Heston, Nathan  

Nate was an absolutely phenomenal professor! I took this class because it is a support course for my major. I definitely had no intention of liking the course, considering I’m a liberal arts major and math/science is usually my weakness, but Nate actually made the course so enjoyable that I would low-key consider switching majors to physics. I actually feel like I learned a lot in his class. He is really good at explaining material in a way that is effective and entertaining. A+ teaching, in my opinion. 10/10 would take a class with him again if I had to take another physics course. I had a mini mental break down during his office hours one time and he was super nice about it and even gave me some solid life advice. Such a caring man, and great professor in general.

Nate is seriously the nicest guy ever. He really tries to make the class interesting, and even though it might not be an interesting topic he has a lot of demonstrations. He assigns readings for the week and you should do them, but it's really important to take notes on what he talks about in class because that is primarily what is on the tests and quizzes.

I was not looking forward to this class, considering I am a liberal arts major, but Professor Heston made it fun. Seriously the nicest guy who walks into the classroom every morning with a huge smile on his face. Make sure to keep up with the material because there is a quiz near the end of each week. His tests are fair, as long as you study for them, plus he curves them which helped my grade a lot. Overall, a pretty manageable class that was made fun by such a cheerful professor. I would highly recommend taking him for this class!

I loved Nate! He is such a cool professor and his enthusiasm about what he teaches is contagious. I was blocked into this class my first quarter, and I was really nervous because I am a liberal arts kid and I don't really like math or science. However, I ended up doing well in this class and it was easy. Recommend!

I had Heston my first quarter at SLO and really liked him. As a person, he's super interesting and easy to talk to. As a teacher, he's very easy. I took a basic Physics class in high school and did not need to pay attention to this class for the first 3 or 4 weeks. He actually cares when the majority of the class is confused and is willing to repeat whole lessons if necessary. He also gave us extra credit just for showing up the day after the midterm.

Heston is seriously the best! If you have a choice take this class! Physics is my least favorite subject but he made i t interesting and manageable. He gives quizzes every friday that help you boost your grade, group worksheets that are basically free points, and extra credit available for quizzes. His test are challenging but fair. Overall, Nate is just a super awesome guy!

Nathan is a cool guy, but a tough lab grader. i'm a good student (3.5+ gpa) and my avg for most of the labs was about a 3/5. i believe he grades on a curve, but don't expect him to hand out A's like candy. since i had Carmichael for lecture (he sucked ass at teaching), i ended up walking into lab without being lectured on the material first. this would end up with Nate lecturing the whole class to cover Carmichael's ass. i would learn more in Nate's brief 20 min review of the material than in 3 hours of Carmichael's class.

Awesome Professor!!! Count yourself lucky if you can get into his class!

Heston is an amazing person and teacher. He will try harder than anyone to address any questions or problems you are having in the class. His quizzes and tests aren't the easiest, but they're mostly very fair. At the end of the day he truly cares about his students and is there to teach his students as much as he can. Cal Poly could use more teachers like him!

TAKE NATE. I have never had a college professor who has cared this much about how I am doing in the class. He wants all of his students to succeed, and is also a funny, wonderful person. He completely turned around my experience with physics at Cal Poly, which up until this point had been pretty shitty.

A professor who honestly cared about how his students did. After noticing a lower than expected score on one of his weekly quizes, he postponed the midterm for extra review. Overall a very nice, caring, and lighthearted person.

Oh my god I love Heston (or Nate as he told us to call him). He's phenomenal. I had 133 lecture with Carmichael who taught us terribly. Heston would spend over an hour at the beginning of lab to teach our class the material. Any understanding of E&M that I have is thanks to Heston. He's an awesome guy. His lab quizzes are at the beginning of each class (open notes) and are from the previous class' experiment. If an experiment was overly drawn out he would cut it down for us. Heston rocks!

NATE YOU'RE A REAL ONE FOR ROUNDING MY GRADE TO A B-. I literally had no time to study for this class and put about a hour a week. DEFINITELY don't do this. I studied about a hour for each midterm and got mid C's for both. I never did any of the hw he assigned but did relatively fine on the quizzes for some reason. This class was definitely harder compared to the two prior physics classes. However, Nate does a phenomenal job breaking down each concept/problems. Nate was super funny and easy to follow in class. I really felt lucky having Nate as my lecture professor but I had lab with Jodi LMFAO. (I give myself a L for this) If you have the chance to take Nate for physics but you don't, you're really screwing yourself over.

Nathan Heston is a pleasant surprise for a physics department that isn't known to have quality professors. I had him for his first quarter at Cal Poly, as he was fresh from serving overseas in one of the Army branches, as a physics teacher. Nathan is a very nice person who seems to genuinely care that his students learn physics without having to worry too much about their grades. Workload: group work (5%), quizzes (20%), 2 midterms (20% each), final (35%). If people aren't doing well and the end of the quarter rolls around, he will consider changing the cutoffs for As, Bs, Cs, and so on, so that people have a higher chance of passing their classes. He does a pretty good job at explaining topics and doesn't go too fast in class. He is also very helpful and will try to be funny sometimes to lighten the atmosphere. If you have a chance, you should really take this professor, at least for PHYS 141.

Nathan Heston was pretty amazing considering that he moved to SLO right before classes started. He clearly knew the subject material and only needed to adjust to how Cal Poly works. I greatly enjoyed going to his class and anytime I asked him for help outside of class time, his explanations were fairly clear and easy to wrap my brain around. He does a pretty good job at explaining topics and usually doesn't go too fast in class. He is also very helpful and will try to be funny sometimes to lighten the atmosphere. The workload wasn't too much he is fairly organized too. This was the first time I had had a science teacher or professor that I actually enjoyed learning from.

terrible terrible professor. I don't believe for a second these other reviews were written by students in his class, considering he teaches one section and everyone I talked to did not like him at all. He is terrible at explaining the material to you and barely any students came to class because he would just write on the board exactly what you can read in the book. Anyone can write word for word from the book on the board. He does not explain the material clearly whatsoever. He also teaches at Cuesta and needs to stay there. He is not a cal poly material professor at all. He made physics a lot less enjoyable than it already is.

Run farrrrrrrr away. I'd jump over a barbed wire fence to get away from this class with this professor. Just run.

Pretty great professor and fun in class. Had a lot of quizzes that quite frankly he didn't give us enough time to finish, but the tests weren't too bad. Final was pretty hard. In general I recommend him. First science teacher I really enjoyed.

Pros: -Gives lots of opportunities to get a good grade -tends to grade on the easy side and likes to give you partial credit for work even if answer is incomplete -midterms/finals were quite fair (straight from book) Cons: -teaches straight from the book, which may be boring for some -spends too much time deriving and not enough time teaching us how to solve the problems in the book or solving examples I liked him as a person as he always loves to help students out, but since it was his first quarter at Poly he needs some work.

Nathan puts in a supreme amount of effort and really wants his students to succeed. Despite being new to cal poly, he comes to class extremely well prepared. He does require that you understand the material in its entirety, but If you have any experience with physics already most of it should be easy. I HIGHLY recommend Nathan Heston.

Heston was interesting. Because it was his first quarter at Poly, it was kind of hard to tell exactly how he was. He didn't require attendance, which was nice. He did however, basically regurgitate the book. There were a couple problems not in the book that he went over, but other than that, it was basically the book. He spends a lot of time showing exactly how to get the formulas through derivation, which is something I personally didn't care for. He also didn't do a whole lot of example problems. He was helpful when you asked him questions directly, though sometimes he didn't quite understand the question. He also just got back from teaching in Africa, so I wouldn't recommend him if you find accents distracting. He taught for two hours straight without a break in the middle, which made it pretty dry. He offers chances for extra credit, and will allow retests for the class if everyone does bad. He also does a lot of partial credit. He quizzes every week. He counts the final twice in the final grade, and counts the lowest test score for a smaller percentage of the whole. He has two midterms. He does some in class group work, so missing class can be bad. He also doesn't give a whole lot of time for the tests, which, for slow workers, is really annoying. Overall, he's a probably better than the average physics professor at Poly, but he's not that great either. It could change however, now that he's starting to get into the groove of Poly.

Great person, pretty good (but not great) teacher. However I think he will get better, as he knows where he could have done better during his first (winter 2015) quarter at Cal Poly. Very relatable for a science professor.

Heston's lectures really gave me a good grasp of the material. It's his first year here at CP, so theres so things that he can work on, but otherwise he did very week for a rookie teacher. He doesn't collect homework, so if you're not motivated enough to do well in the class you'll fall behind. His quizzes can be somewhat difficult, but if you study enough you'll be fine. Same thing goes for his midterms and final, they're not too hard. Its very clear that he cares deeply about his students, and i really enjoyed his class.

Probably the most incompetent professor I've had in my short time at cal poly. I'm sure he has a great understanding of physics as a field and subject, but his abilities to TEACH are close to zero. Didn't help that that it was his first quarter teaching at Cal Poly, and constantly made excuses for why he was sub par. Basically had to teach myself everything and get help from physics tutors and peers to understand the material. He's a pretty pathetic guy that has a terrible sense of humor, and his voice has this annoying tweedy quality. Having to pay tuition to get "taught" by this professor is a complete rip off. Do better, Cal Poly.

Dr. Heston! wow, what a great, charismatic guy. he is so kind and caring! with those simple traits, he earns my respect, as well as most of the class. and with respect for a professor, one wants to put effort into their class. however, it's probably just his character or maybe also because he's fairly new here and doesn't want to fail that many people, but he gives away WAY TOO MANY BONUS POINTS. like it's not even funny. so the ratio of how much effort i WOULD put in vs how much effort i ACTUALLY put in was skewed. idk, maybe i lucked out. i have a decent physics background, so that might explain why i thought the class wasn't too hard, and the class avg (without curving) was like a D. and then he curved it up to like a C+. so maybe my class was full of people that don't quite understand mechanics right off the bat? which is totally fine, bc physics is no easy subject. this is my 2nd go at mechanics and i have a B+ without curves, so just goes to show that even with HS background, you can't sail through the course with flying colors. i could see how without a strong background prior to this class, it would be pretty difficult. structure: quizzes every week, optional hw, 2 midterms, group work, final. do the hw, those problems will be harder than most of the midterm questions. and thoroughly prepare for the midterm. it will pretty much be all the hard free response questions from the midterms, maybe a little harder. he's really good about putting everything onto polylearn. he puts solutions to hw, quizzes, midterms, group work asap. it's great. if you get lucky to get enrolled into Dr. Heston's class, be grateful. you'll actually learn physics without the fear of utterly failing the class (unlike Sen Naresh or Ron Brown.) and you'll be in the presence of a wonderful guy. he's young, good looking, worldly, and funny. oh, and he has awesome demo's in class all the time! PHYSICS IS FUN :D

TAKE HIM ! Dr. Heston is AWESOME! Did a lot of demos in class and made a difficult subject fun. Exams were hard but grading was fair and he gave opportunities to get points back by correcting mistakes. Overall one of the best profs I've had.

Physics 141 with Dr. Heston is great. He will not try to sabotage you. He will not try to get one over on you. He is at Cal Poly to help students understand physics. He will incorporate demonstrations of physics concepts to aid visual learners. He will encourage you to ask questions, attend office hours, and to do the homework. He will test you on the material and you will find his exams difficult if you are too lazy or too complacent to do the homework.

I love being alive. I love the outdoors. I love nature, trees, and mountains. I love people and animals. I love learning. I love the way morning sunlight makes everything look so soft. I love being with friends. I love being warm with a good book on a cold day. I love the smell after a spring rain. I love the colors of trees in autumn. I love feeling of pushing my body when it's tired. I love sports and curiosity. I love science and figuring out how things work and fixing things. I love creativity and jokes and laughing. I love honesty and simplicity and genuine people. I love my moms pie and how excited my father used to get about everything. I am not very into possessions. The more you have the more likely they are to own you. I am not into watching someone do something on a television. I would rather do it myself. Life is great and one of the greatest freedoms is the opportunity to be active and experience it. -Dr. Hestons actual Facebook description of himself TAKE HIM, you'll make a new best friend. Use his office hours as much as possible, he really cares about his students and overall just wants them to understand physics. Tests are not easy but fair. Almost wanted to fail the class so I could take it again

The class was pretty chill overall. He doesn't collect homework and the quizzes and groupworks are so easy. However, his exams are definitely hard. He will average around the mid 60s on his midterms which means he will curve, but the exams are still hard which sucks. Good professor though, would definitely recommend.

Extremely intelligent and very clear at explaining material, will stop and fully explain an answer to your questions.Also, Very energetic and bright person he just gives of a really good vibe, and it could rub off on you throughout the quarter.

Very clear at explaining the material. He will stop and fully explain something if you dont get it. He is very energetic and enthusiastic. The content of his quizzes and tests are really really hard, but he is an extremely fair grader and often gives points to help students. TAKE HIM!!! he really cares about his students!!! would take him over any physics professor out there.

Short version: Take Heston! Long version: Heston is a great teacher for those who are new to Physics and those who have taken it in hs alike. His really cares about his students. My section had the lowest average scores on the midterms and he took the blame for it and apologized to us for not teaching it well enough. He lets you rework quizzes and midterms - which he posts the solutions to - for additional credit. He also doesn't collect homework. So for me, someone who took 2 years of high school physics and got 3s on both AP exams, this class was a somewhat easy grade with minimal work. I just copied the solutions and handed them in for rework credit. However, if you struggle with physics, reworks and optional homework are great ways to get better at the material. He made his midterms too long and a only a few people finished on time, but he is open to student feedback so he should fix that problem. Lecture was boring for me because I already knew the material, but he came into class everyday with a smile on his face and made sure that his lecture was the best it could be, encouraging student questions and answering them. He listens to students feedback a lot and even pushed back our midterm because he sensed that the class was struggling and asked if we wanted the weekend to study. He said on the last day of class that he is permitted to have up to a B- class average for the final so he will curve it for that. I have heard horror stories about other professors in the Physics dept, so I am grateful I was able to get Heston!

Professor Heston is one of the nicest professors/teachers I have ever had. He is extremely knowledgable on what he teaches, and he tries to make the class as entertaining as possible. There is a lot to cover in 141, and he does it very well. One really nice thing he does is the grading. He told us at the beginning of the quarter that all he really cares about is that you have learned the material by the end of the quarter. So he said that basically whatever we get on the final is going to be our grade. I got a low D on the first midterm, and completely failed the second midterm. But I went to the 4 hour review session he held the Saturday before the final, and I spent a few hours going over the midterms and all the quizzes, and I got an 82.8 on the final, and ended with an 82.8 in the class! The only downside to this class and Professor Heston is the fact that he doesn't collect his assigned homework. Now I know this sounds dumb, and that having a professor who doesn't technically give homework sounds great, but it hurt a lot of the class. Personally, I feel more obligated to do homework if it has to be turned in for a grade. Because he never collected it, I never did it, and it hurt my grade. Overall, I would definitely recommend Heston. Great professor. He really cares about how his students do, and he constantly wants feedback. He is somewhat new to the school (I think he said he has been here for a year), but he is great. Weekly quizzes, 2 midterms and a final. All very doable if you do your homework and show up to the lectures every day. Plus he lets you rework the quizzes and midterms for extra points, and he gives you the solutions! Easy extra points! Great professor! Get him if you can!

Heston is a good teacher. He cares about his students and is willing to go out of his way to help them. His lectures are a little confusing at first but get better as the quarter continues. Curves midterms and since the final is cumulative, if your grade on the final is higher than your grade in the class before the final, he will make the grade on your final your grade in the class. It only helps you! Overall good professor, and as a plus, he's kinda cute ;)

He was a good professor and really knew what he was talking about. He explained everything really well and tried his hardest to get you to understand if you didn't. His grading was pretty lenient and fair. He lets earn back some points if you rework the quizzes and midterms. Also, I thought his jokes were funny but I think I was a minority there.

Nate was pretty much the best physics professor I have ever had. His entire course was focused on making sure we understood the material. I didn't do as well as I wanted to in this course, but that was entirely up to me not putting in enough time. He does a lot of group work and in-class problems, which are extremely helpful, so I recommend going to class every day. He's super helpful during his office hours, and really just wants to see everyone succeed in his class. He even hosted a 2 hour study/review session on the Sunday before our final, just because he wanted to make sure we felt confident before the test and didn't have any questions. I would 100% recommend him to anyone taking physics.

Nate Heston was an amazing teacher, he was a great motivator, and did a great job of clarifying material that was confusing in the book. Would recommend 100%

Got a C, I like math, but physics does not come easy for me. Heston is a really nice guy. He makes his class interesting by doing demonstrations at the beginning of almost every class. Sometimes they have to do with the material, most of the time they don't. He does not present material very clearly and I often looked for outside help to understand the homework. Office hours were helpful when not crowded; he does his best to help you understand the material. He creates his own midterms, which is either a hit or a miss. Either way, he looks carefully at how the classes did and how long it took most people and curves the grade a pretty good amount. Overall a great guy, a good teacher one-on-one, and a not-so-great lecturer.

I had professor Heston for physics 141. It was the first time I had ever taken a physics course, and he did a great job of presenting the material and explaining any confusion. He keeps class interesting with a different demo to begin each class. There is weekly homework you don't turn in, weekly quizzes, and he always tells you what is going to be on each quiz and exam.

So good. SO GOOD. SOOOOO GOOOOOD.

Nate loves physics and, more importantly, he loves teaching physics to his students. You can see he really cares about each and every student's success. Quick info: the class was 5% Groupwork (he might randomly give you an activity to do with a group for points, just show up to class), 20% quizzes (1 per week), 40% midterms (2 of them, pretty straightforward), and 35% final exam (harder than the midterms, GO TO THE REVIEW SESSION). One last thing--he lets you redo quizzes for points. Each quiz is 10 points, and he gives you up to 2 points back per quiz, so theoretically you could get 120% in the quiz category. You won't need to study for quizzes if you just show up for class, you'll be ok for the midterms if you do the homework, and you'll need to spend a day or 2 studying for the final. Overall great experience, great professor, and great guy. Take Nate!

Great teacher. Really straightforward and it is obvious that he cares about his students a lot. He comes in EVERY morning with a smile on his face and ready to teach. You don't find many of those out there. Take him if you can!!

Hestons class didn't work for me, he just stood in front of the class and lectured for an hour. It didn't help me learn the material at all. TBH I could have worked harder on the hw but it wasn't collected so it became less of a priority to me. Overall I found myself learning from khan academy and that's not what you want in a professor.

Dr. Heston was hands down one the best teachers I’ve ever had. The way he explains things is super clear, and he really tries to make sure everyone is on the same page before he moves on to the next topic. I had a horrible experience with high school physics (got a C), but Nate was the saving grace that restored my interest in the subject. Definitely would recommend taking him!

Heston is the best! He wants students to do well in his course, and will try to curve the final grades as much as possible (as his averages need to fall in a certain range). His final will count for either 35% or 100% of the final grade. He also lets you correct the quizzes for 2 bonus points. He also makes an effort to know most of the student's names. I would definitely recommend him; probably would have gotten a B in any other 141 class.

Dr. Heston is a very forgiving professor. He will allow you to redo quizzes for 20% credit back and possibly the same for exams. He is above average at lecturing and is always happy to explain difficult concepts.

Heston is one of the best teachers I've ever had. I was lucky enough to get him for 133 and this seminar class. He is very good at explaining physics and connecting concepts to real world examples. This was an honors class and I don't know anyone who didn't like it. It was pretty much stress free and I learned a lot about how physics explains things. Way more classes should be taught like this. Most classes we broke into groups and discussed questions like "What is an explosion and how does physics explain it?" All in all, I recommend the class and highly recommend Heston as a teacher.

Heston is really good at explaining physics. More classes should be taught like this.

What else is there to say? Fine person, nothing interesting. Class was meh... Blah, blah, blah... Fine person.