Tobias, James  

I have not given a polyratings since i had locascio, but i think students should be warned. Tobias is a nice guy, but should have retired years ago. He gets confused during his lectures, which are basically just reciting what is written in the class green paperback book. When he went through the examples in the book, he basically just read what was written on his overheads and went extremely fast, not giving anyone a chance to digest what was said or write it down. It ended up that whenever he began an example, someone would just ask if he would post it online, and then everyone would doze off. Toward the end of the quarter, i would guess that only about 40% of the students enrolled ever went to the lectures. He is fair in grading, and his tests are not very difficult, but i left the class feeling like i learned nothing, and therefore i would not recommend Tobias.

This professor not only failed to present the material in a clear and logical manner, but I actually was better off skipping class and learning the material on my own (he often got confused in class and gave us the wrong info). Overall, he's a nice enough guy but a horrible educator, take anyone else if you have the chance.

This professor had no clue what he was doing! I don't know what would possess this guy to teach, but he is a few fries short of a happy meal if you can get my drift... don't bother about asking him your questions, half the time he answered mine wrong, then when I quoted him on the midterm and "missed" the question, he admitted teaching us the WRONG concept yet still held us accountable. One of the few professors I would like to see let go, but he is making my degree less valuable...

Be prepared to teach yourself Building Heating and Cooling Loads. Makes at least 5-10 mistakes per class, but be prepared to be penalized for any mistake made on lab reports/tests. Also be prepared to get marked down for material that was not asked for or ever covered in class. This guy must be getting Alzheimers, as he swore he covered a topic that stumped us all on a test, only he covered it AFTER the test. That and repeating the exact same lecture on succesive days cmbined with never, ever doing a numerical example makes this class really frustrating. On a positive note, he is a nice guy, and I have not yet recieved my final grade in the class, but he seems flexible. Just be prepared for nothing but confusion when it comes to clarifying even the most simple problems.

This is by far the worst professor I\'ve ever taken. He\'s a very very nice guy.. but should NOT be teaching. Seriously, much worse than Kamalu and Medizade. (Maybe subtract Medizade from Kamalu, and he\'ll be worse than that) His lectures involve: 1) Mumbling to the board (his back to the students.. ) it\'s impossible to understand what he\'s saying, but it doesnt matter, cause he doesnt know what he\'s talking about. 2) He has tiny little scribbly hand-writting, so you wont understand his hand-writting as well. oh well 3) He gets confused VERY easily.. so no trying to ask questions here.. he confuses himself on a regularly basis... 4) He might repeat a lecture by mistake... One day will just suddenly be a complete repeat of the previous lecture (he\'s a little old, so he forgets that he gave that lecture already).. though the lectures are impossible to understand, so it will feel like a new lecture altogether... 5) Half the students just gave up on going to lecture.. 6) The other half have a high tolerance to really really boring and impossible to understand lectures. So, take Kean, Maddren, Pascual, or anyone else if you want to learn anytihng

Sadly, the reviews preceding this one are true, but that's not a big problem if you know how to deal with it. Tobias lectures sometimes get lost so that he will need prompting. In one on one conversation, or in matters of group guidance, you'll find that he's capable of remembering your progress and providing assistance and instruction to individuals or small groups. If you take charge of your education and get direct instruction, having Tobias is not that bad. The grading in his Senior Project class, at least, is easier than you've seen with most other professors in the ME department, which is very helpful at relieving some of the stress from the constantly punishing deadlines. If he's your only choice, don't let the Poly Rating scare you like it did me: he's not a bad teacher, just the shadow of a very good one.