaquin Rosales, who was a bit quiet but usually had a good answer.

Statistics 25 (Intro Stat for Engineers) with Prof. Brettschneider: Stat can be really tough or really easy. It all depends on your grasp of the concepts before you get to the class. I really understand statistics and how they work, so I'm doing fine. But a lot of others aren't. This stuff isn't intuitive, and it can be really tough if you haven't had any exposure to things like set theory, card/dice probabilities, and number theory. The weekly problem sets are as hard or as easy as you make them, but the weekly discussion section is utterly useless. The professor's accent makes for some entertaining jokes about "getting head" when you flip a coin. The GSI for this course was Pawel (either he didn't have a last name or he did and never bothered to tell us). He seemed to know his stuff, but he wasn't generally helpful.

Civil Engineering 70 (Engineering Geology) with Prof. Glaser: This is an introduction to Geology for engineers. The class itself is pretty easy. We got out of lecture early most days. There were only three assignments. The midterm was easy. Memorizing rocks and their properties was easy. Now if only I could find a way to avoid falling asleep during class. The GSI was Jeremy Johnson, he's pretty cool. He recognized that the stuff is boring and tries to make it brief.

Engineering 77N (Introduction to Computer Programming for Scientists and Engineers) with Prof. Rector: This class is awesome. I love every minute of it. Its really easy FOR ME. Apparently, its hard for a lot of people. I have a slight advantage that I came into the class already knowing a lot about computers and how they work. Turns out that I am actually a decent programmer. I kicked this class' butt.

Philosophy 104 (Ethical Theories) with Prof. Scheffler: The mere fact that I take this class is ironic, since I have neither ethics nor morals, the key concepts with which this class is concerned. As usual, philosophy is trying to quanitify what can't be quantified: the human thought process. Basically we study a bunch of philosophers and their ideas, then spit them back on papers and tests. The class isn't too hard. My GSI was Peter Hanks, who seems to have ... matured ... somewhat since he days in Philosophy 5. Prof. Scheffler is a great lecturer and really knows his stuff. If you're into philosophy, this class is for you.

Physics 7C (Optics, Relativity, and Quantum Mechanics) with Prof. Richards: This class sucked. Not particularly hard, but it's very boring and Prof Richards has a tendency to teach one thing and test on something completely different. My GSI was Peter Sheperd, a pretty smart guy that's really dedicated to helping us understand Quantum Mechanics and Relativity.

Engineering 11 (Intro to Environmental Engineering) with Prof. Harley: Surprisingly little work for 3 units. This class is really hard to stay awake through. Most of the material is a review of basic chemistry. Professor Harley is passionate about the subject, but the material is so boring that James Bond couldn't get us to stay conscious.

Engineering 36 (Statics) with Prof. Cooper: An awful lot of work for only 2 units. It was pretty easy work, though. For those of you who don't know, statics is physics without motion. Its even easier than it sounds. A must for civil engineers, who tend to build things that stand still. Professor Cooper is a good lecturer. Its not his fault the material is more boring than watching linoleum peel, but he does his best to liven it up with entertaining examples. Occasionally, Prof. Asteneh comes in and lectures us on bridges. I have never seen a man more passionate about his work. I hope I have him for a professor later in my Berkley career.

Civil Engineering 60 (Properties of Materials) with Prof. Ostertag: Not too much work for 3 units. Labs, homework, a bit of reading, no big whoop. The class started out as a chemistry review, but it gets into very complex stuff about steel, concrete, wood, and polymers (note that "complex" is not the same as "interesting"). Professor Ostertag knows her stuff but lacks the enthusiasm needed to bring the info to the students. The GSI, Patxi, is really cool, but I can't stand the fact that the lab instructor, Lev, barely speaks above a mumble. It makes it very difficult to do the lab correctly when he can't tell you what to do!

Physics 7b (Electricity and Magnetism) with Prof. Denbeaux: Almost no work for 4 units. Professor Denbeaux obviously knows his stuff and really cares about his students. He was going to show up for my discussion section when we didn't have a GSI! The material, however, is pretty dull. The demos are boring and the examples in class are the same ones from the book.

Math 53M (Multi-Variable Calculus) with Prof. Frenkel: WAY TOO MUCH WORK for 4 units. Homework assignments take at least 5 hours. Professor Frenkel sounds like Chekov from Star Trek. He also knows his stuff really well, but classes are so long that they put all of us to sleep. Our GSI, Andy, is a really cool and really smart guy.

Chemistry 1A with Prof. Pines: this class ruled! Something got blown up (on purpose) during every lecture. Professor Pines is a great lecturer and very passionate about teaching. His tests were very fair. I had this really hot GSI, Tanya Mazur. There was a lot of work: weekly labs, two midterms, and optional weekly homework.

Physics 7A with Prof. McEuen: the coolest physics class ever! McEuen is a total hippie and he was hysterical in class. The labs in the class were not very interesting, but they were very easy to do and didn't require any work to be taken home. The class had two midterms and weekly homework assignments. I had a great GSI named David Hernandez. He was very smart and really good at explaining concepts. I nominated him for GSI of the year.

City Planning 118AC with Prof. Ogilvie: This class also ruled! A lot of work, but it was fun. Three papers and a midterm. The reading assignments are interesting, but not as useful as going to lecture. My GSI's name was Sara Ernst.

English 1A w/ Erika Clowes: I learned more in this class than in all other English classes combined. Three papers and a lot of reading. None of the reading was good, but for some reason I learned a lot anyway.

Math 1B with Prof. Ratner: A whole lot of integration. YAWN. My GSI's name was Maria Bani-Adam. She was very nice and was under the impression that I knew everything (which could be because I do).

Philosophy 5 with Prof. Ryckman: A joke. 2 papers, midterm, optional final. Don't bother doing the reading. GSI was Ben Callard. Smart guy, very friendly. You don't really do any philosophizing, but rather study the history of scientists that have revolutionized the way we think about the world.

Engineering 28 with Prof. Lieu: A CAD class with some cool design stuff. GSI was Mike Drew. A very smart, very sarcastic guy who taught me a lot about using AutoCAD. The exams were very difficult, though the homework assignments and the project were easy.

Engineering 92 with Prof. Casey: A no-work survey course for 1 unit. Just show up. Most of the lectures are pretty boring.

Civil Engineering 92 with Prof. Kanafani: Another no-work survey course. Just show up and write the weekly reports and you pass.