Labs prepare you well for the final project both require quite a bit of thinking. Prof Brewer has the class structured very well and his lectures are interesting although a bit hard to follow if you aren't giving your undivided attention. Make sure you talk to him during office hours hes a really nice guy and a genius.

I've had him for multiple classes, and his worst habit is going off topic. #1 tip: he does not take things personally and it's a much better use of everyone's time if someone politely calls him out to pivot. He's one of the best in the ECE dept but can be a complete fire hose as a lecturer. So steer him with questions/interest & you'll learn a ton.

His lectures are mostly unrelated to the homework topics, it is better to search for the answers than attempt to solve the problems yourself. The labs take another 4-6 hours even with using outside resources like he suggests himself. Don't try to do the work yourself and just study the answers and you will get a better grade.

Awesome class. The labs take time but are also fun. Loved Brewer's lecturing style - he talks about things deeper than what a textbook can teach you - you just have to have an open mind to understand what he is trying to teach. Really helpful class for understanding how to build practical systems. Didn't mind the work because it taught me a lot.

This course take a lot of time. There is no scheduled lab time for this course as you are expected to complete the lab over however long a period it takes. Each weekly lab takes 10+ hours and each homework often takes over 6 hours. The lectures are mostly useless and often unrelated; Dr. Brewer goes off on tangents that don't relate to the material

Incredible professor and an INSANELY good class. Powerful and analytical lectures that are especially relevant now, but I've heard from former students that he always makes them very timely. Extremely interesting readings, good mix of essays and exams, and I love that he takes our feedback into account. One of the best English classes at UCSB!