Vakalis, Ignatios  

This teacher is a really funny guy and really enjoys teaching this material. He grades pretty tough, but if you actually do the homework and pay attention to the problems he addresses in class, you will do fine. But really, all the questions on the tests are straight from the homework or from problems he does in class. I tried to to skate by, but I know an A was possible if I just paid a little more attention during lecture

I thought this class was neat. There wasn't a big workload, and listening to Vakalis talk was always intersting. He did lots of example problems from each homework on the board, and the book has everything you need to know to do good.

The guy really knows his stuff! I'd take him again in a heartbeat. He does a really good job explaining the material and the tests are straight forward. If you do the homework, and review it before the exams, you shouldn't have too much trouble...

Vakalis is a great teacher. He's very passionate about his work, and while sometimes he can be a pain in the ass, especially when he discusses homework problems that he went over class the night before, he's still a very great teacher. His stories are interesting and the material, while n ot exactly the most fun, are very bearable as long as YOU make the effort to pay attention. Overall, a good teacher.

Dr. Ignatios Vakalis is Greek. Naturally, he likes to incorporate a daily math lesson like "why pi equals 2 in spherical geometry" in his lectures. He has the best grading system. He teaches you how to get an A: please the grader by showing what you know on the exams. There are 2 exams and a final in Discrete Structures. Homework was easy. I took this class purely out of interest for computer science. Dr Vakalis was entertaining and well-worth the $1000 I paid for this course as an out-of-state student.

Vakalis is a really cool guy. He's Greek so he has a little bit of an accent, but he's not hard to understand at all. He's really funny and entertaining and likes to tell stories. The subject material of this class is just so damn boring. Vakalis does his best to make the subject material as interesting as possible. Homework load isn't too much. He usually assigns homework on Thursdays and Tuesdays and it's due the next Tuesday. DO YOUR HOMEWORK. It's worth as much as a midterm. He goes over a few of the problems on the days that he assigns them, and usually allows people to ask questions at the beginning of class. The only tests in the class are the 2 midterms and the final. All the problems are from the homework or the book, so there really aren't any surprises on the tests. The tests are still pretty hard and you absolutely need to do your homework and study your ass off. He's a pretty harsh grader in terms of showing all your steps and your work, but he usually gives everyone 10 bonus points on each test.

Vakalis is an excellent teacher. CSC 141 is a really difficult class, and he tries his hardest to make is understandable. He genuinely cares about his students and whether they understand the material. He goes really slow in class and shows every step to make sure that everyone understands the problems. He is really helpful in office hours also.

I really liked Professor Vakalis. He has some of the best stories and takes his time to explain new concepts. However, his tests can be difficult. All the material on test was covered in class and they are still hard.

From what I've heard, Dr. Vakalis is the best professor for this course, or any discrete math course. It's not easy, but like any math class, if you do the homework and study for the tests, you'll do fine. Be sure to study all the material for the final.

Dr. Vakalis is a great professor. He knows the material very well and, in addition to teaching it, tells the class how it is applied to computer science. He has many stories that he tells as "jokes" or "motivation" which are not always relevant but always interesting. However, this class is tough. He makes a point of telling the class if a problem will be on a test but there is a lot of material to keep track of. This means you will need to study to get this material. While very busy being the head of the department and not always available during his office hours, he is more than willing to help if you have questions. And most importantly, his accent is awesome.

Dr. V is a great professor. Discrete structures is a difficult subject no matter what professor, but he streamlines the process and makes the subject pertinent to Computer Science. The class only has homework, one midterm, and the final placed into your grade. Often I'd find a similar problem from the homework on the tests. Do the homework before the next class, because he's always willing to go through a problem and explain it. He really likes explanations, too, so err on more than none; my friend got marked off a decent amount of points on their midterm for it. Finally, get yourself some caffeine before this class and make sure to pay attention when he distinctly notes a difficult lecture/homework problem, since it'll probably be on a test.

I took Vakalis the Spring quarter of my freshman year, and he was probably the best teacher I've ever had... As somebody below me has said, he keeps the class fairly conversational; I noticed that he would subconsciously obey a common public-speaking rule of interjecting colorful anecdotes every 20-30 minutes between complex materials to keep your listeners engaged. As long as you're sufficiently caffeinated (or just not sleep deprived), it's not hard to follow his lectures, which is extremely important because the material for 141 is very tricky. If you don't do ALL of the homework, you're gonna have a bad time, but if you do the 141 homework as soon as his lecture ends, it won't be hard at all. My roommate, on the other hand, hated him because he's not super available with office hours (usually by appointment only) and he shows up late to class pretty consistently (~10 minutes on average). However, my roommate also didn't do his 141 homework until the last minute (sometimes during class) which seemed to make the tests exponentially more difficult for him. In the end, Vakalis is a fantastic lecturer and you can see why he's head of the department.

Vakalis is a good teacher. He teaches the material with obvious mastery, however he fails to give certain topics appropriate time. This is due to his frequent off topic discussions which are very interesting and provide quite a bit of motivation for wanting continue in computer science. Take this class if you want an interesting experience.

He's honestly amazing. He teaches more material, extremely well, and keeps you entertained with awesome stories, AND talks to you about your future in CSC. He's the best.

Absolutely great. For sure the most awesome professor that I have ever taken at CALPOLY. Made me to truly understand the importance of mathematics and its connections to be come a computer scientist and not just a programmer. Dr. V. keeps the lectures very informative, very engaging and TRULLY cares about the students to learn. He shows you the awesomeness of mathematics and computer. sc/soft. eng. Cannot wait to take CSC 445 with him.

I absolutely HATED this class. Even though I managed a B, I would highly recommend taking someone else if you're not already a solid computer scientist. Vakalis knows his stuff. Really well. The problem is he doesn't really teach it well, and there's VERY few chances to bring up your grade. There's only HW, Midterm, and a Final. The midterm was insane, but the final was better. I also hate how he never used polylearn. That honestly should be a requirement for professors in 2018. I never knew what my grade was, homework was never posted, dates were never posted. Overall just a very irritating and stressful class. Super Chris (Chris Siu) is now teaching this class. Take it with him.

Dr. V is the best instructor at CalPoly. by far. The course (CSC 348) is extremely organized. Students are given very clear expectations for each part of course. Homeworks are returned very promptly. I AWLAYS knew my grade. Same thing with tests. Do put time in doing the homeworks, best preparation. Dr. Vakalis really shows you what it takes to be a computer sc./soft. eng. The mathematical part is vey important. I was truly inspired to take more math courses and looking forward to have Dr. V. in CSC 445. He is the best

Dr. Vakalis is the best instructor I ever had at CalPoly He is awesome in explaining theoretical concepts and relate them to your studies. Super helpful

This professor ROCKS! Take him over anyone else. Vakalis made this class super interesting and I genuinely looked forward to it because of him. He is a great professor and awesome resource that I really encourage reaching out to. He was the head of the CS department for around 10 years so he truly knows how to help with any major questions. He recognizes that his class is not super easy and makes sure to ask you personally if you are understanding the material. He is great in office hours and is always available right after class for any lingering questions. At least twice a class, he takes a quick tangent from the material to tell an interesting story which makes sure you are never bored. XD As for CSC 348 as a class, there are only 3 categories for your final grade- Homework (assigned twice, collected on the last day of class that week. Takes around 1-2 hours), one Midterm, one Final. HW and the Midterm are weighted the same- try your best to have your homework perfect to not miss any points, but don't just use chegg because ALL of the questions on the midterm and final were from the homework or changed just a little. He even tells you about 4-5 of the questions on each! Just make sure you understand them and commit them to memory.

Dr. V. is the best instructor I ever had at Cal Poly Has an amazing ability to explain the concepts and topics of this difficult class- Discrete Math. Keeps your interest at each lecture. The stories are amazing, and very relevant. The great thing is her tells you why you are studying each topic and where you will be using it. He was a department chair for 10-11 years. Knows everything about the curriculum and courses. Great accent... Greek... keeps you engaged. He is the best!!! I love listening to him. He has a magnetic personality Excellent and very helpful in office hourss Just study, and do the homework. Then you will do great in the exams

Dr. Vakalis is reason enough to be a CSC/SE major at Cal Poly. Most days, I can hardly get over how awesome he is. It\'s pretty rad being in the department with the coolest department chair on campus.

Vakalis was very good. He presented the material clearly while keeping things almost conversational. The lectures and homework progressed such that later concepts built upon earlier ones, which was very satisfying. He had an excellent sense of humor and regularly told jokes and interesting stories. There was homework, a midterm, and a final. The homework was pertinent and lean, covering just enough to ensure we understood enough to progress to the next concept. He didn't waste your time with busy work. Before each exam he told us precisely what concepts and problems he expected us to know for the exam. He was very helpful in office hours with homework or exam questions. I highly recommend taking Vakalis for CSC 445.

Vakalis is an excellent professor at teaching theoretical material. I was able to grasp all the concepts and problems when he first covered them. For the people who didn't understand proofs as quickly, Vakalis was always willing to go over the problem a second or third (in one case, 5th) time in class and was additionally very helpful in office hours. He gave a few (usually ~5) homework problems per week; it is worth your time to do these correctly and see Vakalis in office hours if you can't solve them on your own as many will be on the midterm and final. For people who enjoy math and prefer minimal busy work (who doesn't?), Vakalis is a great professor. P.S. Know your proof by contradiction :).

Vakalis is a great teacher. Definitely try and take Computer Theory with him. He can make an otherwise daunting class appear doable and easy to understand. He\'s great at explaining things in lecture and gives great help for the homework because as he puts it, he is there to teach you and not just give out grades. His stories are entertaining too and make the lecture more enjoyable. The midterm and final are pretty big and in depth so make sure you study for them and as he repeatedly states, explain your answers to the fullest detail you can think of.

You will enjoy learning computational theory from Dr. Vakalis. He knows how to keep his lectures interesting with jokes and analogies, and he assigns the perfect amount of homework. The tests are based on the homework so you won't have any trouble on them if you understand the homework. THe class is also curved.

Vakalis is a person who wants students to do in his class. He understands that the material is hard, and tries to be as reasonable as possible. I'm honestly surprised I got an A-, I was crossing my fingers hoping I'd get a C (must be some mad curves going on). Whenever he says "This is VERY IMPORTANT material", make sure you keep a note to yourself for when the midterm/final comes around.

He is great at presenting material that can be boring and dry. And his exams are very fair, just make sure you understand the lectures and homework. You get out what you put in.

Absolutely excellent at presenting theoretical material.