Professor Nelson knows a lot and deeply cares about his students. He tries his best to make the course as fruitful as possible but too many stuffs are crammed into a 10 weeks introductory course and the lectures notes are hard to follow and sometimes incorrect. The material spans a wide number of topics, yet falls shallow in terms of depth.

He is absurdly disorganized and a terrible lecturer. His lectures are unhelpful and he is too distracted by his own thoughts to teach anything. Do not take at all costs, he will not help in any teaching.

Nelson shines insights on concepts that are not explicit in the textbook and blends his lectures with his rich experience in the field. The lecture notes and homework are poorly worded and hard to follow so attending the lectures would be necessary.

The most disorganized physics professor I've had so far. About 40% of lecture is off topic and talks about random tangents which god knows why. Has no section problems, and no structure for course schedule. I have no idea why he is rated so high. I'm 4 weeks in so maybe he gives easy tests but if you want to learn, avoid him at all costs.

Nelson is by far the best physics professor I have had at UCSB. He is always eager to answer questions, and excited to teach the material. He clearly loves what he is doing and takes teaching very seriously, though his easy going outwardly demeanor sometimes suggests differently. Finishing my last class with him was definitely bittersweet.

Best physics professor I've ever had. Had him for nearly two years straight, and loved every minute. If you ever get the chance to take physics with Nelson, you won't regret it.