DeNatale, Jay  

I had him for several classes some years back. I can tell you I've had a lot of instructors over the years, and he's definitely the worst; he simply does not care, and in fact takes pleasure in being difficult for no worthwhile reason. I'm doing quite well out here in the real world, and it's in no thanks to Jay. If I worked for someone like Jay, I would go elsewhere as any ship he would be in charge of would sink anyway. I believe there’s little value in learning how to deal with complete jerks. True, I’ve had some difficult clients, but nothing like him. I, my family, and my employer will not give money to Cal Poly until this guy is out of there. I respect the school alot, and am happy with the overall educational experience. I paid my fees and got my education, but as far as any "gravy" goes in the way of donations, I can't in good conscience contribute to an institution that employs this arrogant kook.

this guy is a jackass. he thinks he's the most intelligent person in the world. i'd like to punch him in his face.

DeNatale is a good guy. This is an intro class so you have to take it and it\'s boring but I can tell that this guy really loves his job and teaching kids about engineering. He\'s very fond of the profession in general and takes it very seriously, although I can tell he has a sense of humor too.

Smart, but cocky and likes to play games. Its ok to be pissed off at the world, but don't become a teacher and don't take it out on your students.

Nice guy. Willing to cooperate with students. Group project to build a bridge is interesting. He has Civil Engineers come into class to talk about profession. Informative class.

"Dr. D" is an excellent for lecturing, and that is all! He is not a fair grader, his tests are entirely too hard and he expects more that should be asked for. To add insult to injury Dr. D will seem like your friend but has an alternative motive. His persona resembles a slimy politician. I would strongly advise against him and his teaching style.

He does has some temper issues, he has an attitide of, oh the material is very easy(which it was) and that there is no reason for you not to get perfect scores on his tests. Material is really straight foward; midterms were basically hw problems. I feel that class was TOO EASY, as in you dont really learn that much from him.

• The guy really knows what he is talking about and does a good job clearly presenting the material. • His grading policy on hw is ridiculous however. He doesn’t want to hire a grader so he grades him himself (the guy is kind of a control freak). He doesn’t have time to look at all the problems so he only grades one. If you make any little mistake, it usually results in a D for the entire assignment, so make sure you do ever problem perfectly. Also, he makes you conform to his own hw format and docks heavily for deviation. • Also grades very heavly on tests. Again, don’t make any mistakes. Students either pass or fail. • Finally, despite his good lecture skills, the man is a complete intellectual snob, to the point were I just couldn’t show up to class for the last few weeks. • The key to success with DeNatale is complete perfectionism. Anything else will get you a D at best.

I had this professor many years ago at the University of Arizona. He taught geotechnical engineering. He really carried a bias against some students, including me personally. I still remember his antics. When I went to his office to discuss my final grade (D), he said that even though I had the same total point score as another student, he had given a higher grade (C) to that person because he had a higher homework scores (20% of grade) but a lower overall exam score (80% of grade). I argued that the other person merely copied their homework from other students and that I had demonstrated a superior grasp of the subject matter with higher exam scores; but to no avail. For the final exam, DeNatale gave a very difficult exam. When time had expired, many students had not yet turned in their exams and were still struggling to finish. DeNatale walked up to these student and said 'don't worry about it'. Except for me, of course. I was the last to leave and he turned his back on me. I left my exam on his desk, but got the message. I don't think college engineering course should be graded on a teacher's pet popularity score. For many years I really resented DeNatale. But, despite that, went on to become a Civil P.E. in California and have had a very successful engineering career, including being an independent engineering consultant for 12 years. I doubt DeNatale could make it in the private sector.

I've read all the reviews and I claim to have both sides of the coin. I took CE 340 Soil Mechanics at Univ. of Arizona back in Fall 1983; it was Jay's first semester at U of A. On the first mid-term, 20% was an "A" on the curve!! Yes, he's a tough professor. I was doing poorly throughout the semester (primarily my choice and mistake). I wanted to withdraw, past the deadline of course, Jay disagreed and warned me that I might not graduate ever, since he'll be teaching this core class for semesters to come. I challenged him to grant me an "F" which he surely did at the end. In my evaluation, at the time, I wrote: "The man is sick and has psychological problems." The following semester I took the same class again with Jay, only this time I was serious about it. I got an "A" with flying colors, not having to sit for the final exam either. It's very true that if you, as a student, don't care, Jay doesn't give a damn, but, if you do, Jay is there to help you. I must admit that Jay is an excellent professor, his lectures are quite structured and if you are serious, you will find that Jay is more than eager to assist you during office hours. I have utmost respect for this professor and I owe him a great deal; he really made quite a change in my career and professional life. I went on to take an elective class with Jay CE 440 Slope Stability. Sneaky or not, double-faced or otherwise, that's Jay's personal issue, but, if you are looking for a good professor, want to learn and understand the material, want some challenge and a taste of the real world then I highly recommend that you take on Jay. He is a strict professional; Chapeau....

DeNatale is still a student at heart. He is fun, easy to understand, and a fair grader

jay is two faced

As you can see some people cannot handle it when a professor doesn't baby them along. To tell you the truth, if you are a whiney good for nothing student, I as a professor wouldn't give you the time of day either. Dr. D is a great prof. as long as you keep up with the class and are interested. Otherwise you are wasting his time as well as everyone else's.

I am amazed by the other evaluations of Dr. DeNatale. I thought he was an outstanding professor! He does expect a lot of students, but he is also more than willing to help students learn the material. His lectures are clear, informative, and cover a lot of topics that are very practical and useful in real life. He has been very helpful when I have gone to office hours and is more than willing to help clear up questions about lectures or homework problems. If you stay on top of the material, you should do well in his class. He assigns homework, but does not collect it so it is up to you to do it. If you can do the homework and review the lecture notes, you will do fine on the quizes. Most people seem to run into trouble on quizes because they don't do any studying outside of class and ignore the suggested homework. My favorite part of the class is that you can choose to not take the final and can keep your average quiz score instead. You will have to do some (not a lot) studying outside of class, but you will learn a lot about geotechnical engineering if you take Dr. DeNatale.

DeNatale is the WORST teacher at Cal Poly. I received both a bachelors and masters degree from CP and he was by far, the biggest a-hole I ever came across on that campus. He will only like you if you stick your nose up his ass and have a 4.0 GPA. He is an arrogant man that thinks he is better than everyone else and he lacks the passion for teaching that good professors should have. Unfortunately, he was my academic advisor. He made me feel stupid every single time I went to his office. One time he said to me, "What the hell are you doing at this school anyway?" I wanted to break his nose, but instead of doing that and getting kicked out of Poly (which he would have loved) I decided I would graduate instead, just to spite him. Avoid Denatale at all costs, and if you do have to deal with him, never give him the satisfaction of calling him "Dr. D", unless you are actually referring to, "Dr. Dickhead".

I did not do well in 381 because I have problems keeping up with homework all the time. If you can make the time there is not a reason for you to do well in the class. I think Denatale is a good teacher. He gives the daily quizzes to help us out insteading of throwing amidterm in the 5th week like every other teacher. He lectures well, his lab is fun aside from the red ink all over the lab report. He is just not a teacher like one other one for sure in the CE department that will hand you an A. You just need to show that you are willing to work hard. The material is not that difficult if you put the time in.

From that last evaluation, and from all of the evaluations listed here, I suppose Cal Poly must have what, roughly 90% slackers in the CE department? Nice try Jay. While is is amusing to sit and watch this teacher, in that he is like a slick used car salesman, if you actually have to have personal contact with him it's not comfortable. He comes across as having nothing but contempt for students and the University when you talk to him one-on-one. There are teachers who teach because they love to teach, and there are those that teach because they cannot hack the real world. Dr. D I'm afraid is one of the latter. After several engineering internships I can see that Dr. D's ego, swagger, and aloof attitude might really hamper him on a proffesional level. Too bad because he is in fact knowledgable in the area of geotechnical engineering.

Fuck this cocky, conceited, draft-dodging, presumtuous asshole. I wish the meningitis that made this fucker half-deaf had taken him out permanantly. In Jay's world (where he calls himself dr. d) he is an accomplished professional engineer and teacher who cares about the sucess of each student. IN REALITY Jay is a bitter maniacal greasy bastard who takes a sick joy in a student busting their ass all quarter and then flunking them anyways. IN REALITY he berates students with condecending comments, and continually questions your commitment to being an engineer, and also likes to insinuate that every studednt is a slacker. FOr christs sake this prick went to UC davis for all his store bought degrees - who the fuck does he think he is???? Avoid this piece of shit cock sucker at all costs, hopefully he will die and then you wont have to worry about it

Excellent Lecturer. Color codes everything during lecture that if you had markers with you, you'd be able to study and absorb immediately because it would be self explanatory. A little intimidating and seems unapproachable, can't testify to office hours cause I've never been, but his tests are straight forward, not tricky, still challenging, totally fair game.

So here is the deal with DeNatale - you either love him or you hate him. Although I got a horrible grade in the class I really enjoyed his way of teaching. He just taught the basics of what you need to know to pass the PE test and that is why many of us have to take Geotech. I really learned the information and moved onto CE 481. Why did I do so poorly then? DeNatale pretends to be your friend but in the end is one of the harshest graders I know - no partial credit, you get marked down for anything and everything!!! Beware CE students - take Fiegel!

It's like this. DeNatale is here to make you a successful engineer. I think he has had to put up with a lot of bad attitudes toward geotech and toward himself that it seems now like he is constantly on the deffensive. He is going to help those who care and who want to succeed and he is going to appear as an self-rightous elitist to those who dont. It's simple; go to class, do your homework, and PAY ATTENTION, and you will be fine.

I dont understand why this guy became a teacher if all he does in hes free time is rip on his students. He only shows interest in you if you sit at the front of the class ask a bunch of questions and go to his office hours well before a test. And if he think you dont care about the class he will not care about you or any of your questions. He is so cautious about answering your questions because he fears giving you some kinda minor advantage on his tests. I agree with the other poster i think he thinks we all not worthy of being engineers. My advice JAY IF YOU DONT like your students what the hell are you doing here? you have your PE oh.. and who the hell shops for this guy whats-up w/ all the hawaiian shirts?

I got all three problems on his final 100% correct. I used a different notation because I studied from a different textbook than the one he was teaching from. He marked me down 10 percentage points because my subscript notation did not match the textbook. I assume that he did not like me because I never went to his class. I didn't go to his class because I already new the material. By shorting me 10% points he was able to bring my final grade from a B to a C. He's political. Play his ASCE games and he will like you. Also, keep your dog away from; he sued on Judge Judy and won 5k for a leash burn on his leg. I now laugh when I think I make as much money as he does in month in the couple of days it takes me to do a soils report.

A shitty teacher. Asshole too. Message for Jay: go stick a coke bottle up your ass, sideways.

He only did three labs, and graded them very hard. Make sure you write reports perfectly. You can do the lab completely correct, but if all you I's are not dotted you screwed. Don't try to ask him a question in office hours, he will basically make you feel stupid, and when you leave you'll be no better then when you went in. The CE department offers other geotechnical courses but if DeNetale is teaching them, you'll be sure not to see me there. His average rating of 2 is well above what this professor deserves. Avoid at all costs. (He is a rat faced bastard)

Dr. Rat Face Bastard is the worst teacher at Cal Poly. He grades way to hard and thinks that he is god and we the students are mere peasants. Who ever reads this message, I greatly encourage you not to take Dr DeNatale For any Civil Engineering classes, instead take Dr Fiegel for all your Geotech Classes, he is ten times the teacher Dr. Denatale is. Also, if you poorly decide to take Dr Denatale, do not attend his office hours, because even if you have a legitimate question he will make you feel stupid.

Dr. D definitely knows his stuff but makes you feel like a complete idiot in the process of teaching/knocking you. This guy has serious psychological problems and unless you enjoy pain, humiliation and poor grades avoid him at all costs.

Dr. Denatale is so conceited that it interferes with his "teaching". He has been known to laugh at students' mistakes and make fun of them in front of other students. This was a one-unit lab. Sure, if he wants to grade harshly for grammatical errors and unprofessional report formatting, that's his choice. The problem arises when he refuses to acknowledge that some students alott a certain amount of time per unit of coursework, and don't really care to spend more time than that alottment on lab report. Add to that the fact that not everone loves the geotechnical engineering classes, and you have a class about half-full with students who don't give a crap about that particular class. He needs to learn to accept this, and lay off the lectures about how you'll never make it in the real world if you can't hack his pissy one unit lab.(Grades have not been posted as of the writing of this review.)

jay is just real cocky, and pretends he is your friend, until you decide to question him. He feels many of "us" are really lazy and not "worthy engineers"

Jay put an exorbanant amount of work of us in this class, and a project we spent over 100 man hours on earned us a B- He does nothing for this class, as the speakers do all the work. My suggestion, don't register, just show up, listen to the speakers and don't do the lame project

JAY IS A RAT FACED PROFESSOR.

If you are in SCE, you'll probably get an A. If you aren't, good luck.

A course evaluation was not given for this course, so here is my course evaluation. The way this course is graded needs to be re-evaluated. The Statement Of Qualifications (SOQ) project is a joke. The group that does well in the project has someone in the group that knows or has experience with a SOQ prior to taking the class. SOQs are mentioned briefly in two lectures. In most groups, one person usually does most of the work. CE 573 (Public Works Administration) is taught in a similar fashion, but the grades are based on one mid-term, a paper, and a final (I recommend this class with Christine Ferrara). Dr. DeNatale, you can learn from this evaluation.

I had Dr. Denatale for CE 381, 481, 466, & 467. I find a lot of the comments written below to be surprising. Yes, the man is blunt and will tell you straight up if your report sucks. Yes, the man will tell you if you are lagging. And Yes, if you don't show any interest in the class, he will not show as much excitement in helping you....(WHAT DO YOU EXPECT?!) If some jackass came to your class late or not at all, caused problems, and then came to your office asking basic questions at the end of the quarter how would you feel? The truth is that Jay is a great lecturer. He explains concepts one step at a time, and is very patient with questions in class and in his office. He knows his stuff, but at the same time won't explain it like a rocket scientist leaving you confused. His tests are reasonable, and doesn't ever give a question you couldn't do if you did the homework. He also gives a fair amount of partial credit if you show you know the material and just made a minor mistake at one step (UNLIKE LOCASIO, who gives 0/60 on a problem even if it is correct, just because he "doesn't like your style".) So in a nutshell, he's a good guy to take as long as your interested and work hard. If your a wimp and can't handle some constructive criticism then don't take him.

Holy shit DeNatale...I HOPE YOU READ THIS!!! I've read some of the other reviews and I 100% agree with them. "Dr. D" was a piece of shit professor I unfortunately had to experience...Worst professor hands down here at Cal Poly and probably in the State of California. This Dr. Douchebag did not know how to motivate his students, only to scare the living shit out of them. Normally I would tell this guy to go blow a sausage but I'm sure he does that already so go have sex with a woman "Dr. D"

I bet Jay wrote that second to last review. Nice try buddy. All of the reviews are correct, he is a decent teacher, but will rip you open on grading and will show his true colors of being a jerk. Seriously, he thinks we are all lazy and stupid, and he is GOD

Ya, I agree with the three other comments above my comment, Denatle is truly RAT FACED.

I actually had Dr. DeNatale in 1997 and 1998 for a couple of classes 481 and 585 and I am actually appalled by the reviews I have seen. While a lot of what is said is true, most of the ways people are treated negatively is a result of their own negative treatment of him and his own expectations that students should put out professional quality work. He wants students to be prepared for the type of work you would have to do when you get a real job. He also knows his students well and if he acts cynical its because he knows the student isn't putting in the required effort. Overall, he is every bit as good as Dr. Fiegel and you will learn and be respected according to the effort you put in.

Dr D, as he is known in class is very well versed in the material. THe problem arises when he is teaching. His tone comes across as condescending while he expects a lot from students. There are very few examples dont in class, if any, and he often skips steps in deriving equations because he assumes that the step was trivial and every student should know it. His attitude makes it difficult to ask questions, even if the material was unclear. DeNatale's door is always open for office hours but he makes students feel bad if they dont know some of the simple procedures that are the starting place for problems. Overall he is very good at understanding the material but he needs to work on the presentation and student relations.

I was surprised at the emotion expressed in other reviews. While D is a rather harsh grader and only slightly better at explaining material on a personal level I think he deserves better than to be called a "rat faced bastard". Checking over your work is of paramount importance in any class he teaches as if you make a gramatical error he adds a large amount of red to your paper while on a test an addition/subrtaction error recieves the same treatment. Unless you are feeling masochistic I would recommend staying away from D. He expects more from students that I have ever seen in any of my internships and I dont feel his philosophy is representative of Cal Poly goal of education.

I was surprised at the emotion expressed in other reviews. While D is a rather harsh grader and only slightly better at explaining material on a personal level I think he deserves better than to be called a "rat faced bastard". Checking over your work is of paramount importance in any class he teaches as if you make a gramatical error he adds a large amount of red to your paper while on a test an addition/subrtaction error recieves the same treatment. Unless you are feeling masochistic I would recommend staying away from D. He expects more from students that I have ever seen in any of my internships and I dont feel his philosophy is representative of Cal Poly goal of education.

This is by far the worst teacher at Cal Poly. He is a conceded, pompous ass. His attitude as a teacher makes it hard to learn due to the fact that most of your time will be spent thinking about the psychological games he plays. The Engineering department should can this guy to keep the Cal Poly name in good standings. I know other Engineers that have graduated years ago that still have deep hatred for this clown. He is a real ass!

This guy is a real sick puppy. Seriously, he's got issues, deep-seeded psychotic issues and I wouldn't trust him to take care of my pet snail for fear that he would step on it in sheer glee. Unless you like head-trips galore, stear clear.

had jay for 381, 481, and 584. He is one of the best teachers at cal poly, students come first, the rest of his life second. Straight forward teacher, but slackers need not apply, hence the bad evals

Whoever says students come first to Jay must be thinking of another teacher in a far away magical land! As far as I have seen, this guy doesn't give a rat's @$$ about his students. The only good thing that you could get from his classes is experience in dealing with some future jerk-off boss in the real world.

Avoid this jackass at all costs, switch majors if necessary. All the stories you hear are probably true. Here

I never write these evaluations but looking over Dr. DeNatale's record I felt I had to speak my mind. Although yes he can be intimidating he is here to help you succeed in the REAL world. I found that if you went to class and paid attention you would have no trouble doing the homework and the tests were basically the homework problems all over again. I spoke with him about the course one time outside of class and he answered my trivial questions without any embarrassment, so no need to be scared. If you want to be challenged and learn what it takes to be a Geotechnical Engineer then take this guy.

I took CE 381 and 481 in the 90's and you know what, he was a hard, but I remember and respect him the most. I have been a structural engineer since graduating in 93 and he made you think beyond the theory into practical knowledge. Helped me think and reason like an engineer. CE is a tough major without a lot of economic rewards, but in hindsight, he was one of the best instructors I had at Cal Poly. I didn't find out until my last year that you have to go see your instructor if you are having difficulty. That is why they are there. They want you to pass and they will challenge you, but they are approachable people.

I had Dr D for all the geotech courses in 1990-1991. I agree with the posts below that he knew his material well. However, it seems that anybody with a PhD had better know his undergraduate material well, just as a high school graduate should know how to count to 10. Too bad his arrogance got in the way of making his courses a good experience. It totally mystifies me how he got some teaching awards, as he's certainly among those that don't deserve them. I guess this proves that the teaching award selection process is a load of bull shit--no, fresh pig shit (recalling the swine unit during southerly wind days). Since graduating with a very low gpa, I've obtained a PE and SE (each passed at one setting), and have been responsible for the design of a lot of big and complicated structures. Overall, I credit my experience with kind and patient instructors and supervisors, rather than know-it-all jerks like Denatale, for helping me become a good engineer. Sure, it takes self-motivation to learn, but the presence of a good personality in the teacher or supervisor causes a turbocharging effect in learning. I just hope that schools like UC Davis stop admitting assholes like DeNatale to their PhD programs, because it's a waste of education effort, and creates an ineffeciency in the learning process among undergraduates at the institutions that hire those type of people to teach. So, it you get an D or F under Dr D, it's your fault for selecting a lousy teacher. Learn from the experience by avoiding those type of people in your education and career.

worst teacher at Poly that I had. yes personality sucked (probably hates himself for selecting a career path that he finds unfulfilling), but more importantly, he did not provide coherent & in-depth lectures on the topics listed in the syllabus. it seemed that a lot of his students din't learn the material very well. shameful. recommendation: use a different teacher to learn undergrad geotech, then take a couple grad courses through extension at another school if you want to really learn the stuff.

Respect them as all teachers should be respected. That means going to class and perform the work they request. Performing these tasks will determine if you pass or fail. If I was a teacher I would help those who want help and not waste energy for those who do not care. I could see that attitude in Dr. DeNatele. If you don't understand what I'm trying to say and show disrespect, then change majors. Serious, time and effort is all they ask for and is proven to be the difference between an "A" and an "F".

I stumbled onto this site in looking up Dr. DeNatale and the CP Civil program to see how things are going - I am a 1989 graduate. The comments listed for Dr. DeNatale are interesting in what they reveal about the students as much or more so than Dr. DeNatale. Its a cruel world out there and college students will soon realize how easy they have it while in school. I credit Dr. DeNatale for preparing me for a successful career as a Geotechnical Engineer. I struggled through his classes with B's, but always enjoyed his teaching style to the point of changing from Water Resouces to Geotechnical. It is time to grow up and start taking the steps to becoming a Professional Civil Engineer. Dr. DeNatale will help you along that path.

During this entire quarter all I could think about was how this professor reminded me of that small little dog that runs through the back of scene 23 in The Incredibles by Pixar. Seriously, if you look it up you will only be able to see it...