David Kipping

Very useful content and interesting labs, recommend to someone with deep background in statistics and lab techniques. However, if the content is being seen for the first time it can be an extremely challenging class, very fast-paced and doesn't provide very many secondary materials to those who need it. It is graded on the harsher side which is fine if you prioritize getting hands-on experience but definitely not a class for someone looking to get a good grade, will likely push down your GPA for the semester so that is something to consider. 1 Columbia University: Arts & Sciences Fall 2024 Course: ASTRUN3986_001_2024_3-ASTROSTATISTICS : ASTRUN3986_001_2024_3 - ASTROSTATISTICS Instructor: David Kipping

5 HW assignments, midterm and a final, and a bunch of projects.

Great course on exoplanets and the search for life in the universe.

Historical and modern methods in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (first half of the course) + controversies in astronomy research (second half of the course).

He rocks!!! This class is so interesting, and it's accessible for non-science majors. I will say that it's challenging. There is quite a bit of math, but he's pretty good at walking you through it. Exams are open-note but require review. He does a lot of projects/presentations, which allows those of us non science majors to pad our grades a bit. One of the best classes I've taken at Columbia; he's such an expert in the field and it was amazing to learn from him.

I learned about the methods of discovery in detecting exoplanets as well as the science and exciting prospects of the field of astrobiology.

5 psets, 3 projects, open note midterm and final

I learned a lot about exoplanet detection, planet categorization, tidal forces, and astrobiology.

Going into the class, I was a bit concerned about the reviews on here. However, I think Professor Kipping has improved his pedagogical techniques a bit based on these reviews, and having taken the course now I found it to be fair. He hosts plenty of office hours, and I think the grading distributions are reasonable. He's a great professor and very passionate. He's very willing to help too. The content in the class is very very interesting, and it really changed my perspective of the world and our universe. However, even though it says it is an intro course, I don't think it's. There's much more work than an average intro class, and the homework he assigns can be very confusing (although I personally found it to be fair, but still difficult). Also, I had to learn a lot of the concepts online in addition to his lectures, but that was difficult because most of the concepts he teaches in class are very obscure and not easily searchable. You need to know A LOT of content. (The class itself filled up 60+ pages of my notebook.) I personally find the way extra credit is rewarded very unfair. He has this thing called ExoCup, in which each team gets assigned an exoplanet and they basically have to make a presentation about how their planet is better than others and this goes on for like 20 rounds. The class votes and the winning team gets to advance and gets extra credit. At some point,…

Perfect class for someone with a deep interest in the subject and a Calculus-based mathematical background