Professor
Gilles Peltzer
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2022 - I am going to be honest, I hated this class. For a GE, this class was incredibly tedious and advanced. I am not a STEM major, so maybe that is why this class seemed extra difficult. The lectures were incredibly boring and we rarely finished the slides in class. I will say professor Peltzer is a very sweet looking professor. He clearly knows a lot about earthquakes. However, he is one of those professors that knows so much about his content, that it seems he expects we are just as familiar with the material. Most of which I will bet we have never seen before in school. The slides are posted, but there is no audio/video option I am aware of. That can be troubling since some of his slides are just abstract pictures. The grade breakdown included 1 midterm, 1 final, 7ish labs, 7ish reflections, and an extra credit assignment I believe. The tests were largely memorization based and often queried about random one-off facts that seemed irrelevant. I did finish with an A, but that is only because I am a decent test taker. If you struggle on tests, it will be difficult to feel successful in this class. Definitely not an easy GE.
Spring 2022 - I am going to be honest, I hated this class. For a GE, this class was incredibly tedious and advanced. I am not a STEM major, so maybe that is why this class seemed extra difficult. The lectures were incredibly boring and we rarely finished the slides in class. I will say professor Peltzer is a very sweet looking professor. He clearly knows a lot about earthquakes. However, he is one of those professors that knows so much about his content, that it seems he expects we are just as familiar with the material. Most of which I will bet we have never seen before in school. The slides are posted, but there is no audio/video option I am aware of. That can be troubling since some of his slides are just abstract pictures. The grade breakdown included 1 midterm, 1 final, 7ish labs, 7ish reflections, and an extra credit assignment I believe. The tests were largely memorization based and often queried about random one-off facts that seemed irrelevant. I did finish with an A, but that is only because I am a decent test taker. If you struggle on tests, it will be difficult to feel successful in this class. Definitely not an easy GE.
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2023 - Overall an okay elective though not the absolute best or worst. The lectures were hella boring as they go into the physics and theory of remote sensing. The professor isn't the most engaging speaker, though he is clear and if you pay attention he does give important information. The lectures are mostly helpful in completing the homework, which aren't too long, but if you don't understand the lecture content well, you might have a tough time with completing homework questions. The labs are the most interesting, and the instructions give you mostly step-by-step instructions on how to do things. You don't technically have to go to lab but it's helpful to ask questions if you get stuck, which you probably will. The midterm and final are basically doing something like the labs but within a 2 hr window and with less context to walk you through. The midterm especially was a bit daunting when you first look at it cuz you realize that you depended a lot on the step-by-step instructions of the labs, so make sure you somewhat understand how to do different operations and such before coming into exams. My TA didn't really seem like he knew what he was doing, so I mostly asked the professor for help. Professor Peltzer is helpful, though sometimes he assumes some knowledge is "obvious" as if you were a Geology major, so keep that in mind if you're and ES major taking this as an elective.
Fall 2023 - Overall an okay elective though not the absolute best or worst. The lectures were hella boring as they go into the physics and theory of remote sensing. The professor isn't the most engaging speaker, though he is clear and if you pay attention he does give important information. The lectures are mostly helpful in completing the homework, which aren't too long, but if you don't understand the lecture content well, you might have a tough time with completing homework questions. The labs are the most interesting, and the instructions give you mostly step-by-step instructions on how to do things. You don't technically have to go to lab but it's helpful to ask questions if you get stuck, which you probably will. The midterm and final are basically doing something like the labs but within a 2 hr window and with less context to walk you through. The midterm especially was a bit daunting when you first look at it cuz you realize that you depended a lot on the step-by-step instructions of the labs, so make sure you somewhat understand how to do different operations and such before coming into exams. My TA didn't really seem like he knew what he was doing, so I mostly asked the professor for help. Professor Peltzer is helpful, though sometimes he assumes some knowledge is "obvious" as if you were a Geology major, so keep that in mind if you're and ES major taking this as an elective.
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