The best aspects of the course included the fun lectures and the assigned project. The professor was able to cover a lot of material in an effective way. The worst aspect of the course was the difficult and 200 heavily weighted homework assignments. The students found the teaching assistant’s grading system unclear. The course would improve if there were more examples and review sessions to help students understand much of what they were learning. Prospective students should be sure to put forth lots of effort into the heavily weighted homework assignments in this relatively fun course.

During this course, students learned about how sensors and MEMS are built and the labs were great at solidifying concepts taught in class. Also, the instructor took time out to answer questions during labs. But, there was a lack of class engagement and feedback. In addition, many students agreed that the course needed more structure, and there was way too much material covered on homework assignments and tests. Suggestions for improvement include: more structure, shorter class times with weekly assignments, and feedback on homework and exams. Prospective students should be comfortable with a course that is based more on case studies than textbook mechanics.

The best aspects of this course included the professor’s experience, the interesting labs and interactive lectures, and the opportunity to learn applicable skills and fabrication techniques. Students felt that there were not enough homework assignments to practice concepts or enough time in the course to apply techniques learned. Suggestions for improvement included having more supplemental resources available and decreasing the amount of material covered in order to cover fewer concepts more in greater depth. Prospective students interested in microfabrication and biosensing will find this course chal enging and focused more on biomedical engineering.