Phys 125 is awesome, one of the best UCSB physics department professors.

Grades not posted to Gauchospace. I got A and B range scores on my work. Somehow got a C in the class. Professor Richman refused to explain this discrepancy when confronted.

Richman is a brilliant professor and researcher who cares not only about his own work (which is CRAZY!) but about his students getting a fundamental understanding of electromagnetism and light. He also teaches great problem solving techniques. Take him, and GO TO LECTURE!

Richman makes a rather difficult subject (electromagnetism) quite straightforward. He follows a very well-proven teaching method: explains theory, gives formulas, and shows examples, no derivations. Also has in class Q&A that is very helpful. Wants his students to succeed, giving them every available resource. Put in effort and reap rewards!

Terrible professor. Avoid him at all costs. He is a total know it all and a joke of a communicator. Personally I dislike him and his teaching style a lot. Very hard class even though i knew all the material.

Wow he was the hardest professor Ive ever had. Save your GPA and take this class with ANYONE else!

The first few weeks I thought this guy was cool because he was the first phys prof I had that did not follow a set schedule. This turned out to be bad. His lectures became absolutely incomprehensible. He would interrupt lecture by saying whatever was on his mind and go on useless tangents Tests were based entirely off hw. Avoid. This guy sucks

Unclear lecturer and very bad at answering questions which is a shame because you can tell that he likes the subject and is VERY smart, but has no clue how to teach.

Be careful on this one. Likes to go above and beyond the books. Picks challenging problems for homework then lectures on the material after you turn in the homework. Hard tests, but not necessarily impossible. Smart professor, nice guy. Expects A LOT out of students. Be friends with the TA, sometimes they're the only ones who can do the hmwk.

Lectures were poinless but mandatory because of a new person response system he made us buy for $30 on top of the mastering physics program and university physics textbook. The class was pretty boring but wasn't terrible hard like he said it was. I would have rather taken another class with stuart.

If you have the option of taking a class with Richman I would go for it. He's a good lecturer and really wants his students to succeed. Posts great notes online and is very clear of what he expects from students, even if his standards are high.

Richman wants his class to learn, and he has a deep interest in physics. However, he is not a very good lecturer and most of his lectures involve him deriving equations in the book. Tests were HEAVILY based on homework and lecture notes. Class is a bore. The class' midterm avg. was 45%.