Professor
Lieven Vandenberghe
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Most Helpful Review
Okay well this course in general isn't the best course you can take in the EE department. It was basically Linear Algebra with MAJOR twists and turns. As for the professor, well he's an okay lecturer. His lectures were dry, for the most part, and it was a reason why many people in my class started to not care about the course around midterm season. As far as homework assignments go, Vandenberghe assigns REALLY difficult problems from his course reader. However, if you go to his office hours, which were held right after class, he would be EXTREMELY helpful on whatever homework problems you are having trouble with. The TAs' office hours helped quite a lot too. The midterm was pretty difficult (average was just above 50%), and the final pretty much owned everyone (average was just above 40%). I did scored a little above average on both exams and ended up with a B+. If you have to take EE 103, Vandenberghe would be an okay professor to take, but if you can find another one who's better (and not to mention easier), take the other one instead.
Okay well this course in general isn't the best course you can take in the EE department. It was basically Linear Algebra with MAJOR twists and turns. As for the professor, well he's an okay lecturer. His lectures were dry, for the most part, and it was a reason why many people in my class started to not care about the course around midterm season. As far as homework assignments go, Vandenberghe assigns REALLY difficult problems from his course reader. However, if you go to his office hours, which were held right after class, he would be EXTREMELY helpful on whatever homework problems you are having trouble with. The TAs' office hours helped quite a lot too. The midterm was pretty difficult (average was just above 50%), and the final pretty much owned everyone (average was just above 40%). I did scored a little above average on both exams and ended up with a B+. If you have to take EE 103, Vandenberghe would be an okay professor to take, but if you can find another one who's better (and not to mention easier), take the other one instead.
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2022 - Prof. Vandenberghe's lectures are not the most energetic, and at times it was hard to stay awake. Despite that, he was clear and straightforward, he ran like a well-oiled machine. Going to office hours was a humbling and inspiring experience; I felt smarter just talking to him. EE 133A was in some ways one of the most challenging, yet useful and interesting classes in the EE core curriculum! I also appreciated the fact that Prof. Vandenberghe wrote the textbook but was willing to give us pdf access for free, as well as an accompanying solutions manual. The material was well written.
Fall 2022 - Prof. Vandenberghe's lectures are not the most energetic, and at times it was hard to stay awake. Despite that, he was clear and straightforward, he ran like a well-oiled machine. Going to office hours was a humbling and inspiring experience; I felt smarter just talking to him. EE 133A was in some ways one of the most challenging, yet useful and interesting classes in the EE core curriculum! I also appreciated the fact that Prof. Vandenberghe wrote the textbook but was willing to give us pdf access for free, as well as an accompanying solutions manual. The material was well written.
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2018 - EE 133A is by far the hardest class the ECE department has to offer. However, this class has a ton to offer and is probably the most useful math class you will ever take if you want to go into machine learning. This class is pretty much an advanced version of Math 33A. If you like linear algebra, then you would enjoy this class. Professor: His lectures are some times boring, but I attended every lecture and did not have to read the textbook at all. As long as you understand what's going in the PPT slides, you should be fine. Homework: The professor assigns weekly homework assignments. Do go to discussion sections because the TA usually solves half the homework problems. Attend either the TA's or Professor's office hours because they will walk you through how to solve the homework problems. The Professor and the TA know their homework problems are difficult, so they do not expect you to solve the homework quickly. Exams: The midterm was doable, the final was beyond impossible. As others said, there are tricks when solving homework problems. The exams will be similar to the homework problems, except you have to think of these tricks on the spot. Grading: The median for the midterm and final hovered around a 50%. The Professor curves the median to a B+, so half the class will get at least a B+.
Fall 2018 - EE 133A is by far the hardest class the ECE department has to offer. However, this class has a ton to offer and is probably the most useful math class you will ever take if you want to go into machine learning. This class is pretty much an advanced version of Math 33A. If you like linear algebra, then you would enjoy this class. Professor: His lectures are some times boring, but I attended every lecture and did not have to read the textbook at all. As long as you understand what's going in the PPT slides, you should be fine. Homework: The professor assigns weekly homework assignments. Do go to discussion sections because the TA usually solves half the homework problems. Attend either the TA's or Professor's office hours because they will walk you through how to solve the homework problems. The Professor and the TA know their homework problems are difficult, so they do not expect you to solve the homework quickly. Exams: The midterm was doable, the final was beyond impossible. As others said, there are tricks when solving homework problems. The exams will be similar to the homework problems, except you have to think of these tricks on the spot. Grading: The median for the midterm and final hovered around a 50%. The Professor curves the median to a B+, so half the class will get at least a B+.
Most Helpful Review
Vandenberghe is a co-author of the Nonlinear Programming book so he lectures pretty much straight off slides based off of the textbook. HWs were difficult and fairly time-consuming with both written and MATLAB questions, but if you read the material from the textbook, there are many similar examples that are helpful. The final exam is worth 75% of the overall grade but its difficulty is on par with the HWs. He's very helpful at his office hours, and also provides HW help during class. Goes fairly quickly in lecture over course material, but he does go through almost all the proofs/examples step-by-step. Overall a very good professor, I would definitely recommend him.
Vandenberghe is a co-author of the Nonlinear Programming book so he lectures pretty much straight off slides based off of the textbook. HWs were difficult and fairly time-consuming with both written and MATLAB questions, but if you read the material from the textbook, there are many similar examples that are helpful. The final exam is worth 75% of the overall grade but its difficulty is on par with the HWs. He's very helpful at his office hours, and also provides HW help during class. Goes fairly quickly in lecture over course material, but he does go through almost all the proofs/examples step-by-step. Overall a very good professor, I would definitely recommend him.
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2023 - - Very good class - 8-9 homeworks that take 25-40 hours each depending on how smart you are - difficult material - disgustingly hard final that everyone thinks they failed on, only to end up with an B to an A in the class - if you put genuine effort into the homeworks and at least try to write something for each question on the final you'll get at least a B in the class - lecturer speaks quietly and monotonously but the explanations make a lot of sense if you can pay attention
Winter 2023 - - Very good class - 8-9 homeworks that take 25-40 hours each depending on how smart you are - difficult material - disgustingly hard final that everyone thinks they failed on, only to end up with an B to an A in the class - if you put genuine effort into the homeworks and at least try to write something for each question on the final you'll get at least a B in the class - lecturer speaks quietly and monotonously but the explanations make a lot of sense if you can pay attention
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