Semester.ly

Johns Hopkins University | AS.030.452

Materials & Surface

3.0

credits

Average Course Rating

(3.82)

The chemistry associated with surfaces and interfaces as well as a molecular level understanding of their essential roles in many technological fields. The first half of this course addresses various analytical techniques used to study surfaces including X-ray, photoelectron spectroscopy, and scanning tunneling microscopy. The second half of this course uses a number of case studies to illustrate the application of surface analytical techniques in contemporary research.

Fall 2012

(3.14)

Fall 2013

(3.92)

Fall 2014

(4.4)

Fall 2012

Professor: D Fairbrother

(3.14)

The best aspects of this course were learning useful instrumental techniques and the knowledgeable professor. The downsides were the slow pace of the course, the lack of organization, and the lack of correlation between lecture and homework. Students suggested spending less time on review and covering more material. They also suggested having more practice exercises and better feedback on the 67 homework. Students should know that the homework for this course requires a lot of independent research. Also, it is more difficult for engineering students who may not have as much chemistry background.

Fall 2013

Professor: D Fairbrother

(3.92)

Students praised the instructor for offering an informative class and always being prepared. Some students thought the class lacked timely feedback for assignments. Other students thought the fact that the instructor presented valuable information via an overhead projector and didn’t make copies of the information available to students made it difficult for students to take notes. Suggestions for improvement included providing copies of each class’ presentation to students. Other students thought additional guidance for how to successful y complete the course’s homework would be helpful. Prospective students should know that students described this course as a difficult course that covers some “high level” material but “very little previous knowledge is presumed.” 71

Fall 2014

Professor: D Fairbrother

(4.4)

Interesting topics, real world applications, and introductions to the various instruments available for surface analysis were some of the highlights from this course. Many students thought the instructor was engaging and had firsthand knowledge of the instruments available on campus. The grading seemed ambiguous and there were no solutions provided for the homework, making studying for the final exam difficult. Giving more graded assignments over the semester was commonly suggested as an improvement to the course. Prospective students should know that this course gave students a thorough overview of the subject, but grading was ambiguous. Also, there were not many graded assignments which gave each one more weight. The instructor was highly recommended.

Lecture Sections

(01)

No location info
D. Fairbrother
09:00 - 10:15
11 open / 18 seats