Biezad, Daniel  

we got screwed

Cal Poly owes everyone who's taking this class Winter 2019 a big ass apology. We signed up for Bruce Wright and everything he comes with (show up to class, learn about plane history, get an easy A). I'm sure lots of people have been trying to get this class for years, only to finally get it this quarter. But instead we get this dude... I realize that he found out he was teaching this class a couple days before the quarter started, but he so damn unorganized. Didn't even have the midterm schedule/format decided until like a week and a half before the actual thing. Has this confusing-ass gradebook that he for sure has already made some mistakes on. Lectures are like a pinball machine too. Now he's teaching us about ethics/philosophy and some bullshit proto-language stuff. Isn't this class called "Air and Space"? Cal Poly WYD?????????

give this guy a break. he's passionate about aero and is very helpful to students. this class with him is still an easy A. it might be a little more work than Wright's class, but you can definitely just do the bare minimum for this class and still get an A.

This professor is terrible. He is extremely disorganized (he couldn't give us an answer for when the midterm would be until a couple of weeks beforehand). I signed up for this class because I wanted to learn about planes and aerospace. He is literally teaching us about the origin of language and ethics right now. He told me in his office hours that he thinks philosophy is really interesting so he wants to teach us about it. I am so disappointed in this class and I have been waiting to take it since Freshman year. DO NOT TAKE THIS FOR YOUR GE F!!! You will regret it

Give this guy a break! He was hired to teach this quarter 2 days before classes began. Considering this, he’s doing a really good job. This class is still an easy A- open-note midterms, quizzes, and finals. Most of the class will still end up with an A in the class- all you have to do is show up: You can tell that he’s super passionate about this topic and is one of the sweetest professors I’ve had at Cal Poly. 10/10 recommend taking him and this class.

He's terrible

I LOVE HIM!!! He is so sweet and understanding and is really passionate about aerospace which makes lectures at 8 am totally doable. you have to go to every class because attendance and daily quizzes make up 40% of your grade but that just means if you go you are guaranteed a good grade. Also, the quizzes are super fair so it is easy to get good grades on them! the rest of the class consists of one midterm (with an essay), a group presentation (15 mins), and a final (with an essay). Biezad can back to teach after retirement and is doing a great job! I loved AERO with him and would take classes with him again cause he is the best.

Mixed feelings about this dude. Pretty bad lecturer and terribly organized class. Really tries his best to make things easier for us though. It's just a shame that he was the one chosen to teach this class.

Professor Biezad is one of the best general education teachers at Cal Poly. While he is passionate about this class, he understands that most are taking it as a GE and gives his students a lot of freedom on how they wish to spend their class time. He also excuses absences for reasons such as anxiety, which is very caring and progressive of him. He truly cares about his students and does not want his class to impose on their academic lives more than a GE should. He is kind, funny, and genuinely interesting to listen to. Its a pretty easy class and I would highly recommend Biezad to anyone trying to take AERO 310!

Easy A. Show up and do the bare minimum and you can easily get an A. He literally says he designed the class acknowledging that this class is not peoples priority. A midterm and no cumulative final. Easy presentation and group paper. Open note for everything.

Dr. Biezad is great, he's super funny and cares about what he teaches. However, it can be a little hard to understand some things, but he guarantees you either an A or a B and the "difficulty" of the class doesn't outweigh how great of a guy he is and how worth it the class is. Take him!

If you are a junior, BE PATIENT!!! Dr. Biezad takes off at a very fast pace. It is easy to become overwhelmed and disenchanted in 320. Rest assured, Controls will start making sense in 420. It is VERY true that you need to take 550 to fully understand the subject. Dr. Biezad is a great prof, but he wants to see constant progress. If you work your ass off, he'll recognize it. If you think he's blowing you off in office hours, bust your butt and show him that you're serious. He really becomes a great prof later down the line. He's also got great contacts within industry (hint hint...).

Biezad is a nice guy, but I didn't care for his teaching style. You have to do the homework before he's lectured on the material for one. The real problem with him was that he lectured to the smartest people in the class, and went at their pace. If you didn't really understand the material like myself it just went too quick, and it's difficult to recover. I would highly recommend reading the book. If you don't you will easily get a C in the class. Also, make sure to do an extra credit project, it will help your grade out significantly.

Make copies of everything you turn into him, he's bound to lose anything you turn in. 320 is very much a fundamentals class that sets the math base for his more advanced controls classes. He apparently didn't have time to grade our take home midterms, so he just gave everyone 100's. Biezad likes to teach very quickly, be sure to write everything down. He's known for saying "this is the most important thing you need to know, you won't find this in any book" while he shows you a complex overhead for 5 seconds and take it away. Doh... He's right when he says to study in groups, it helps.

A nice guy, with fair grading. But without a doubt he is the worst teacher ever. He cannot lecture for shit. You will learn the entire course on your own or with your group, or you will learn nothing at all. He cannot explain anything clearly. Worst teacher ever.

Biezad is the worst professor in the entire AERO department. He cannot lecture adequately; if it weren't for the TAs, I probably would have failed. My group and I went to every TA office hour, and learned the material from them. They were extremely helpful in deciphering what Biezad tried to explain in lecture. BTW, the TAs are the ones that grade the test and labs, hint hint. I think there were only about 3 people that actually understood what was going on. The only good thing about this class is the curve; I had a straight F going into the final, did bad on the final, and pulled away with a C+. Just be at about the class average, and you'll be ok.

If you're an AERO, you have no choice but to take this guy. He may be retiring soon though, because I've heard rumors about Meheil teaching controls next year. Either way, you're just as fucked. This class will blow you out of the water. The material will make literally no sense. My friends and I would look at each other in lecture and just go 'what the fuck is this guy talking about?' Biezad lectures at a level that is too advanced for a fundamentals class. I know he has to teach us the material, but there has to be a better way. He just shits a bunch of senseless garbage on the whiteboard and conversely, we just shit it on some paper and stick it in a binder. There is very little understanding of the material while you're in class. Usually it takes a couple weeks before you understand what you were given two weeks ago. The labs will be incredibly hard to complete on your own - you need you work in your group, and you need to utilize office hours. That's all there is to say about that. The tests are arguably one of the worst parts of this course. Biezad's tests are impossibly long for the 50 minutes we are allotted. He does allow open book and open notes, so that's kind of nice. The book doesn't help for shit, so don't spend your time rifling through it on the test. In fact, just don't even bring it. Use your class notes. The few pluses about this class: Biezad has a very generous curve. He recognizes who works hard in his class, so if you're routinely appearing in his office hours, or if he sees you in the flight sim lab pounding your head on a desk because you don't know how to do a lab, he'll remember you. It's a good thing. The curve for 320 is huge. Biezad grades on statistics and averages, so beat the average and you're golden. You may still fail a test, but if everyone failed worse than you, then you'll still get a good grade. I had a 72 after the final this quarter, and got an A- out of him. As you can see, the course material is so nonsensical and off-the-wall that someone with what is typically considered mediocre understanding pulls an A. The last plus is that Biezad has a good sense of humor. He's pretty funny, and he had the class crack up quite a few times during the quarter. He understands that controls is difficult. My partner and I were in lab one evening and he came in to see what we were up to. We remarked that we were utterly clueless about the material and we thought we failed the midterm. His response was 'I've been doing this for 30 years, and I STILL don't understand controls'. If you're taking this class next quarter I wish you luck. He doesn't fail very many people, but if you go into 420 with poor understanding, then you will fail 420. With all that said, I wish you good luck, virgin aero student. You won't be a virgin by the end of this course if ya know what I mean. ;)

Despite the supbar reviews, Biezad is actually a cool guy and a decent professor. Yea, 320 is a kick in the pants and will make no sense at all throughout most of the quarter, but that's because it is a radically different form of analysis than anything you're probably familiar with. Could somebody teach this class better than Biezad? Yea possibly, but I don't think the difference would be as great as some are suggesting. The material is just difficult. Plain and simple. The good news is, a majority of the material in this class builds on itself, unlike other courses that skip around on different topics. This translates into the class being one of those "light at the end of the tunnel" experiences where you're fairly lost for the first 7 weeks and then finally everything STARTS to make a little sense towards the end. The class consisted of 2 midterms, 6 lab assignments, some in-class group quizzes, and the final. Tests were pretty rough, but the averages were usually in the 50% range so as long as you can stay ahead of that you're in good shape. My advice. Do the optional homework. Start early on the labs and really try to understand what's going on. If you let someone else do all the work and just nod and say OK to what they're saying. Your dead. GO to office hours, especially before a test. Always go over your labs and tests afterwords with Biezad because he's very generous giving back points. And just try to stay afloat long enough for it to all sink in. Good Luck.

dr. biezad is a great guy. very understanding and more than fair on grades (maybe even unfair to the advantage of the students). he is also VERY disorganized and i think this shows in his teaching as well, which usually isn't very helpful. i had him for aero 320 and 420 and 320 didn't make a whole lot of sense. another thing to be aware of for 320 is that he will probably give you a quiz on material he has not yet taught anything on yet. but don't worry, the curve is generous and fair. he hardly fails anyone (maybe 5 for a class of 40). he has design projects and loves the archaic version of the program CC. another very important thing if you take his class--IF YOU HAVE WINDOWS XP, MAKE SURE PEOPLE IN YOUR GROUP FOR PROJECTS HAVE SOME EARLIER VERSION OF WINDOWS; XP WILL NOT TAKE SCREEN SHOTS OF CC FOR THE PROJECTS.

coolest guy ever

Miller Time!

Fine teacher, but a little dry in the presentation. I wouldnt suggest having her at 8:00 in the morning, might be difficult staying awake.