Pilkington, Wayne  

He loves using PowerPoints in lecture, but it's not what you are thinking. He does PowerPoints the way they should be done and combined with his lecture they are used as tools to help convey the topic. Simply put, the best lectures utilizing PowerPoints I have ever seen.

Professor Pilkington is an incredibly good lecturer. He is very thorough, does not stray off topic while lecturing, and explains all of the material in a very easy-to-understand way. Also, he puts all of his notes in power point presentations and copies them to handouts, so you don't need to take your own notes in class. At first, I was disappointed that I didn't get to take Mealy for 129, but if I had to compare the two now (after taking Mealy for 229), I would say I prefer Pilkington.

I took it Fall 06 - Pilkington taught all of the 129 material through Powerpoint slides, and was always asking if we liked them or not. As interesting and simple as CPE 129 material was, his voice combined with slides made me sleepy all the time. He had several quizzes that were not too difficult. The exams weren't very difficult either as long as you did the homework.

he is an extremely good teacher, the downside is that he is also a hardass on the midterms. he will include every single topic that he covered in lecture regardless if his tests end up being ridiculously long. the final was not a final it was more like a novel; it seems that he enjoys watching his students suffer for an entire three hours. if his midterms werent so hard i would probably say this is the best teacher ever.

Pilks honestly tries very, VERY hard to keep his students interested and awake in his lectures, and for that, I applaud him. It's just that the lecture material for Digital Design 1 can get dry and boring at times...otherwise, most of the material was very interesting (especially since the VHDL learned in this class was applied in lab, with the Nexys boards) and the two midterms & final were very fair. There is homework due every day at the start of class, and if you don't do it, then you are almost guaranteed to not do well on the midterms and final. Pilkington also responds quickly to emails, and will answer any questions in lecture that may come up. He's a very approachable professor, and possesses a great sense of humor to boot. Definitely recommended!

Pilkington is very experienced teaching CPE129. Since he has taught it for many years, he knows exactly where student difficulties arise. He explains the material well. However, you really need to do the homework. Without doing it, getting even a C will be a struggle. (Even though I got an A, I know this from fellow classmates).

Great teacher. Really nice, and approachable, and really great at teaching. I feel like i learned more in this class than any other class ive taken. Dr. P is where its at if youre an EE or CPE. But beware. Be prepared for LONNNGGG Testsss.

Dr. Pilkington is a very good CPE/EE professor. The first midterm we took covered logic design and the second covered programming in a HDL. When everyone did bad on the final, he curved it so everyone could get a decent grade. If we you want to learn the material well and want it presented to you in an interesting way, take this class with Dr. Pilkington.

Gives out alot of handouts which is nice. You should try your best to fill in all the blanks and if you are unable to attend class there are outline videos. He is a good teacher, I feel like exams are pretty hard. He doesn't always seem to be there for office hours, it might be because he is real busy. Overall I would say always take pilkington for any class, if he is teaching it.

Pilkington is awesome. A little quirky, but awesome. He knows what he is teaching very well and is able to present it in a very clear and straightforward way. He threatens you with quizzes throughout the quarter but there only ended up being 1 quiz, 2 midterms, and a final. As long as you keep up on the homework, this class is an easy B. If he is teaching any other classes in the future, I am definitely going to try and take him. You should too.

This was by far the best taught class I have attended at Cal Poly. Prof. Pilkington is the best lecturer I have had, all the material was presented in both visual form via slides and then his lecture complemented the slides with no tangents...ever. In addition, his tests are fair and are similar to the homework which he writes himself. Take him for CPE/EE 129.

He is a really good guy, but his tests are WAY WAY WAYYY TOOO LONG. He teaches well, he is funny, awesome powerpoints but geeze his tests were killer. I got a C in the class and an A in lab, my partner did do work at all. I just used the skills he taught me. I think I deserved a B but who knows what happened. Would I take him again? Yes. Just realize your final WILL BE 3+ hours.

really organized and energetic, very helpful and entertaining in class with his slides. he practically gives you the notes for EE 129 and you fill in some of the blanks if you are paying attention. a really easy way to transition into college.

Best EE professor so far. There is a lot of content covered in ee129 but Dr. P organized very well. He made digital logic easy to understand and fun. He even had a conmencement by the end of quarter. HW and lab was not hard but very time consuming, and final was ridiculously over 20 pages long.

K, here is the deal: Pilkington is a very nice and helpful guy, it's just didn't seem like the prepared enough for the lab exercises. What was really, really annoying is that he would post a lab on blackboard, I would do a prelab for it, and then he would change the lab 30 MINUTES BEFORE CLASS. NOT COOL. It was also almost impossible to finish the entire lab in the allotted 3 hours. This also shows some lack of planning. He is, however, very willing to help students if they have problems, and explains things in a way that makes sense. He also stays after the lab if you don't finish, which is very, very generous of him and I appreciate that.

Fun Lab. Pilikington knows his stuff, and really wants you to know it too. Helpful guy and really nice. He does like to assign a whole lot of stuff to do, and we almost never finished a lab, but he grades on how much you get done. Also let us use our lab notes on final.

A good teacher for a fun course. A funny guy overall. Hes pretty nice and understanding. It might be hard to learn because theres no real lecture connected to the class. i didnt work too hard in the class and i did well, its a lot of work but thats how the class is. Good teacher, fun class, lots of work per unit

The only downside of this class: the final is impossible. The class is fun, but he expects you to know way too much on the final, especially for an introductory course. He gives a 30 minute summary of the concepts in the lab right at the start. He's very clear in presenting concepts. Be aware if the lab documents say if there might be a quiz or if there is a prelab assignment. Every prelab/quiz/lab write up is 100 points. Also, do a good job on your lab notebook as the quarter progresses. Again, it was a fun class.

Okay, so here's the thing. The lab was a very confusing, almost pointless class. Not only do you spend the entire weekly lab doing the most dry things every (wiring circuits, learning about ohms, etc.), but Dr. P really didn't help the process go along easier. It's IMPOSSIBLE to get his attention...he's basically in his own world. Then he hardly helps you and looks at you like you should know the answer. I want to scream "I'M COMING TO COLLEGE BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW THIS INFORMATION." Extremely lengthy pre-labs to read with essential information, I'll admit. He has like one quiz the entire quarter and a few pre-lab assignments...which he makes worth 100 points EACH?? Made no sense to me. Be sure to record all information in your lab notebooks if you end up with Dr. P...he requires it to be turned in at the end of the quarter. And the annoying "Robot Egg Transporter" project....we never work on it in class. All of the work is outside of class. Try not to let this class stress you out too much. Oh, by the way, the final is IMPOSSIBLE.

literally sucks, does not teach anything and expects us to know everything coming in. this is an intro class and he makes it seem like an upper division. we all are coming in blind with barely any knowledge and he does not help us at all. idk why people say hes a good teacher, he should not be an intro teacher because he does not help at all

By far the best professor to ask questions to that I've had at poly. I had little to no hope in the EE department before I took CPE 129 with him, and took EE 228 with him after how much I enjoyed that class. Not once did I leave office hours feeling dumb or feeling like I had more questions like I do with most EE professors here. His lectures were usually enough to know the material pretty well, but if something didn't click, a single trip to office ours had it all making sense. While he does have online lectures, which are really helpful for review and studying, they don't contain all the class material since he uses the chalkboard extensively at times, so make sure to go to class. Not that you wouldn't want to, he's pretty goofy and entertaining all while teaching you the material you need to know to succeed in the course.

Pilkington is an incredible teacher. He did a great job of teaching my class EE 228 due to his many resources. He lectures the class alongside a powerpoint, and prints out hangouts with blanks that are to be filled in during lecture. This encourages students to pay attention and not zone out during powerpoints. There were 2-4 quizzes per week, and can be done with the aid of the printed handouts that are provided. The homework is hard and time consuming. He recommends that you work on the homework part by part and not to wait until the night before to complete it. Listen to him. He includes online a calendar for when to complete what problem after each lecture. If you can do the homework, the midterms will be cake for you. His midterms focus only on if you can do the problems. He's not trying to trick you. If you take Pilkington for EE 228 and listen to my advice, you will do well in his class.

Tips: Label the handouts that he gives out, and take notes exclusively on these. There are too many diagrams/formulas for you to try to write down if you don't just use the handouts. If you keep them labeled based on the date then you can know which was when. He also has them on the Polylearn if you get them out of order. DO NOT FORGET THE QUIZZES. Most of the time they're fairly easy. He's very approachable in office hours, and if you're a DRC student he is also very accommodating. The tests are just like the homework, he'll even tell you what type of problems are going to be there. The main curveball on his tests is some trickier wording, so don't do work you don't have to do, and that there are often more problems than you expect to be. You'll be okay if you catch exactly what he wants you to answer.

Pilkington was one of the best teachers I've ever had. He gives you copies of the slides he goes over in class, and gives you space to take notes on them. This was very helpful, as it makes it very hard to let lost in the lecture. He gives you one question quizzes that are assigned after every class. They make you remember the material you just learned, and help you find out right away if you don't understand something. His homework is due in chunks, but set up so you can do one problem after every lecture. Doing and understanding the homework not only sets you up for an A on the tests, but also makes sure you really understand the material. The tests aren't bad if you did the homework, and studying off past year's midterms was very helpful. You get a full double sided page cheat sheet that you turn in after the test, and that was amazing, I could spend time understanding material instead of memorizing facts that I could just look up in a real life situation. He is very organized and gets through all the material he plans on getting through. Office hours are great, I often went in before the homework was due and asked him questions just to make sure I didn't miss any easy points. I thrived with the clear organization of the class and available help. Other students have complained that he holds your hand too much, so if that bothers you, he might not be the best for you. Depending on your learning style, he may be the best teacher you ever have.

Note: I took this class in Spring 2016. Dr. Pilkington is a guru with signal and system analysis. His homeworks are a lot of work (and I mean A LOT, especially homeworks #3 and #4), and his quizzes are sometimes tricky, but overall they are pretty straightforward thanks to his excellent lecture slides (which are enough to fill a 1" binder by the end of the quarter!). BE SURE TO LABEL THE DATE ON THESE SLIDES! His two midterm exams are extremely fair, often easier and more straightforward than his homework assignments. His final, on the other hand, is an absolute MONSTER of an exam, and is significantly longer and more difficult than his midterms, primarily because so much of the material throughout the quarter is being tested; just be prepared to study A LOT before the final. Despite this, he is very helpful with clarifying things in office hours, and is very approachable. I definitely recommend taking him!

This is the most important and most intense class you will take in the EE curriculum regardless of who teaches it. I've had 228 and 328/368 with Pilkington and his style with lecture slides is not for me. There is so much crammed into this class that there is little time if at all to take notes. Printing out your own lecture slides and reading them doesn't help, because the ones he prints out are slightly different, so you're scrambling trying to stay on the same page. His suggestion to prepare has always been to read the material before hand, but the current Nahvi book is garbage (I heard from Pilkington that they're looking for a new one). Maybe in the future, there will be a good book to study from, take notes, and ultimately get a lot from the lectures. Otherwise, brace yourself for a really passive method of learning.

Hard but awesome!

Highly, highly recommend taking this class with math344 because its all important concepts and you get a fuller picture

Pilkington clearly knows the 228 material front and back. His handout format is unique since he provides us with all the notes for every class, but all in all I feel it greatly aided my studying capabilities. His often daily online quizzes were simple but greatly improved my knowledge of the material. He often says to not lose the big picture of the material, so he often tries to explain what practical applications the material would have in industry; a concept I greatly liked from the class. I heard EE 228 was like the EE equivalent of CPE 357 (which I had previously taken and was an absolute nightmare). I have also heard from students who have taken 228 with other professors that the class was hell. I do not agree with that at all. Under Pilkington, the class seemed straightforward, fair, and no curve balls were ever thrown at me. Pilkington is an excellent professor and I will definitly take him again if I have a chance.

This was Pilkington's first quarter teaching here, and he was excellent! He is focused on the students and always willing to accomodate. His lectures were both enjoyable and informative and I felt (unlike many other EE courses here) that I left with a solid understanding of the material. TAKE HIM IF YOU CAN!!!!

Dr P is really something else... I have to respectfully disagree with what other reviewers wrote. The HW problems that he assigned were really easy. So easy that one would leave it the last thing to do, but when exam time arrives you are dead. The exam questions were no where near the magnitude of the homework assigned. It's already the last week of lecture, and he has yet to return one graded homework nor post grade updates on BB. He gave two exams and a final, 7 HW assignments, no quiz, and lots of handouts to read with. Emailed him four times asking whether he would post the exam solutions as study material, but with no response. Also, the horrible book assigned to this class by a person who think he could unified everything about analog and digital within one book but carelessly forgot to include answers to the chapter problems in the back leaving the student stranded without a source to check his or her work with. If I knew it would be like this, I would rather take Saghri instead!

The sequel, EE 419/459 was much more relevant for BMED and a better support option. This class was theory and math heavy but not too bad

Pilkington is a great Professor overall, he definitely knows the topics of EE228 and 328 very well. The thing that I dislike about the lab portion in which he teaches is that he heavily emphasizes on EE228 in the lab. compared to the lab manual which contains its own prelab and reporting assignment, Professor Pilkington adds on a large list of other things to do on top of that. All the Prelab and lab report work would be understandable if this was a 3 unit class, however it is not. it is a 1 unit lab. The time needed to complete the necessary assignments is way out of proportion to the amount of time spent actually doing the labs. Again, don't get me wrong, he is a great guy and a great professor, and I would definitely recommend him for lecture courses but, as for the lab portions, I would suggest taking another professor.

Do not take this lab section with Professor Pilkington unless: a) you plan to take his EE 419/459 class, b) you received a B or higher in EE 228, or c) you have taken CSC 231 or know how to program in MatLab. Almost half of the 368 labs involve Matlab programming, so definitely take CSC 231 if you want to not struggle and/or you wanna keep working with digital filtering. All in all a very intensive lab section, 1/3 EE 228 material, 1 lab introducing EE 302 concepts, and the remainder EE 328 and digital filters. Not an easy lab at all

Best EE professor I have had in my 4 years at poly. Pilkington makes digital signal processing fun and interesting with his exciting lectures. He does a great job of tying everything together that you learned in 228 and 328 and even clarifies certain things that were vaguely covered in those classes. With Pilkington I found myself saying "why didnt someone tell me this before" so many times. 2 midterms and a final plus HW, all very straight forward and do able.

One of the best, if not the best, instructors I've ever had. The class is time consuming, but everything you do is worth while. Highly recommended for anybody slightly interested in DSP.

One of the best professors I've ever had. I'm not sure if the material is just not that difficult or he does a good job teaching but I learned a lot from this class. The homeworks and labs match up with the lecture and the exams are fair. Like a lot of teachers, the tests are hard to complete in 50 minutes so practice!

Pilkington is just the best. He tries harder than any other professor out there. Sure, DSP is a lot of work, but you actually learn the material from doing the lengthy homework, and don't really have to study for the exams. Beware! DSP never sleeps, and neither does Dr. Pilkington! If I could take him over and over again, I would.

Honestly this guy is one of the best EE profs in the department. His only real problem is he drills the class HARD. Prepare to have almost no time for other classes. No this isn't as bad as CPE 357, BUT this definitely runner up. You end up learning a TON about digital filtering. It's actually pretty awesome after you get passed the insane work load.