Athira Menon

She only required the course wide required homeworks on gradescope. The Proton lessons were optional and most people only completed them if they felt uncomfortable with a topic. The homework was graded on completion. The highest weighted item for a grade was the project. The project consisted of a scientific research paper written about the science behind a popular movie, and then a subsequent oral presentation on the research. She graded both the paper and the presentation very fairly and generously.

Dr. Menon created an incredible, open, and comfortable environment within her classroom. She is one of the only professors I've had that seems to really care about their students as people. She put so much effort into getting us engaged and trying to make the learning process collaborative. She is very good at lecturing and at explaining questions. Dr. Menon is a professor that you can tell actually enjoys teaching and is not just here for their research. My section with her scored above average on both the midterm and final, which goes to show that she covers and explains the content well.

Gradescope was quite manageable and ended up being good practice for the midterms. She also gives extra review handouts.

Prof. Menon is great! She's super available for Office Hours, and you should definitely take advantage of that. She also gives you plenty of time to finish the finish the gradescope homework, which to my understanding is different from other discussion leaders. The film project we did was super fun, and there's lots of room to get creative and have fun with it; every group gets to present at the end of the semester, and it was a great time. Overall, her teaching style makes the concepts very approachable and easy to understand. But again, if there's anything that isn't super clear, she provides more than enough opportunities to get more clarifications outside of class.

Least amount of required work I have heard of out of all frosci sections. Homework is graded on completion but she still gives feedback on every homework, proton is optional, and our big project is based on a movie. You can also learn basically everything you need to know in discussion and do not really need to attend lecture.

Professor Menon is an amazing teacher that really cares about all of her students. You can tell she puts lots of effort into helping each student and goes through the content very thoroughly. She is a very knowledgeable professor and explains concepts well, and has great review materials.

Lighter than a typical FroSci class. Proton is completely optional, weekly homeworks are graded for completion, and she gives more time to complete assignments than other professors. Her "science in movies" final project is unique and enjoyable. If you do your work, you will be fine.

Dr. Menon is a gem! Don't let the bad reviews scare you- most are outdated and no longer accurate. Dr. Menon is excellent at explaining important concepts from lecture in her seminars, setting students up for success on the exams. More importantly, she genuinely cares about her students and wants them to learn and grow in her class. She is passionate, flexible, and kind, and she works hard to create a positive classroom dynamic where everyone feels comfortable. She's everything you want in a FroSci professor.