Professor profile for Brian Evans
Student reviews of Brian Evans
Review from a student who took EE 345S
The EE 345S, which is introduced and taught only by Dr.Evans himself, is an interesting class but lack of reasonable organization. The lab section is almost independent or irrelevent to his lecture. The lab accounts for 50% of the grade, getting a good TA means alot; my TA is very linient and carefree in his grading, I got almost full credit in every lab even though I missed many things. The online prelab quizes accounts for 10% of the course, it's hard but if you collaborate with other students (which prof. Evans don't encourage) you can get the most out of it. HW is 10% and almost entirely based on MATLAB, but Evans DO NOT teach MATLAB in his lecture, which makes it quite frustrating and time consuming. The 70% of the grade mentioned above are not hard to grab, but it also make the standard deviation of the course unusually small (around 5% before the last midterm). Ultimately, your grade will be depended on your 2 midterms, which is 15% each. They are both open book but are extremely hard if not impossible to work out in 90 minutes, thus the class average is usually around 40%. If you are average in both midterms and done all you lab, HW, and lab quiz, you can guarentee to have a B or possibly A. Few students got C, and the ones who got D either miss their HW/lab or score very low in the exams.
The EE 345S, which is introduced and taught only by Dr.Evans himself, is an interesting class but lack of reasonable organization. The lab section is almost independent or irrelevent to his lecture. The lab accounts for 50% of the grade, getting a good TA means alot; my TA is very linient and carefree in his grading, I got almost full credit in every lab even though I missed many things. The online prelab quizes accounts for 10% of the course, it's hard but if you collaborate with other students (which prof. Evans don't encourage) you can get the most out of it. HW is 10% and almost entirely based on MATLAB, but Evans DO NOT teach MATLAB in his lecture, which makes it quite frustrating and time consuming. The 70% of the grade mentioned above are not hard to grab, but it also make the standard deviation of the course unusually small (around 5% before the last midterm). Ultimately, your grade will be depended on your 2 midterms, which is 15% each. They are both open book but are extremely hard if not impossible to work out in 90 minutes, thus the class average is usually around 40%. If you are average in both midterms and done all you lab, HW, and lab quiz, you can guarentee to have a B or possibly A. Few students got C, and the ones who got D either miss their HW/lab or score very low in the exams.
Review from a student who took EE 345S
Dr. Evans is a very nice and very knowledgeable professor. He is interested in the progress of his students and very available in office hours. These things aside, his class was very frustrating. He tries to cover an enormous amount of material, and invariably loses students completely in lecture, making the lab section very trying for both the students and the TA. His tests were ridiculously difficult (the average on both of our tests was ~ 40) and relate very little to the MATLAB based homework. I came out of this class knowing much more than when I went in, but it was almost entirely due to (an inordinate amount of) self study. On the plus side, he tends to give a large number of A's in EE 345S, unlike in his EE 313 class. This class attempts to teach both DSP theory and implementation but does neither adequately.
Dr. Evans is a very nice and very knowledgeable professor. He is interested in the progress of his students and very available in office hours. These things aside, his class was very frustrating. He tries to cover an enormous amount of material, and invariably loses students completely in lecture, making the lab section very trying for both the students and the TA. His tests were ridiculously difficult (the average on both of our tests was ~ 40) and relate very little to the MATLAB based homework. I came out of this class knowing much more than when I went in, but it was almost entirely due to (an inordinate amount of) self study. On the plus side, he tends to give a large number of A's in EE 345S, unlike in his EE 313 class. This class attempts to teach both DSP theory and implementation but does neither adequately.
Review from a student who took EE 345S
I will repeat a lot of the content in other reviews. You learn a lot. He's scattered - he covers too much without enough detail. His hw has a fair amount of MATLAB that he never prepares you for (in terms of MATLAB). Midterms are very hard and they will determine who gets what grade. They are open everything, so know the concepts and use the books for the details. Old tests can be useful. I will also add that the lab is self-contained (only the 3 allotted hours), much unlike 345L.
I will repeat a lot of the content in other reviews. You learn a lot. He's scattered - he covers too much without enough detail. His hw has a fair amount of MATLAB that he never prepares you for (in terms of MATLAB). Midterms are very hard and they will determine who gets what grade. They are open everything, so know the concepts and use the books for the details. Old tests can be useful. I will also add that the lab is self-contained (only the 3 allotted hours), much unlike 345L.
Review from a student who took EE 345S
I decided to take this class after its rave reviews but was very disappointed. Evans throws a whole bunch of scattered material but I never felt like he taught strong fundamentals. No part of the class correlates with each other - lab, hw, lectures, test. If you want to learn about DSP stuff take something else 371M or 360K. That being said, Evans is a very very caring prof and its not hard to get an A if you do decent on the exams. I found Evans to be very useful for advice and for any questions. I also learned a lot from studying from exams (while I didn't learn anything from doing the labs, going to lecture, or doing the hw). It's a mixed bag, I guess. For a real lab take 345L.
I decided to take this class after its rave reviews but was very disappointed. Evans throws a whole bunch of scattered material but I never felt like he taught strong fundamentals. No part of the class correlates with each other - lab, hw, lectures, test. If you want to learn about DSP stuff take something else 371M or 360K. That being said, Evans is a very very caring prof and its not hard to get an A if you do decent on the exams. I found Evans to be very useful for advice and for any questions. I also learned a lot from studying from exams (while I didn't learn anything from doing the labs, going to lecture, or doing the hw). It's a mixed bag, I guess. For a real lab take 345L.
Review from a student who took EE 345S
After 10 years of teaching EE345S, Evans still does not understand how to effectively teach the material. Like all the other reviews have said, he's a very smart, approachable, and friendly professor with a lot of great advice regarding graduate school and engineering life after college. However, these are his only strengths. He's definitely a good engineer, but a professor? I don't believe so... EE345S is a ridiculously hard class. It's not the fact that the material is hard, it's the fact that there's just simply so much to be covered. The course did not connect the lecture, lab, and homework very well at all. Lab was mostly writing C code, the homework was nearly all MATLAB, and the lecture covered a wide range of material--none of which was focused on long enough to allow students to really understand the material. In fact, if you don't keep up with the reading, you might as well skip lecture because chances are you won't understand anything to begin with. And even after reading the text, lecture can still be rather confusing. They are all Powerpoint, with no examples of problems at all. He basically covers broad concepts and expects you to be able to immediately apply them without having done any real work with it (minus some small correlations from lab). The few students that I've personally talked to that understand the material are graduate students and a couple of very smart undergrads. Despite EE345's low course number, it is definitely a course undergrads should be taking LATE in their academic career. This was my first DSP class and I was thoroughly confused on much of the material. Having a strong understanding of EE313 helps, but not too much. Furthermore, Evans is very strict about cheating. Do NOT copy anyone's work because he will come down on you for it. Also, during midterms, he makes you sit a whooping 4 seats away from the next person, which I always found a bit amusing. The person you could be potentially cheating off of is probably just as lost as you are. With all that said, it's not hard to get an A in this course at all. Labs are a push-over, especially if you have a nice TA, and while the homework is difficult, they're worth very little of your grade. Midterms are just as hard as the homework (if not more so), but as long as you score around the average, you'll be fine (the average being <= 50 most of the time). So as long as you keep up with the work, a B is very attainable. With a little more effort, you can get an A just as easily. Good luck to anyone who has to take this class--and don't be too overwhelmed if you don't understand the material.
After 10 years of teaching EE345S, Evans still does not understand how to effectively teach the material. Like all the other reviews have said, he's a very smart, approachable, and friendly professor with a lot of great advice regarding graduate school and engineering life after college. However, these are his only strengths. He's definitely a good engineer, but a professor? I don't believe so... EE345S is a ridiculously hard class. It's not the fact that the material is hard, it's the fact that there's just simply so much to be covered. The course did not connect the lecture, lab, and homework very well at all. Lab was mostly writing C code, the homework was nearly all MATLAB, and the lecture covered a wide range of material--none of which was focused on long enough to allow students to really understand the material. In fact, if you don't keep up with the reading, you might as well skip lecture because chances are you won't understand anything to begin with. And even after reading the text, lecture can still be rather confusing. They are all Powerpoint, with no examples of problems at all. He basically covers broad concepts and expects you to be able to immediately apply them without having done any real work with it (minus some small correlations from lab). The few students that I've personally talked to that understand the material are graduate students and a couple of very smart undergrads. Despite EE345's low course number, it is definitely a course undergrads should be taking LATE in their academic career. This was my first DSP class and I was thoroughly confused on much of the material. Having a strong understanding of EE313 helps, but not too much. Furthermore, Evans is very strict about cheating. Do NOT copy anyone's work because he will come down on you for it. Also, during midterms, he makes you sit a whooping 4 seats away from the next person, which I always found a bit amusing. The person you could be potentially cheating off of is probably just as lost as you are. With all that said, it's not hard to get an A in this course at all. Labs are a push-over, especially if you have a nice TA, and while the homework is difficult, they're worth very little of your grade. Midterms are just as hard as the homework (if not more so), but as long as you score around the average, you'll be fine (the average being <= 50 most of the time). So as long as you keep up with the work, a B is very attainable. With a little more effort, you can get an A just as easily. Good luck to anyone who has to take this class--and don't be too overwhelmed if you don't understand the material.
Review from a student who took EE 345S
In many ways, Dr. Evans is one of the best profs that UT ECE has. He is approachable in office hours and will help you to understand the material; however, he will make you think (which is good). He is crazy organized which is also nice. However, his lecture style is more suited to those who are prepared for class (readings, proper review/knowledge of prereqs). Without preparation, you can get lost. His course notes are given at the beginning of the semester so its quite possible to stay on the ball. In 345S, grading is exceptionally reasonable. Depending on your style of work, the midterms can make all the difference or have no effect on your grade. Get close to 100% on all labs, hw, and prelabs and you just need to pass the exams (like get a C to B on a curve...). Get ~90% on the labs and hws and you have to work a lot more to get an A, the midterms matter. The reason for this is that there is a small, ~6% std. dev. for the class. Those extra .10*70 = 7 points from lab/hw can make this course an easy A if you simply take the time to do the work. On the course itself: -If you plan on studying signal processing or communications, you will probably learn most of this material in your other courses. Its a good wrapper and the lab is kinda neat. -For others or undecided, the class is a great glimpse of these areas. A *HUGE* amount of material is covered, you cannot learn it all in here. The good news is that you learn a lot of relevant and useful material and you are not expected to know everything. A great signal processing/communications overview course that has some depth. -However, the course often feels as if things are missing and leaves you wanting much and wondering about much. The course is enough to allow someone not a communications/signal processing person to do useful work in the area.
In many ways, Dr. Evans is one of the best profs that UT ECE has. He is approachable in office hours and will help you to understand the material; however, he will make you think (which is good). He is crazy organized which is also nice. However, his lecture style is more suited to those who are prepared for class (readings, proper review/knowledge of prereqs). Without preparation, you can get lost. His course notes are given at the beginning of the semester so its quite possible to stay on the ball. In 345S, grading is exceptionally reasonable. Depending on your style of work, the midterms can make all the difference or have no effect on your grade. Get close to 100% on all labs, hw, and prelabs and you just need to pass the exams (like get a C to B on a curve...). Get ~90% on the labs and hws and you have to work a lot more to get an A, the midterms matter. The reason for this is that there is a small, ~6% std. dev. for the class. Those extra .10*70 = 7 points from lab/hw can make this course an easy A if you simply take the time to do the work. On the course itself: -If you plan on studying signal processing or communications, you will probably learn most of this material in your other courses. Its a good wrapper and the lab is kinda neat. -For others or undecided, the class is a great glimpse of these areas. A *HUGE* amount of material is covered, you cannot learn it all in here. The good news is that you learn a lot of relevant and useful material and you are not expected to know everything. A great signal processing/communications overview course that has some depth. -However, the course often feels as if things are missing and leaves you wanting much and wondering about much. The course is enough to allow someone not a communications/signal processing person to do useful work in the area.
Review from a student who took vfQgCtsTsnzZ
9TsHJu Major thankies for the post.Thanks Again. Much obliged.
9TsHJu Major thankies for the post.Thanks Again. Much obliged.