I had Gainer for 109C and for Chem6AL. I thought he did a really good job transitioning the courses to online learning on such short notice. Both classes require a lot of hard work, but he was always willing to answer questions. Lab was only miserable because I had an awful TA. I have had Bruice, Read, and Gainer and Gainer was my favorite.

This review may be biased, due to the temporary shift to online instruction. The lab class was enjoyable, and I learned a lot, even though I could not be there to do the experiments. Dr. Gainer clearly tried his best to accommodate the CHEM 6BL students. Be sure to go to office hours to address any concerns about grading or lab concepts.

least favorite class and least favorite professor of my entire education

He makes this class so much harder than he needs to be. All of my friends who've taken ochem at other schools say that their series is nowhere near as hard as ours. It takes the joy out of learning about ochem and even about my other classes because I don't have the time to focus on them at all. Admin seriously needs to talk to him about this.

He was able to adapt to online much more quickly than most professors amidst the pandemic. Watching the videos is really important and the weekly quizzes were kinda okay- open book doesn't make it easier!! Pay attention to what he emphasizes because it's usually quizzed on. He's purposely difficult to get you to learn a lot, especially 6AL and 6BL.

Gainer started off as just seeming like a tough grader on quizzes by marking down on any small issue even if it had nothing to do with the problem. But about 5 weeks in the lecture videos started getting to the point where he was just reading out of the textbook, not breaking things down, which really put a bummer on biochem for a lot of us :( GL

You will be expected to know things that nobody has told you and your lab reports will be scrutinized. It's now week 7 and I have not seen Dr. Gainer once. The fact that the class is solely taught by an overworked and underpaid graduate student should tell you enough. How the course goes will entirely depend on which TA you receive.

Best teacher at UCSB, wants all the students to do well and very helpful at office hours. His tests are really hard but fair and with a big curve. CLAS also helps a lot. More work that other teachers but his lectures are great and its a rewarding class

I took Chem 6AL and 6BL with Dr. Gainer and I thought the labs were a lot of work definitely, but also felt like getting an A in both came pretty naturally with a proper amount of effort. The curve is very generous and you can tell he truly cares. This isn't a class where you can scathe by not knowing what's going on, but it is very fair.

Overall he's great! Dr. Gainer expects deep understanding of the concepts, needing to know the why behind it. His curves are extremely generous, I didn't do too hot on the second midterm but absolutely killed it on the final and ended with an A.

best chem professor at ucsb

Dr. Gainer is a real gem of a professor! At first, his lectures were super confusing, but doing the readings beforehand made his lectures easier to understand. He gives explanatory feedback on exams and during office hours. In hindsight, the answers to his exams were pretty simple. Do the book problems, read the book+ class notes, and STUDY HARD.

Gainer is an amazing professor; he's super friendly and explains concepts very well. His lectures are very interactive, with iclicker questions every lecture. He does use the chalkboard a lot so he goes at a reasonable pace, and wants students to ask questions. His exams require good time management and deep understanding of concepts, but are FAIR!

Dr. Gainer is a respected guy. He is somehow similar to Dr. feldwinn, a professor of gen Chem. They both have difficult tests but want students to really understand course materials. The average of final is 86 OUT of 200; I got 130, but received B because of my midterms. A really great teacher.

Fantastic!! Expects deep understanding of the material but encourages questions and coming into office hours. Tests are free response and critical-thinking orientated but very fair in terms of difficulty, but only if YOU put in the time to study diligently! My favorite professor at UCSB! Made me appreciate and even to enjoy my OChem classes...

Gainer is incredible. If u have the chance to take him for ochem, DO IT. What I loved most about him is that his lectures follow the textbook but present the material in a different way thas easier to understand (unlike other ochem professors who's lectures are the book verbatim...) his tests are hard but fair, lectures interesting and VERY CLEAR

Took for 109A and 6AL too, but 109C I took with him online. Guarantee he'll be better next time on timing out quarter better, but don't sleep on online classes. You'll be in a paradox if you like online classes the whole quarter, but its Gainer at his best and honestly am glad I had him for OChem, as hard as it can be.

Gainer is an incredible teacher. He teaches a tough course but I learned more from him in one Ochem quarter than I did the entire year with other teachers. I think I lived in his office hours and it truly paid off, he for sure bumped my grade. He wants to see an effort and if he sees you are trying he will really help you.

he's awesome truly.

I really enjoyed Gainer's lectures because he has a very systematic approach to working through ochem problems. You will not learn concepts in class, you must read before lectures. Don't memorize, it won't help, the trick to ochem is knowing all the exceptions to the rules, and that comes with practice problems. Large curve, 80% got me an A.

Dr. Gainer was the best OChem professor I had. He gets a lot of hate because his tests are hard, but he, unlike the other teachers, wants you to actually UNDERSTAND the material, not just memorize it. If you take the time to understand ochem, there is very little you actually have to memorize. His lectures were organized and he is well spoken.

The first two midterms were extremely fair. You just had to put in the time and do all of the book problems. The final was also extremely fair, except for one twelve point mech that no one got. If you are going to take Gainer, make sure you have a lot of time. He just goes off the book, but attendance is required, which was very frustrating

Listen. If you can get an A in this class (ridiculously hard), you could get an A in Bruice with way less effort. If you can get an A in Bruice, you might barely get a B in this class lol. This is way harder professor, 0 old exams or practice exams, way harder exams, and require way more knowledge. He is not an amazing lecturer, and goes fast.

Hardest course I've taken so far. Get the e-book and bring your computer to the class since Gainer is basically repeating the book and his pace is way too fast to write everything down. The average for tests is 53% and they are long & hard. I ended up getting an A with overall 79%. Just feeling really lucky since it shows the curve is not too bad.