Nafisi, Ahmad  

Electrical Engineering

3.51/4.00

60 evaluations


EE 110


Junior
A
Required (Major)
Aug 2001
Excellent all the way around, well organized and can take care of any question asked in a literate informative manner. I will take him for any class I can. A+

EE 112


Freshman
A
Required (Support)
Apr 2001
The course consisted of two midterms and a final, plus homework. The homework was always around four problems weekly, except for weeks we had a test. The average on the first midterm was just above 60, but the second midterm's average was over 80. The tests were equal in difficulty, so the low average on the first test was probably from people who didn't study. The final was one hour long, and no harder than the other tests. All the tests are no more difficult than the homework, so just make sure you understand the hw before test time. Nafisi is an excellent instructor, don't hesitate to take him. His lectures are straightforward, and he understands the problems which the students face, and common errors that they make.


Freshman
A
Required (Support)
Jul 2000
A great teacher. His lectures are very straight forward and very clear. Always helpful in and out of class. Though his test are hard, it shouldn't be a problem if u do all your homework problems. It is also funny how his eyes role back in his head when he talks.


Sophomore
A
Required (Support)
Dec 1999
After almost failing the same class under Mostafa Chinichian, Dr. Nafisi's teaching was a definite change for the better. He's very good at explaining the concepts at hand and answering questions. A little bit of an accent; not a problem at all. Highest recommendation.


Sophomore
N/A
Required (Major)
Aug 2001
I am taking his class this quarter and he is among the best teachers I have had at Cal Poly. He is extremely well prepared for class, he is very open to questions and usually leaves the last 10 minutes to Q&A. His midterms are fair, but he is a little tough on grading. Eg, instead of a + I had a -, in the last step of the equation, I lost 5% of my total grade to get 95%. Either way I would take any class that he teaches in the future.


Freshman
A
Required (Major)
Aug 2001
Pretty good, pretty good. He's a solid teacher. He explaines everything well and kept flexable on the schedule when "days off" set us off the schedule. As the name implies, he has an accent, but it only got in the way once. (Matrix and Metrics)


Junior
N/A
Required (Major)
Sep 2001
Nafisi is a grat professor and should be an example to others in the EE department. His lectures are clear and his exams are material from the lectures. He is also very approachable.


Sophomore
B
Required (Major)
Mar 2002
He's a good circuits teacher. his poplicy sucks though. I failed the first midterm but showed significant improvement. I got a perfect on homeworks, a 95, on the second midterm and a 100 on the final, but could only end up with an 85 total. that sucks, but other than that, he's pretty good


Sophomore
B
Required (Major)
Mar 2002
i find his exams are hard and he grades them hard too! I think this professor is alrite. I wouldnt take him if i have a chance though


Sophomore
B
Required (Major)
Apr 2002
Take this professor if you can. He explains the material in a way that you can understand. He doesn't assign a lot of homework. The exams were like the homework problems and not too difficult. For grading homework was 10%, 2 quizes for 25% each, and the final was 40%.


Junior
A
Required (Major)
Apr 2002
An excellent professor!!! He really knows his stuff but what I found amazing about Prof. Nafisi is that he really knows how to communicate to students. With other professors, I ask questions and then they give an explanation of something entirely different. Nafisi not only directly and concisely answers your questions but he anticipates common questions and answers them before they even come. I feel that I learned the material completely in his class. A+!


Sophomore
B
Required (Major)
Apr 2002
Well, Nafisi is a pretty standard teacher. He teaches the material well enough and gives reasonable tests. He does collect homework which is good. It makes you do it and you get a little boost in you grade as long as you do it all. There's really no reason not to take Nafisi.


Sophomore
N/A
Required (Major)
May 2002
This teacher is just impossible to understand in class. His lectures were boring and ill-conceived; it seemed that all he was doing was making things up as he taught. Although in office hours he was able to present the material much clearer than in class. Avoid this guy unless you want to spend an eternity in his office.


Sophomore
C
Required (Major)
Jun 2002
Prof Nafisi was an excellent teacher. Most teachers explain something and as long as one student is with them, they go on. Nafisi makes sure that a majority of students understands, then he continues. His tests are fair although messing up on one tests can hurt your grade badly since both midterms are worth 25% each and the final is worth 40% (leaving 10% for homework). On the upside again though, he looks more at that you kow how to solve the problems rather than if you got the correct answer. I would take him again for any course offered.


Junior
B
Required (Major)
Jun 2002
Nafisi was a great teacher. His grading policies were hard, but fair. He seemed like he didn't really want to teach us for whatever reason, but he explained everything well, and gave well structured tests. One funny thing I noticed was that he'd rarely open his eyes and talk to the class; he'd always shut them as he turned away from the board...trying not to laugh was hard. I'd take this guy again without a second thought, and I'd recommend him to my friends.


Freshman
A
Required (Major)
Jun 2002
Homework once a week, two midterms and the final. He likes to throw tricky problems at you in the homework, but if you can do the homework the tests are a breeze. Be sure to find some other people to study with. I studied with two other people; none of us on our own could ever finish any one homework assignment completely. But working together and checking answers, we managed to get them all right every time.


Sophomore
B
Required (Major)
Nov 2002
Nafisi was a great teacher, he gave many examples and explained everything very well. His tests weren't easy but he mainly wanted to see that you knew how to set up the problem, he wasn't concerned with the actual answer. I also liked how he made sure that the majoirty of the class was understanding, and not just those 1 or 2 smart kids that understand everything.


Junior
A
Required (Major)
Jan 2006
Great teacher, well-organized and fair. Nafisi seems he wants you to learn the important, practical concepts more than obscure formulas. To this end, he succeeds. The only tests are a midterm and a final, which he gives plenty of time for. Do well on those and fully understand the homework and this class is an easy A. Take Nafisi.


Sophomore
B
Required (Major)
Feb 2006
great teacher. Very straightforward, HS wasn't too much nor too difficult. Since ee112 only focuses on a few topics, he made sure they were well covered. Everything went smoothly, and sometimes class was finished like 15 minutes early. 40% midterm (1), 50% final (1), 10% hw (6?). take him if u can.


Sophomore
C
Required (Major)
Mar 2008
Like everyone before has said...pretty basic stuff for a 2 unit class. 2 midterms, a final, and homework. The class moves at a pretty slow pace so you have plenty of time to make sure you understand the material and if you ever get stuck, Nafisi is more than willing to help you out in office hours. If he's ever teaching any of my courses in the future, I'm going to go out of my way to get him and that should tell you a lot. Definitely take him if you can.


Freshman
B
Required (Major)
Mar 2008
Nafisi is a fair professor. He assigns very little homework and collected it every Wednesday. His tests were fairly straightforward. The only thing I disapprove of him is his super bell-curve policy. My perfect 100 on the 2nd midterm was only a B because the class average was a 90. However, he presented the material well and cares about his students. I recommend him.


Freshman
A
Required (Major)
Apr 2008
Prof. Nafisi presented materials very well. He did examples on board which were similar to homework problems. It's pretty easy to get 100% on the homework if you put effort in it. His tests were straight-forward. They were also pretty similar to homework problems. So review the homework and the materials he presented in class and you'll be fine. He's also very helpful during office hour. DO NOT hesitate to ask question! Prof. Nafisi is very patient. If you don't understand the material in the first time, he'll explain it again and again until you get it. He really is an excellent professor. I strongly recommend him for EE 112.


Freshman
A
Required (Major)
Mar 2012
He is a nice guy, has good examples and easy-ish test and midterms and final, all are pretty straight forward, this class is a 2 unit class so overall it is not have bad of a class


Sophomore
B
Required (Major)
Dec 2016
Solid professor, his lectures are okay but dont really help for the homework. The homework is really difficult and you dont have answers or anything so it can be very frustrating. Tests are really easy and hes pretty lenient on grading.

EE 201


Junior
A
Required (Support)
Sep 2005
Nafisi was a good professor. He explained all the material relatively clearly, although he did speed through some stuff that we needed more time on. But all in all he was a good professor teaching an easy class. From what I hear, you can do a lot worse than this guy for your ee classes

EE 211


Sophomore
A
Required (Major)
Mar 2011
Definitely take him. He teaches very well and presents the material very clearly. Probably my favorite EE professor at poly.


Sophomore
A
Required (Major)
Dec 2011
He is very good. Doesn't spend time on unimportant topics, emphasizes only what you need to get out of the class, if you e-mail him about a confusion on the hw the next class he will also address it for everyone. His exams are very fair and don't test whether you can solve nearly impossible algebra problems, only if you can apply the correct topics/processes to solve the problem. For example the last topic in the class (and hence the emphasis on the final) was phasors, which can get pretty annoying with the complex algebra. However the test was very fair with the phasor calculations. Definitely recommend taking him. His only fault I can think of is that he has his back to the class 90% of the time so if you have a question, only raising your hand probably wont do it. HW is 5-6 problems a week and you won't be lost on them. Study HW and lecture problems and exams will be fine.


Sophomore
B
Required (Major)
Dec 2011
If you want a good professor and an easy to pass class, take this guy. He doesn't go over unimportant topics that won't be on exams. His exams test you on what you know instead of what you don't know. That being said, his exams were like homework problems, and there were only like 3 or 4 problems, and there is plenty of time to finish. For the final its mostly on phasors, which are complex-algebra problems, but he does let you use a calculator. If you have a TI-89, you're set, so if you don't have one, get one. I'm taking him again for EE 212 this next quarter, because he is good. Take him if you can!


Sophomore
A
Required (Major)
Dec 2011
Professor Nafisi is my recommendation for all sophomore or transfer EE students who want to take EE 211/212. Even though he sometime is unclear of what is presented in the morning, if you ask questions during class or office hours, his explainations are significantly better. He's a great guy when it comes to understanding the situations of some students.


Sophomore
B
Required (Support)
Dec 2011
I would say Professor Nafisi is an excellent professor. He presents the material clearly (although his notes tend to get messy at times), clarifies anything until you fully understand something (although it's sometimes hard to catch his attention during lecture especially since he, for some reason, blinks awkwardly and closes his eyes whenever he faces the class), and gives only 2 midterms and one final that are all straightforward. If you can fit him in your schedule, take him. If you can't fit him in your schedule, either make sure you're taking someone who's better than him which I highly doubt unless you're looking for someone with a different style of teaching or make sure he fits.


Sophomore
N/A
Required (Major)
Dec 2012
A very straightforward, no bull-crap instructor. Doesn't emphasize what isn't important, and is wonderful in office hours. Be prepared in lecture though, he is known to start and not stop until those allotted 50 minutes end. Homework is graded, but isn't busy work. It definitely paid off for the the midterms. (Which he gave practice problems for.) Overall a great professor and would not hesitate taking him again for any other Electrical Engineering class.


Sophomore
A
Required (Major)
Mar 2013
Nafisi is a boss. He knows what his students needs to know, and goes over just that. He knows exactly where students have problems with certain material, and focuses on those things in lecture. If that's not enough, he is happy to go over anything in his office hours and is extremely helpful at explaining the material one-on-one as well. His accent is noticeable, but doesn't affect being able to understand what he's saying. Overall, take Nafisi if you can.


Sophomore
C
Required (Major)
Apr 2013
I found Professor Nafisi to be somewhat difficult to follow in lecture. His accent is negligible after a while but he blazes through content quite quickly and rarely steps back to tell us how the problems connect to other concepts. That said, his tests are quite fair and he is helpful in office hours.


Sophomore
N/A
Required (Major)
Dec 2013
Nafisi presents the material organized and clear. His office hours are helpful even if it's not about circuits. He doesn't use the book's methods too much, but his are more intuitive as long as you have a good base in node voltage, mesh current, and thevenin equivalent methods. Great guy and wants you to understand the material more than anything.


Sophomore
A
Required (Major)
Apr 2015
Nafisi is absolutely incredible! He is SO clear with every part of the class and he is the reason I love circuits again. He's super nice and does a lot of examples so that it's hard not to get the material. We had homework due every week that wasn't super hard, but it was a good check in. Even though he's amazing, you do need to put in the work to get an A in this class, but Nafisi is helpful the whole way. Take him for circuits!!


Sophomore
C
Required (Major)
Sep 2015
He was a great teacher. I just never went to class except to turn in the homework which my own fault. But i would recommend him his tests are fair and he tells you exactly whats on them the day before the test


Sophomore
B
Required (Major)
Dec 2015
Nafisi is a boss. Don't expect him to even look at the class. He walks in, sets down his stuff and instantly draws a circuit on the board and starts lecture without saying a word, so be prepared before he gets there. At first he seems very unfriendly, but ask him questions after lecture or in office hours and you'll see that he's an amazing guy. Could probably be head of the EE department if he wanted to because he's been teaching here for longer than we've been alive. I'd definitely recommend Nafisi. As he would say, "He is a very a goooood teacher, yes"


Sophomore
C
Required (Major)
Mar 2016
Nafisi is amazing. I passed all his midterms and did all the homework and did poorly on the final. I still passed with a C. Aside from that, he is very good in office hours. He lectures immediately when he gets to class. He is very respectful and kind. He never once made me feel like an idiot for not understanding a concept. He reiterates things in lecture and those same concepts pop up on the midterm. He also curves the class slightly. I would not hesitate to take him for another EE course.


Sophomore
N/A
Required (Major)
Mar 2017
Nafisi is a great guy, very helpful in office hours (basically crashing his other lab sections) but his lectures are not very helpful. He does lots of examples on the board and after the first few it really doesnt help. On his tests he gives lots of partial credit for the right process which is really nice. Overall, if you want to learn: hes an okay professor. If you want to have a pretty easy time through the class: Nafisi is probably your best bet.


Sophomore
B
Required (Major)
May 2017
He is a fantastic professor who makes sure you understand the material. He never throws any curveballs and tries his best even though the new book isn't that great. For this class, he expects everyone to know your differential equations, so don't slack off in linear! I would take him again for future classes if I can. His passion for EE is unrivaled.


Sophomore
B
Required (Major)
Mar 2018
Super clear in class. Absolutely helpful in office hours. Exams are reasonable. Easy B, hard A.

EE 241


Sophomore
B
Required (Major)
Apr 2002
This guy is alright, he would help us when we had problems etc. But he would often leave lab for extended periods of time, and somehow getting A's in your labs can still mean you can get a B.

EE 242


Junior
A
Required (Major)
Dec 2007
Do the labs, get an A. What else is there to say? The labs are more in line with the lecture unlike 241 where you spent half the quarter going over 112-material labs. He makes you write your prelabs and labs in a lab notebook and hand it in within 24 hours (you might as well finish it in lab.) We usually finished around 1.5-2 hours (yes, including writeup) but some labs took the full 3 from making a lot of mistakes. He has a lab final worth 30% of the grade which essentially covers the math/prelabs behind the labs. He is very approachable and I would definitely recommend him.

EE 255


5th Year Senior
C
Required (Support)
Jun 2005
Dr. Nafisi is a pretty solid professor. I'm a mechanical engineering major, and I still think its really fucking stupid that we have to take this class, but Nafisi is a good professor. My only complaint is that he's a little soft-spoken, so if you're sitting in the back, as i often did, he was sometimes hard to hear. My gameplan for the class was to show up to class, take notes, not really do homework and study, wing the exams, and hopefully come out with a C. Which is exactly what happened. If you can find the solutions CD, just go through and write down all the equations they use to solve problems on your equation sheet and you'll be set. I got a 70 and a 75 on the exams by doign this, did maybe 20% of the homework, winged the exam, and walked out with a C. And now I never have to take another EE class in my life and that makes me happy.


Graduate Student
D
General Ed
Dec 2005
He's got the crazy eyes.


Junior
C
Required (Major)
Jun 2007
He's a cool dude


Sophomore
A
Required (Major)
Jun 2007
Nafisi is easily the best EE professor I have ever taken. I've had him for 211 and 255 and I will take him every chance I can. He knows his stuff, is a great lecturer, presents things in a clear and consistent manner, his tests are straight-forward and he is a very nice guy. There is a reason his classes always fill up the fastest.


5th Year Senior
B
Required (Major)
Sep 2008
Nafisi comes prepared, does his thing and teaches you what you need to know. he gives you a really good idea what will be on his test, and then does some examples for you. you couldnt ask for a much more straight forward teacher. the worst thing about him is that he may be a little dry, but whatever, you will be in good hands.


Senior
C
Required (Major)
Jun 2011
If you want to pass the class with ease, then Nafisi is your guy. His grading is very lenient, especially on exams. As long as you can show the steps properly on the exam, you get very minimal point deduction. Exams were identical to homework problems. As long as you studied the homeworks, you will do very well. There were weekly homework (10%) (total of 8 assignments), two exams (25% each) and a cumulative final (40%). Nafisi puts more emphasis on calculations and design. We rarely need to draw waveforms and phasor diagrams. We only drew two phasor diagrams throughout the entire quarter. Again, if you want to pass the class with ease, take Nafisi. If you want to challenge yourself, go with Dolan.


Sophomore
A
Required (Major)
Oct 2014
Nafisi is the best man ever! he knows his stuff and he is amazing at office hours. Get him if you can!


Junior
A
Required (Major)
Jun 2015
Second time taking professor, and once again he is excellent! His lectures are extremely organized and clear. He also shines in office hours where you can get your questions answered clearly and then some. Great professor who will teach you a lot and challenge you. Definitely possible to get an A if you put in the time at office hours.


Sophomore
B
Required (Major)
Jun 2015
Nafisi was a very fair teacher. In his lectures, he first focused on the physics behind the material (how it worked) and then moved onto examples. These examples are very similar to the homework that is assigned. The midterms were 3 problems and were not difficult at all. If you do the homework and understand the material, you will do well on the midterms. Nafisi curves the class in a way so if you do poorly on the exam, you can still pass the class. For example, in my class on the first midterm a C was a 58%-79.9%. He does this because there are some mechanical engineering seniors who choose to take this class as an elective and he doesn't want to fail them so they graduate with no problem. Overall I enjoyed having him as a professor and would choose to take him again in the future.

EE 303


Senior
B
Required (Major)
Jun 2003
Nafisi knows his stuff well and can explain it to you too. I learned a lot in his class and found him good at helping you with difficulties during office hours. The only bad thing is sometimes he gets to lecturing really fast so ask questions to slow him down.

EE 325


Senior
C
Required (Support)
Jan 2003
I thought this guy was great, but I did poorely on the first test. Mainly this was due to the fact that his lectures look nothing like the book, probably becuase the book sucks. As an ME student I felt at a disadvantage becuase all the EE's seemed to do fine. He lectured to the EE students and most ME's just fell behind. A word of advice to ME's don't take this guy unless you want a lot of work.


Senior
A
Required (Major)
Apr 2004
To the ME's that bitch about EE325: Nafisi is a great teacher. He is very straight forward and teaches the material well. For all of the Statics, Dynamics and Thermo (ME) courses that EE's have to take, ME's really shouldn't "fall behind" in this simple EE class that is geared toward ME's learning as well as EE's. Buck up if you think that this is hard because ME's seem to do fine in the ME classes listed above.

EE 406


5th Year Senior
A
Elective
Jan 2004
One of the best EE teachers at Cal Poly. He really knows his stuff. He gave three quizzes and one midterm. He is straight forward and understanding of his students. Would definately recommend.


Senior
A
Elective
Jun 2007
The whole quarter he just goes off the projector which is ok because he makes the notes available ahead of time so just print them out and take notes on them. There were 6 quizzes, 1 of which he dropped as well as homework, 3 easy projects, a midterm and a final. His lecturing was decent but not great but where he excels is in office hours. There's usually a line but he can get each person in and out of there very quickly. He understands what the student's problem is immediately and can explain it to you efficiently. Most of the quizzes are more based on the notes than the homework and the Midterm and Final are more based on the notes than anything else. He's a great guy so take him.

EE 407


5th Year Senior
A
Elective
Mar 2005
Nafisi is an excellent professor. His teaching style consists of posting his lecture notes on an overhead and talking. This can get really boring but he goes fast, so useless derivations that some other professors do. The class has a lot of work with projects, homework and quizes but you learn your material doing all of them. Overall Nafisi is an excellent professor and Cal Poly is better with him here.


5th Year Senior
B
Required (Major)
Dec 2008
What is there to say about Nafisi that hasn't been said already? He's a great teacher who isn't into stupid bullshit. If you a power EE, 407 is a really important class to take. Nafisi made his own notes for the class that complemented the text. The one thing that he didn't do however, that he usually does in his other classes, is write out his lecture on the blackboard. I think he was trying not to waste time because there are a fair amount of topics in this class. Either way, he is very fair and you will come out of the class learning a lot more about power systems.

CRP 490


Junior
B
Required (Major)
Nov 2016
Business majors: A degree for the intellectually impaired, HA HA.