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My first question is where are the EGR 53 lab, recitation, and lectures usually held? because right now ACES says TBA. =]

More specifically, I have a EGR 53 lab that ends 20 minutes before my art class begins in the East Duke building. So I would like to know if it is possible to travel from Teer or Physics building to East Duke in 20 minutes?

Also, is it better to take EGR 53 lab as the last class of the day since I can stay after to finish things?

P.S. if anyone knows how EGR 53 is graded (i.e. quizzes, exams, homework, etc.), please let me know. thanks!

By Theguac (Theguac) on Thursday, July 29, 2004 - 09:48 pm: Edit

EGR53 lab, recitation, and lecture are usually held in Teer. There is a main lecture room on the first floor and the UNIX computer cluster (your second home) is a floor below.

The good thing about EGR53 lab is it's not required that you stay the entire time, so you can always leave after the lab's lecture, which usually lasts an hour. If you do decide to stay the entire time (I never did and still got an A in the class and 100's on most of my labs), then it will be hard to make it to East in 20 minutes UNLESS you catch the Science Drive bus right away. Even then, you'll be pushing it.

I had my EGR53 lab from 3:50 to 6:20 on Mondays. That was my last class/lab for the day, but even then, as I said before, I would never stay for the entire time so it really did not matter to me. Gustafson is a GREAT professor and if you have any problems, you can always either AIM him, email him, or go to his office hours. He usually left soon after the lab lecture was over, which was an indication to me at least that I could leave as well if I did not have any further questions. The TA's are helpful too and they do stay until the end, but they don't care if you leave.

EGR53 is graded strictly based on labs, quizzes, and tests. The labs have REALLY long lab write-ups and each is worth 100 points. You usually have to turn in 1-2 a week. Most of mine were on the order of 15-20 pages (single-spaced with graphs and tables), but I may have written a lot. His quizzes and exams are tough if you do not read the book because they rely on your thorough understanding of the material. The class also has no curve to my knowledge and thus, you will need to do well on the exams to maintain an A. Dr. G does throw some trick questions out there to see if you can think above and beyond the lecture and reading material, so be prepared for those. That class was what made me stay in Teer until 5 AM or 6 AM doing labs or studying for exams with my friends. I really liked Dr. G though. He makes the class fun and yet, VERY informative. You'll be prepared for any engineering problem after this class. It also doesn't focus on just one discipline but all of them. Exam questions come from biomedical engineering, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering. Good luck!

Have fun with LaTeX and UNIX, two languages that will soon replace English for you =)!

P.S. There is no extra credit in the course.

By Ness (Ness) on Sunday, August 01, 2004 - 04:52 pm: Edit

thanks for the reply! i have a few more ?'s

is the class mainly computer programming?
i've never taken a class or done any computer programming before, so is it even possible to get a good grade in EGR53?

By Theguac (Theguac) on Sunday, August 01, 2004 - 06:51 pm: Edit

EGR53 is not really computer programming. Dr. G will tell you time and time again that if it was purely a computer programming class, it would not be called "Computational Methods in Engineering". There is extensive programming involved, but it is not, dare I say, useless programming as in CS6 or 100. For labs, you have to think through a problem, then use your engineering intuition to complement your programming skills to solve the problem. In this respect, it isn't merely a programming course but more like an engineering course that uses programming to solve problems and to conduct tasks. (For instance, you use programming and your own math/engineering skills to solve a problem with measuring distances in long-jump trials in the Olympics. Also, you explore the Chaos Theory through MATLAB by programming something that shows you error and values over time given two initial points. These tasks are all relevant in engineering.)

Many of the students who take the class have no prior experience with computer programming. You use MATLAB so don't worry about it. Dr. G is an excellent professor and he will teach you everything you need to know to succeed in Pratt.