Professor
Robert Richard
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Most Helpful Review
For physics major students who take his class: go to his office hour. Because the class is so easy, nobody really goes to his office hour. This is beneficial for you because if you go, you will get a lot of attention from him. He's working with plasmas, and plasma in UCLA is pretty big so talk to him about research opportunities. Even if you are a physics major thinking about switching to engineering, research is beneficial as well. Go talk to him, he's cool. If you are not a physics major, the average score for the two midterms (about 68) is really low for pretty easy material. So I guess once you really get physics, you will do fine. If you are having trouble with homework, google it. See how other people did it. He changes numbers on the homework, but once you get it, they are all pretty easy. Have fun!
For physics major students who take his class: go to his office hour. Because the class is so easy, nobody really goes to his office hour. This is beneficial for you because if you go, you will get a lot of attention from him. He's working with plasmas, and plasma in UCLA is pretty big so talk to him about research opportunities. Even if you are a physics major thinking about switching to engineering, research is beneficial as well. Go talk to him, he's cool. If you are not a physics major, the average score for the two midterms (about 68) is really low for pretty easy material. So I guess once you really get physics, you will do fine. If you are having trouble with homework, google it. See how other people did it. He changes numbers on the homework, but once you get it, they are all pretty easy. Have fun!
Most Helpful Review
I took Physics 1B and 1C with Richard basically because i knew him from my summer 1B class. first of all, he is not the most eloquent lecturer, for that, go see Corbin. Richard's strength lies in his concern for his students and his desire in helping them succeed. he often tries to tell jokes and some students don't consider him very funny because his jokes are rather nerdy, but even if nerdy, it shows his desire in keeping things interesting. but make no mistake, his greatest strength is in working with the "less than stellar" students like me who weren't born with a natural physics aptitude. before i took him, i had repeated my first physics class multiple time, so i needed a professor who was like a "Physics for dummies" type of professor. I took Brent Corbin, and was mesmerized by his lectures and how funny he was. some students compare all other physics teachers to Corbin because, hey, he's a great lecturer... and i won't deny him that, but i don't care for his requirements that you memorize the formulas and his frequent divergence from the book. each of those assessments is NOT value based, some folks prefer a teacher who diverges from the book and who makes you memorize, and to them i suggest Corbin, to the rest who prefer to focus on problem solving because in real life you have formulas at your disposal all the time and adherence to the book (because those of us who read the book benefit by having difficult passages clarified), i would recommend you seriously consider Richard. since Richard often let us bring in formulas, some students believed tests would be easier, but Richard always put in a humdinger of a problem that reminds you never to underestimate the difficulty of a test. I was not good in math nor physics, so i often went to see Richard, and in the fall when i took 1C, i also went to PDP workshops (a MUST for non-geniuses) where i got my fill of Professor Corbin's chalk throwing anecdotes... for me, this was the perfect combination because i got to interface with both of them... Corbin's engaging style without being tested, and Richard's "down to business" style. testing, as i said, is not easy, but its not hard either. its usually 4-6 problems, but you rarely finish them all given the fact they rely on a fundamental understanding of the concepts... so formulas were allowed... which gave a false, sense of security to many who bombed the first midterm... DON'T make that mistake! having formulas doesn't make your test easier, it merely allows the professor to focus on more complex problems since he knows you brought formulas. I got by with doing tons of homework, more than what he assigned by about 50%. in the end, i got a B in both classes, which was better than i thought i would do given my previous negative experience in physics. in other words, a physics dummy like me did quite well because Richard was there to insure i understood the principles, because his tests were no-nonsense and had no surprises and because i took the PDP. in short, you can't go wrong with Richard because he's fair and cares. his jokes might miss the target, but who cares? as long as he is there to help you succeed, succeed you will.
I took Physics 1B and 1C with Richard basically because i knew him from my summer 1B class. first of all, he is not the most eloquent lecturer, for that, go see Corbin. Richard's strength lies in his concern for his students and his desire in helping them succeed. he often tries to tell jokes and some students don't consider him very funny because his jokes are rather nerdy, but even if nerdy, it shows his desire in keeping things interesting. but make no mistake, his greatest strength is in working with the "less than stellar" students like me who weren't born with a natural physics aptitude. before i took him, i had repeated my first physics class multiple time, so i needed a professor who was like a "Physics for dummies" type of professor. I took Brent Corbin, and was mesmerized by his lectures and how funny he was. some students compare all other physics teachers to Corbin because, hey, he's a great lecturer... and i won't deny him that, but i don't care for his requirements that you memorize the formulas and his frequent divergence from the book. each of those assessments is NOT value based, some folks prefer a teacher who diverges from the book and who makes you memorize, and to them i suggest Corbin, to the rest who prefer to focus on problem solving because in real life you have formulas at your disposal all the time and adherence to the book (because those of us who read the book benefit by having difficult passages clarified), i would recommend you seriously consider Richard. since Richard often let us bring in formulas, some students believed tests would be easier, but Richard always put in a humdinger of a problem that reminds you never to underestimate the difficulty of a test. I was not good in math nor physics, so i often went to see Richard, and in the fall when i took 1C, i also went to PDP workshops (a MUST for non-geniuses) where i got my fill of Professor Corbin's chalk throwing anecdotes... for me, this was the perfect combination because i got to interface with both of them... Corbin's engaging style without being tested, and Richard's "down to business" style. testing, as i said, is not easy, but its not hard either. its usually 4-6 problems, but you rarely finish them all given the fact they rely on a fundamental understanding of the concepts... so formulas were allowed... which gave a false, sense of security to many who bombed the first midterm... DON'T make that mistake! having formulas doesn't make your test easier, it merely allows the professor to focus on more complex problems since he knows you brought formulas. I got by with doing tons of homework, more than what he assigned by about 50%. in the end, i got a B in both classes, which was better than i thought i would do given my previous negative experience in physics. in other words, a physics dummy like me did quite well because Richard was there to insure i understood the principles, because his tests were no-nonsense and had no surprises and because i took the PDP. in short, you can't go wrong with Richard because he's fair and cares. his jokes might miss the target, but who cares? as long as he is there to help you succeed, succeed you will.
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Most Helpful Review
He's a really nice guy and cares about his students, but man his lectures were boring. I couldn't bring myself to sit through any of them. He would go through the material very slowly and exactly as it was written in the book and everyone would just copy down what he wrote on the board. His lectures didn't really add anything to the text book. His tests were pretty tricky, especially the final. I think he was a fair grader and the couple of times I went to his office hours he was very willing to help. Still, I wouldn't take that class with him again.
He's a really nice guy and cares about his students, but man his lectures were boring. I couldn't bring myself to sit through any of them. He would go through the material very slowly and exactly as it was written in the book and everyone would just copy down what he wrote on the board. His lectures didn't really add anything to the text book. His tests were pretty tricky, especially the final. I think he was a fair grader and the couple of times I went to his office hours he was very willing to help. Still, I wouldn't take that class with him again.
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2017 - My experience in Physics has been a really crappy one at UCLA, I manage to pass classes based off the knowledge I learned in high school. That said, 6B was no different. Professor Richard is a kind man, but his lectures were so boring. I realized I didn't learn anything from them like week 8 (when it was too late) and was better off teaching myself from the textbook. Tests were basically the challenging homework questions so if you did them, or knew how to do them they shouldnt have been a problem. Your grade is broken down by Homework 15% Lab 15% Midterm 1 and 2 15% and final 40%. 6B is already a hard enough topic, as is the case with most science classes, how much you learn is really based off how good your professor is. The 6 series in general is a really watered down version of the 1, but a lot of the really important conceptual ideas are lost in the process which makes life science students really miss the point about Physics. Kind of disappointing really.
Fall 2017 - My experience in Physics has been a really crappy one at UCLA, I manage to pass classes based off the knowledge I learned in high school. That said, 6B was no different. Professor Richard is a kind man, but his lectures were so boring. I realized I didn't learn anything from them like week 8 (when it was too late) and was better off teaching myself from the textbook. Tests were basically the challenging homework questions so if you did them, or knew how to do them they shouldnt have been a problem. Your grade is broken down by Homework 15% Lab 15% Midterm 1 and 2 15% and final 40%. 6B is already a hard enough topic, as is the case with most science classes, how much you learn is really based off how good your professor is. The 6 series in general is a really watered down version of the 1, but a lot of the really important conceptual ideas are lost in the process which makes life science students really miss the point about Physics. Kind of disappointing really.
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2016 - Professor Richard is a really sweet and nice but his lectures are kinda dry and boring and very math based. He doesn't test on the proofs but in order to do well in the class, do lots of practice problems from the book! He allows one sheet of cheat sheet for each midterm, and two sheets for the final! Write everything on it include examples of the book!
Fall 2016 - Professor Richard is a really sweet and nice but his lectures are kinda dry and boring and very math based. He doesn't test on the proofs but in order to do well in the class, do lots of practice problems from the book! He allows one sheet of cheat sheet for each midterm, and two sheets for the final! Write everything on it include examples of the book!
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