Dr Kamei is widely regarded as the best BE professor for a good reason. Genuinely, anyone who says he is mean or unhelpful or anything like that probably didn't go to class and didn't work hard. This class is very much you get what you put in.

Definitely a tough class, but doable if you work hard and really focus on practicing problems and asking questions. Dr. Kamei is a great professor-- personable, funny, and cares about students, and lectures are enjoyable and interesting. Keep looking at the light at the end of the tunnel, and you might find you enjoy getting Hulk-slammed by problem set questions about Italian salad dressing.

Other than 110, probably the most difficult class you will take at UCLA. Coming from someone who is not interested in these topics (100's/110's, especially after taking these classes), getting through and staying motivated was the most challenging things. I would say that a good chunk of the information you learn here will never be applied again after you graduate and move on to industry, should you choose to pursue industry. A lot of the material you learn is mostly applicational with respect to heavy R&D bench work that a lot of bioengineering undergraduates end up not pursuing. Thus, the challenge to stay motivated.

Midterm avgs: ~60-70%'s (definitely offset by some of the pre-med majors so take averages with a grain of salt)

Do the problem sets (with or without the master folder), study the old exams religiously, and learn the patterns of the answers. Start the problem sets early so you don't pull all nighters. At least 1 or 2 problems a day. Highlight and underline variables given, note down any important concepts he mentions in a problem, and highlight the questions he asks in a problem. He can give multiple questions in a single problem.

Kamei as a person is a cool individual. As a professor, he can teach, but the material itself is just so dense and fast-paced that it lowers the value of the course as a whole. Learning can often times become a chore with this class (and 110. 110 is similar format to 100, just a heavier math focus).

For those who find this course unrelated to what they want to pursue in the future, do not let this professor/class steer you away from this major. As long as you pass to be able to take the next course and graduate (2.0 gpa avg for the quarter, and no less than a D- as of this review date), props to you. You made it out and you are going to do great. No one cares about what grades you get in industry or after college. It sucks that 100 and 110 are mandatory, but if you keep your head down and grind, you will be okay.

Dr. Kamei is a great professor and a friendly guy, but this class is HARD. The exams and weekly problem sets are very challenging, so fall behind at your own risk. Exams shouldn't have anything surprising: all the main concepts are drilled in on the problem sets. Midterm averages were in the 60% range if I recall correctly.

Taken online during covid. This class is basically just doing the problem sets over and over and using the solutions as a guide in order to teach yourself will be on the exams (also do the extra practice problems before each exam they help). The problem sets take a very long time, do not wait until the night before to do them it will not be fun. His lectures were long and somewhat helpful, but they are a lot of information so it is hard to find the examples and equations you need. He's a nice guy, and definitely very knowledgeable, and his office hours are pretty helpful as well as discussions.

I imagine this is what doing an MD PhD is like. At least I feel like my brain has expanded, but at what price? All-nighters were pulled every Tuesday (problem sets were due on Wednesday) and tears were shed. I attended lecture, then went over the lecture again, still did not completely understand it, and gave up and started the homework. Basically, everything you have heard is true. But at least he curves.

He is by far one of the best teachers I've ever had. He manages to make the 2 hour class bearable and keep you engaged in the lectures. Even though he posts powerpoint slides online, you have to go to lectures! He does extra work on the board and describes the slides in more detail. The material for the class is definitely challenging, make sure you go to office hours (they're like another discussion)! Even though the class is tough he curves generously (to a B+ my year). It's definitely a good introduction to bioengineering upper-divs!

such a cool professor, cares so much about student learning and wants the best for UCLA's BE program. i respect him so much. beware though, his tests are challenging, and bioengineers here are the cream of the crop, so curves aren't the most ideal. although the grade does work in your favor, as he curves to a B/B+ average, be prepared to put in a lot of effort. a LOT.

in terms of success, MAKE SURE YOU ONLY TAKE 3 CLASSES when you are signing up for this class, as it demands time like none other. review lecture notes the day of lecture itself, keep up with the material, GO TO OFFICE HOURS- almost like an extra discussion, do ALL the problems he assigns, discussion, office hours AND problem sets, ask questions, and you'll be fine.

his tests will have short answer questions that are just factual recall questions to reward people that work hard, you should put conceptual explanations down on your cheat sheet that you can use, these are easy pts so nail them. there will be a couple medium frq questions- make sure you REVIEW lecture notes and his EXAMPLE PROBLEMS because these help with such questions. and there will be one impossibly hard wtf question that no one knows how to do. dont panic, just write down whatever you know. as long as you nail all the other questions you WILL be above the curve.

most importantly, enjoy the material. thermodynamics, the core of this class, can be challenging and dense, but kamei makes it bearable

He is very knowledgeable and passionate about the material that he teaches. However, office hours are kind of mandatory to get a good grade in this class and going to office hours can take up a significant number of time.

Don't take 4 classes if you are taking a class with Kamei. Curves aren't the best because Bioengineering has a very smart group of people, around 60% and keep in mind that his tests have a mix of easy, medium, and impossible hard questions.

If you're a bioengineer, this will be your first upper-division course. Kamei's a great guy. He's very interactive and really wants his students to learn the material. If you've been around and about as a 1st year bioengineer (i.e. BMES and etc.) you will have seen this guy around. Pretty chill.

Regarding the class, your first homework assignment and your first two lectures will seem like cake. The second problem set is more difficult but is mostly the same sort of probability stuff. Then Problem Set #3 (yes you see I even capitalized the first letters) hits, and all hell breaks loose. Even with what he does in the lectures, you will be completely clueless as to what to do. At that time I thought that was the hardest homework assignment I've ever gotten.

After your 1st midterm, which is pretty fair, you get a break and learn some easy stuff. Then he launches into the biggest part of the class: chemical potentials. This is essentially where the core of the class lies. The problem sets aren't as gigantic as PS#3 but are difficult in their own ways. Midterm #2 hits, which is about the same difficulty as #1, and then you learn about a few more things and finish off the class. The final has one more problem than a midterm. For our final, I finished #2 to #5 in an hour and spent the rest of the time on #1. It's not uncommon for Kameizing to put a WTF curveball question on his exams.

So how do you do well? Go to every single office hours session because he does extra problems that really help drive home the material. Discussions are a must too. Kamei posts everything on CourseWeb. You may not be used to going to OH for other classes, but for BE100 it will seem like just another lecture session, except you get to ask questions and see example problems done. Problems are generally derivation-based with no numbers; you will most likely have the entire lower-case Greek alphabet memorized by the end of the course. The exams WILL take up the whole time for most people as well.

And near the end Kamei advertises positions in his lab. Beware though, he requires a lot of work from his researchers. So have fun with the class, it'll be a blast.