Herb is a super nice guy and is very accessible outside of class/ excited to talk to his students about protein biochemistry. Very hard take-home midterm and final that take up most of your grade but curves generously so no one fails. The TA Rae will teach this in the future and theyre awesome too! Genuinely challenged me to think outside the box.
Dr. Waite has one of the most incredible perspectives on what it means to be a scientist and it shows in his lectures. Incredibly captivating if you're passionate about protein biochemistry. Take-home midterm and final took > 20hrs over a weekend, but it's well worth it because I earned the ability to THINK like a real scientist. Hard, but worth it
Great prof. if you're not soft and actually want to learn some biochemistry. Pay attention in class. Understand the homeworks. A great chance to free yourself from the reigns and rigidity unconsciously developed through years of cookie-cutter courses. A deeply satisfying course with the right mentality despite its frustrating idiosyncrasies.
take home exams take 20-30 hours to complete, unclear instructions. he seems like a good person but can sometimes come off as condescending when answering questions. passionate and knowledgeable about the subject but not great at explaining it, lectures are confusing and hw + exams are significantly harder than expected :(
Herb seems like an okay guy, but his class is brutal. His lectures suck, no rhythm and overly complex. If this class is not required DO NOT TAKE. I was lost for most of the lectures, but understood homework thanks to the TA. His take home exams are 40+ hours each, and he grades pretty difficult too. On the upside there's a fat curve.
Initially, I was nervous about taking this as a biochemistry major as I assumed it would be heavily focused on engineering or topics I may not have been familiar with. However, Dr. Waite's teaching approach is honestly very unique as it incorporates important BMSE aspects. While challenging, every student will definitely grow through the process.
Hardest MCDB class I have ever taken. Herb is so smart but maybe too smart. He just expects everyone to know what he's talking about in lecture and they are very confusing. He wants you to think and be creative with science which is actually really cool and how it is in the real world but hard. Make sure you have ample time to put into this class.
His lectures are very difficult to follow, as he does not explain background in any way, and tends to use very sophisticated speech. I was lost during 90% of his lecture. However, I came out the other end a better student. His exams require you to really think and analyze and WILL make you a better scientist. Challenging but worth while.
One of the best Profs I've had, a curious and brilliant man. He wants students to experience the ambiguity of science. Be prepared for 30+ hour take-home midterm & final, which have some ?'s that have no "actual" answers. He is holistic grader; takes into consideration explanations/presentation of answers. He curves, 63% was B- on first midterm.
tests you how to use outside sources to solve difficult problems and stating your reasoning with little practice. Major flaw that makes it hard is that it's mostly new material. The concepts themselves were difficult to grasp so it is hard to keep up with the level Herb wants us to be at. In the end you still are unsure of the basic concepts.
Dr. Waite is one of the most brilliant professors you will get to meet at UCSB. His class is very demanding but you actually learn a lot. His class encourages to view things in a scientific way and really opens your eyes if you are interested in research. Great class and professor!
This class requires an immense amount of work but it pays off. There is hw every week, which take up about 3-5 hours each. Tests are take home, but it takes 15-25 hours to finish. Waite is as pure a scientist as one can get; I've developed an immense amount of respect for the man after taking this class. Highly recommend for serious biochemists.