Who are some of the best professors?

sleck · 08-12-2009, 02:23 AM

Who are some of the best professors and what courses do they teach? What's their teaching style like?
If this questions has been asked before, I apologize.

jessiehl · 08-12-2009, 09:32 AM

Are there particular departments that you're interested in?

The Baker Award is for undergraduate teaching, and so it's not a bad starting point, though hardly comprehensive.

Recent winners: Everett Moore Baker Memorial Foundation

Past winners: http://web.mit.edu/baker-foundation/...Recipients.pdf

kryptonsa36 · 08-12-2009, 01:51 PM

The MacVicar Faculty Fellows Program also honors "faculty who are outstanding teachers of undergraduate students."

Vivi · 08-13-2009, 08:48 PM

If you want a more personalized opinion (not "who has been awarded for teaching well" but "who do students like"), I highly recommend:

Prof. Dennis Auroux (18.02, along with advanced courses in topology) - one of the best-loved teachers due to his likability factor, amazingly awesome French accent, speed-erasing skills, and easy-to-understand lectures

Prof. Saul Rappaport (8.01x, 8.02x) - Rappaport is one of the older professors that still carries with him a sense of humour and friendliness you can't forget. He taught 8.012 recitations last fall, and his section was hailed by all as the best review for tests. When I was having trouble, he even set aside some time to tutor me privately to help me pass the class. Next semester, he'll be teaching 8.022.

Prof. Hazel Sive (7.013) - a slightly older woman with a British-sounding accent and a wicked sense of humour. Her lectures are very engaging, and her office hours are very thought-provoking. Also, she gives out prizes when you answer questions during lecture, though this really shouldn't be a factor in wanting to take her class......

Prof. Jeffrey Harris (14.01, along with some other 14 classes) - touts a very strategic method of teaching 14.01, in which he breaks down the entire class in several principles that are just repeated and rearranged different ways to solve the problems. He is rather hit-or-miss with students - some loved him (I was one) while some disliked him.

A couple of other professors by whom I have not had the pleasure of being taught, but perhaps others can vouch for them:
Prof. Donald Sadoway
Prof. Eric Lander
Prof. Arthur Mattuck
Prof. Walter Lewin
Prof. Alan Guth
Prof. Peter Dourmashkin

molliebatmit · 08-13-2009, 08:51 PM

^Not that it's relevant, and I could be wrong, but I believe Hazel Sive's accent is actually South African.

Vivi · 08-13-2009, 09:04 PM

^ a bit of quick Googling has confirmed this. Thanks for pointing it out =)

LauraN · 08-14-2009, 01:13 PM

Dude, Eric Lander rocks. I left his class wanting to switch to a biology major. And I normally hate biology (sorry Mollie). He's just an awesome lecturer- you leave class feeling like you were just entertained for an hour (and maybe not even realizing that you learned a lot), rather than feeling like he rambled for an hour and you've got to go home and read the textbook to have a prayer of understanding what the hell is going on.

James Williams (MechE) is also pretty darn cool. He's a more relaxed figure- not quite as famous or visible as some of the others, but he's definitely a student favorite in the MechE department. There's something about how calm he is, just standing up there patiently explaining the simplest concepts until he's convinced you understand them.

And Sanjay Sarma (also MechE) is the man. Period. I believe there's even a facebook group to that effect, and when he won the MacVicar award a couple of years ago, the line the Tech quoted from the student-written nomination was simply, "Sanjay is the man." Taking his class is like having an older cousin you always secretly admired as being really super cool sit down with you and just tell the story of advanced dynamics and kinematics like it is, yo.

...if you know what I mean.

la montagne · 08-14-2009, 01:35 PM

Prof Richards (24.900, occasionally) is awesome. I second Denis Auroux as being amazing, and I've definitely heard great things about Sadoway and Lander. Prof McGreevy of 8.022 is adorable.

thebearknows · 08-14-2009, 11:48 PM

but students don't get to choose which professor to take a class from, or do they?

molliebatmit · 08-15-2009, 10:09 AM

Well, you know who's teaching the class in advance, so you can choose which semester to take the class. And most classes are taught by the same professor(s) every year.

LauraN · 08-15-2009, 10:31 AM

Well, yes and no. Professors generally have a particular class that they always teach, or maybe they switch on and off with another professor every semester. People will sometimes postpone taking a class for a semester to get the professor they want, or decide which version of a class to take based on the professors, or even just pick an elective based on which professors they think they'll like.

But if you're planning on majoring in math and you don't like the professor teaching 18.01 first semester.....well, too bad, you know?

Also, just a comment on teaching awards: I'm not sure about all of them, but the MacVicar Awards are mostly based on nominations written by students about the professors, so they are almost as good as our personal recommendations. =)

kryptonsa36 · 08-15-2009, 01:13 PM

MacVicar nominations require 4 faculty and 3 student endorsements. Not "mostly," but obviously "sizable."

On the other hand, the Everett Moore Baker Award IS awarded solely based on student opinion.

sleck · 08-15-2009, 11:29 PM

thank you for the replies! where can I find a list of all MIT courses and their respective professors?
I was thinking about participating in one of the learning communities but then I wouldn't be able to take classes from some of the amazing professors that you guys got me so excited about. Does being in a smaller class/getting more personal attention/having a supportive group outweigh having a great professor?

molliebatmit · 08-16-2009, 09:36 AM

Same place where the times are listed: MIT Subject Listing & Schedule Fall 2009