Rinzel, Larry  

Perhaps not the most interesting class, but this teacher is good at explaining everything. In the lab, he usually gives out large packets to do based on the latest lecture, which are boring, but at least you learn everything. Always willing to answer questions, so it's not a very hard class.

Professor Rinzel seriously does not know how to teach. This class is an easy pass, but it is very time consuming and Rinzel does not make the class fun at all. He may know his stuff when it comes to IME, but he's never shown me any knowledge at all. Avoid this professor at all costs if you are not a fan of being bored and angered by thick-headedness.

Prof. Rinzel, I'm afraid, is not a particularly good lecturer. He presented the material too quickly for some students. Although I was able to keep up with the class that was largely due to independent study, more than what I learned from the lecture. A lot of the information is passed over. He starts the lectures with pointless humorous videos, and then often does not use the whole (only one hour) lecture period to explain topics thoroughly enough. If you have to take this class, I recommend trying to find another professor, but if you have to have Rinzel, be prepared to study very hard for what would seem on the surface a simple CR/NC class

I haven\'t gotten my grade for this class yet. But he is the worst professor ever. EVER. He is the laziest person I\'ve ever seen. Why haven\'t Cal Poly find a new professor for IME140. He knows nothing. He doesn\'t even teach. He tells us to buy so many materials especially the pencils and we don;t even have to use them! Don\'t even buy the book, it\'s so useless. He makes us buy useless stuff! He just reads off his powerpoint slides, there\'s no point of even going to lecture. He sucks. Don\'t take him if you want to learn.

I had him for the lab and the lecture. He does not teach. You have to teach yourself or get help from the TAs. He grades pretty easy for the class homework. Most everything you turn in is pass/fail until the final weeks of the quarter. The midterms were not too difficult. The final was very difficult and is what brought me down to a B. To get an A in the class make sure you study hard for the final.

I'm so glad he left!

Having Rinzel as your lecturer for IME 156 is somewhat of a joke. It's a joke in the sense that you take 2 midterms and a final in this huge lecture class, of which you only attend one day a week for 50 minutes. That basically means that you get tested on only the little material he presents in class and a whole crap load of reading from the text, of which he really wasn't specific about what was going to be on the test (except for the final). You get a whole page of crib sheet, of which can be typed for each of his 2 midterms which was 50 questions scantron fashion. Pay attention to what he says in class about what's going to be on the test, for they are word for word sometimes off of a set of questions you answer while watching a video or off of a handout he gives you. To sum it up, if there are better teachers teaching IME 156 as lecture, skip Rinzel. But if you end up with him, it's not the end of the world and just pay attention in class and do the required reading and make a good crib sheet.

Let it be said that Larry Rinzel is a great person. However, let it be known that he is a terrible teacher. A great person doesn't neccessarily make him a great teacher. He did not help convey any of the subject matter in a helpful manner, and his grading downright sucks. There were two IME156 labs during the Winter'04 quarter. Everyone in Rinzel's lab pretty much had the most vicious curve, leaving most with a C(-/+). The other class, everyone pretty much left happy with an A. Do not take this misunderstanding teacher unless you care not for your grade.

This was a difficult class that took up lots of time. The lecture was fun and exciting most of the time learning about computers and their components. The reading from the textbook was horrible. Very difficult and technical. Very hard to get through. The midterms were difficult and I got C's on both of them. The final was also hard. I got a C on that also. The tests are multiple choice tests based off of lecture and reading. The class is set up 50% lecture and 50% lab. The lab was very fun. We built a power supply from scratch and did CAD work on the computer. The CAD can be very frustrating at times when the program won't let you do something or you don't know how to do something. The lab manual basically guides you nicely through all of the steps, but sadly important details are left out until the end. Routing traces on both sides of the board or only on one side of the board was very unclear. Also, one could enlarge their size of the board for the final CAD project, this being told on the last page. These minor details can cause major problems and can set one back a lot of time. The class is also set up in such a way that one has to go to the open labs to finish CAD and the building of the power supply. I went to every open lab on SATURDAY and stayed for an average of 2 hours each time and still barely finished my CAD and the project. This class takes an immense amount of time. Rinzel was helpful if you asked him questions but T.A.'s basically run most of the class. They are hard to deal with sometimes. The class is very doable, I am supprised that I got an A-. This proves that if you put enough time and effort in, you can get an A even while getting C's on the lecture tests. Overall Rinzel was ok, the class was hard and time consuming, and the book sucks.

Professor Rinzel was a pretty good prof who tried to make the lectures interesting. I really don't have much of a problem with this class except for one thing: the book. Absolutely useless beyond this class, and almost useless during the class, the department really needs to get another book, or just not use a book at all. His midterms also used a lot of material from the book, so you have to memorize lots of random facts.

I don't know if this is necessarily a comment on Rinzel, but the class in general is way, way, way too much work for 2 support units. I don't see how you could finish the power supply w/o going to lab on Monday nights or Saturday at least 2x. We have to write several page reports and memos, which I find a waste of time and a big hassle. Multiple choice tests were difficult, alot of random facts that didn't seem to connect together (thus, harder to memorize). I think Rinzel personally is a decent teacher, that is if he had no say in the design of the IME 156 curriculum. If he did, then he has to lighten up. He's pretty easy to talk to about problems, but usually you would ask the TA's for help (and they can very from helpful to pricks, but most were helpful). The power supply doesn't have to be working properly for you to pass, which is one less thing to worry about just in case you've had several hiccups like I did. I don't know what my grade will be or if there is a curve, but one thing's for sure, this definitely needed way too much work put into it.

I had Larry for both lecture and lab. The lectures are a joke - there are two midterms and the final was on blackboard. I got about a 58% in the midterms and a little higher for the final. Good thing he curves... but there is so little time for lecture that we barely learned a thing in class, and the tests are off the book, which is horrible. The lab itself is fun and not so bad. Definately do the readings and you should be fine.

Rinzel isn't a very great instructor. His view of Cal Poly's "learn by doing" learning philosophy is "learn by suffering and doing yourself while I sit on my butt and don't do anything." You can ask the TA's for help, but they aren't the perfect experts in helping you with your power supply. The class is fun because you build your own power supply. However, if you're not an EE, the class isn't very intuitive and Rinzel helps you very little. I tried office hours a couple times and he wasn't there. He expects you to know things and makes you feel like your questions are stupid. It is difficult to finish your power supply on-time because there are no longer open labs, unless you have crimpers, strippers, or a soldering iron at home you can use. By the end of the class I finally figured out what I was doing, but for the first 4-5 weeks I was pretty clueless. Perks is a much better instructor and communicates well with students while also having fun. The lab proposal write-ups make little sense, little instruction is given and he'll grade you terribly and expect you to redo it. Best advice for the course is to be careful with your soldering, practice a lot before you start the main board. Oh, and try to have fun...you're aren't gonna get much excitement out of Larry.

Rinzel wasn't my favorite, but he wasn't the worst by any means. He knows what he is talking about, but doesn't help you in lab if you have any trouble. He goes through and shows you how to use the machinery once and then you are on your own after that. Grades pretty tough, he looks for very specific things. I've heard Perks was better...

Rinzel did not like me. I was 1 minute late the 2nd week of class. He crossed my name of the roll sheet, and I had to argue with him that I had in fact shown up to all labs. So, don't ever be even a seconds late to his labs. Otherwise, he's an ok guy. Just don't waste class time, because trying to do the power supply outside of class is not fun.

I completely agree with the person three posts below me. He gives no instruction in his lab. The power supply is a gigantic pain in the ass if you don't have prior experience with this stuff. I worked hard on mine and still got a D because he doesn't understand how hard it is to build the frickin box without any direction whatsoever. Class was a mess. Quizzes were ridiculous and uncurved.

Honestly, please take another class. I beg you. He sits on his a$$ for 2hours and 50mins. He is very unhelpful and reminded me of a lifeless corpses. The T.A.s can\'t even assist you because they barely passed the class themselves. The teacher also hates you if you are a student of color. I believe this prof is truly unfair and he needs to reevaluate his methods and better yet his whole existence. GOODLUCK.

To be honest,this teacher absolutely does nothing class.He just sit around on his laptop doing whatever he likes to do. He rarely explains much during the lab but he isn\'t a person that wouldn\'t go asking if you have a question. His quizzes and final is very hard indeed ,but just do well on your power supply and you will do fine in the lab. Everything is straight out of the manual. He also gives a slight curve which is also nice.

I think some people are exaggerating saying he\'s one of the laziest professors, but he is pretty lazy/hands off. He will explain how to do something once and then let the TA\'s do most of the teaching and helping. This was ok for me since my TA\'s we\'re friendly and fairly knowledgeable about the material, but they didn\'t know everything. If you\'re really not sure about something and you need help, don\'t go to a TA, go to Rinzel. Not doing this caused me to lose some points on my project. But yea, that\'s the problem...where is he? He\'s on the computer or doing other stuff - but all I know is that he could have made more of an effort to help people. Overall though, I was ok with him and did well in the class.

His whole thing is to "consult the lab manual if you have any difficulties." The only homework in the class is to read the lab manual, and finish your power supply if you need more time, towards the end of the quarter. When he says read the lab manual, he means it. And more than once: The quizzes and final require you to know the lab manual VERY well. If you have prior experience with power supplies and assembling them, you really have an upper hand in this class. He hardly taught us anything, it was us teaching ourselves with the lab manual. If you ask him questions he seems annoyed, but he answers them well. He also curves the entire class. I would avoid him if you aren't up to teaching yourself via reading and following written instructions/diagrams.

Do yourself a huge favor and don't even buy the book. I think I opened it once. Not only are the all of the tests REALLY easy, they're multiple choice, and they're matching questions! It doesn't get much easier than that. It was hard to stay awake during the lecture, even though some of the material was kick ass.

Fun class, but Mr. Rinzel isn't so great. I once had a problem with some burs that I couldn't get off my project. I tried every method that was avaliable to me in the lab, a file, a scraper, even pliers to rip it off, but none of them worked. So I ask Rinzel for advice. He looks at me very annoyed, told me to use a file. I told him I did. He said "use a scraper!" I did. When he ran out of ideas, I said that I even tried to rip them off with pliers, but no use. He then just growled at me "Well I don't know!!!" and left. Can you feel the love? This is just one example that has stuck in my head. There are plenty others. There is usually ONE section of 157 that is taught by Gary Perks. It fills up almost immediately, but I recommend him much more than Rinzel.

...BORING... ...The lecture is suppose to be an easy 1 unit class, the lab is what makes this course but he has you read that FAT book. Then gives a 3 page long study guide for his tests which I didn't find very easy. I'd take someone else if given the choice.

Rinzel was a pretty good professor. He is a nice guy if you are nice to him. If you do not put forth effort, you won't get along with him. He helps in lab a ton, and if you need anything, he'll give it to you. Ask him a question that seems irrelevant, and he'll help you anyway. I like him and will take him again, but others don't like him because they didn't get along with him. As for grading, he grades very fairly. Projects are graded by a class review, which is 80% of the grade. His final 20% is very fair. He does grade pretty harsh on paint, though. I tried my hardest on the paint, spent 12-14 hours on it, and he still docked me. Overall, Rinzel is a nice guy and a good prof. Take him if you can.

His course is horrible. Lectures present too little detail for what he tests you on and fail to provide any direction for what you are supposed to read. All of the material is basically from the book that you have to buy but he doesn't tell you what chapters you're being tested on or what to focus on. On one test, he tested us on material that he hadn't even brought up until a lecture two weeks later. The tests are horrible because they are multiple choice, use acronyms, and have those annoying D) a and b, E) a, b, and c answers. Lab is fun but he is hands off for the most part and grades mostly on aesthetics. Subpar teaching.

Larry is a great guy, and is always available to help you out. Very understanding, and knows his electronics manufacturing. Has a great sense of humor, and makes what could be a boring lecture fun. While this class does have a lecture, 95% of your time will got to lab work. The lecture is done off powerpoint slides, which are posted on blackboard. It is beneficial to got to the lectures, however, as a good portion of the exam material comes straight from lecture. The book for the class is basically useless except as a place to get exam questions. There is very little homework, and exams are pretty easy. The lab section is a lot of work. you get to pick a project to do, and if you don't do a stock project, it will be tons of work. 6 hourse of lab a week seem to evaporate, though there are several open labs each week. I definitely learned more from the lab than from the lecture.

Larry is really approachable and friendly, is always willing to answer a question, and teaches the material fairly well. He can be a hardass on occasion, but usually only when you're trying to do something dangerous, when trying to finagle a higher grade out of him, or something of the like. His quizzes and tests are generally pretty hard, and often cover things he only barely touched on in the lecture, but they aren't impossible. Overall, he's a good professor, and is certainly better than any professor I'm taking this quarter.

Ok, just about everyone is being unfair with professor Rinzel. I think he is one of the coolest teachers in the IME department. All you have to do is give him a shot and you'll see what I am talking about. ... Oh, by they way, I owe him a beer!

Rinzel was a really laid back teacher. In 251 theres two midterms and a final, but the final is optional if you have 85 or higher. If you can get an old midterm, definately do -- They're great study guides and he usually doesn't change them much. I didn't really love or hate the guy, but canceling the last few labs was awesome. One warning -- don't expect to keep track of your grade. He doesn't grade labs, hw, etc on time and if you ask him, he'll probably have no clue what you're getting in the class -- well not until he turns in the grades, i guess.

Larry is a nice guy, decent professor, terrible course organizer. he never had a clue on how he was actually going to teach the material to the students, but he still gave out a weekly quiz that everybody bombed. if he would have just spent the time on organizing a lesson plan rather than testing us on material he didnt have enough time to teach to us in the first place.

Larry Rinzel is the most incompetent piece of shit instructor I have ever had the misfortune oh taking during my career at CalPoly. He looks and acts like a dumbass. I swear I did not learn a single thing from him all quarter. The lab portion was a joke, he didn't know how to run any of the labs. So when there were problems, and there were many, everything got held up. He canceled at least two labs and several lecture. There is a presentation that a group must due during the quarter. My partner an I were scheduled to go the last week of class. Well during the second to last week of class I get an email from him saying that he is canceling the last week of class and that we present tomorrow. Just like that! I couldn't believe it. There are so many things that I could say about him, none of them are positive. He needs to be fired and I am going to make a formal complaint with the chair of the department to try and make that happen.

EGO Problem. EGO problem. Someone needs to be in control!

I learned so much from Larry. Thanks to him I now have two job offers from companies that make electronic products. I took IME 357 with him over a year ago, and we designed and built electronic cp souvenirs. It was great fun although we spent weekends and many evenings on the project. Rinzel really knew the electronics stuff. He works harder than anybody and really cares for the students. He may not get along with everyone, but he is very kind if you are kind to him.

The class was a bit rocky, but just because of the way we did it. The industry tours were great. The only negative thing I'd say, is that you have to be self-motivated because he won't push you any harder near deadlines. This class was pretty much self paced, and many of us dropped the ball.

This prof is super nice - AT FIRST. Once you get to know him, you'll find out that he is controlling, egotistical, and only knows how to regergitate stuff he heard from others. He'll offer to help you on a project outside of class, even ask you to help him on a patent he is working on. STAY AWAY. I know lots of students who have done projects with him, and the projects never complete because the students split because he is so hard to work with. He makes you sign this confidentiality agreement, and tries to screw you over because he is a lecture, and you are a student. STAY AWAY at all cost!!!!