Walter Neumann

I would not call this class a success. Neumann had trouble proving any non-trivial theorem successfully; he almost always failed to finish the proofs, and had to revise them later or refer us to the book. This is very disappointing, as the whole point of a math lecture is to prove theorems. At times, he attempted to present topics that are not standard to an intro topology class, for example, CW complexes, the classification of 2-surfaces, and ultrafilters. These lectures were interesting, but felt out of sequence; I was not prepared enough to get much out of them. By the time we got to algebraic topology, lecture was spent on excessive examples of graphs, their covers, and their fundamental groups. This was not very conducive to learning the material as he did not effectively connect the examples to the relevant theorems.

Modern Algebra 1 with Professor Neumann was a pleasant and fairly easy class (and I say that as a CS major -- math majors presumably breeze through), although it may be tougher in semesters where one particular student doesn't hold up the entire class with dumb questions. Neumann prepares well for lecture, doesn't make mistakes, and is reasonably engaging. He only kinda-sorta follows the textbook (Dummit & Foote) which can get frustrating at times, but normally he's just skipping the toughest material. He'll often provide lecture notes along with the week's homework assignment, and the homework often consists of things that are proved in the book, so just digging about a bit will give you the answer. That said, it's worth doing the homework to make sure you're familiar with the material.

This class was a never-ending source of stress and a major contributor to a moderate depressive episode for me. It's a 2 semester sequence, and the first semester was a lecture of about 60 kids. Second semester, we were down to about 10. I know that a lot of people like Neumann a lot, and he is basically a nice guy who is pretty approachable, but in general I found his lectures to be quite vague. He didn't state definitions or theorems clearly enough, and often returned to a concept later in the course using a slightly different formulation. Expectations and grading were also not clear enough. Second semester's midterms were not scheduled until the week before they were given, and even then only after I asked 3 class meetings in a row when they would be - although he did let the class choose the dates. Neumann does seem to be a major proponent of grade inflation, however: first semester, I failed the second midterm and still pulled through with an A, and second semester my homework grades were dismally low (enough to make me take the pass/fail option) and I ended up uncovering the grade.

A very interesting and well-taught class (as math classes go). Dr. Neumann has a real knack for explaining complex problems, attacking them with rigor, and solving them with thoroughness. You will very rarely, if ever, hear Dr. Neumann utter the dreaded phrase "I leave the details as an exercise" when half-way through a complex problem. The material itself is somewhat difficult, but the quality of the instruction and the book made it worthwhile.

Prof. Neumann is a calm professor and unfortunately, this can regularly put you to sleep during his class. This isn't realy an issue, however, because if you keep up in the book there is really no need to attend lecture, as he merely reviews the material and does examples. All in all a fairly easy grade if you keep up in the textbook.

An execellent lecturer and a man who truly understands the field of algebra. It wasn't until the end of each semester that I understood how solid Neumann's lecturing style was. The true test that he passed is that he presents the material in an order and in a fashion so that the proofs of theorems and propositions are almost blindingly obvious. The notes that you will get from this class will be amazing. The course text, Fraleigh, that we used was utterly horrible; however, if you would like to learn from a better text, choose Algebra by Artin. I wouldn't spend too much time with a text, but rather with his notes. Another plus, Neumann is British and he has a pretty cool accent and speaks immpecable English. Finally, unlike most math professors, he is rather personable and approachable, but does tend to space out during conversation from time to time.

I generally agree with the other reviews. Neumann's pacing will get on your nerves, and he doesn't explain things well. If you can't learn from the book, or haven't taken Calc IIA concepts before in high school or something, you're probably better off with another professor. He's nice and tries to help his students, but he's kind of flighty and disorganized. I would recommend him to someone who would only be reviewing these concepts or who has no problem learning math from a textbook, as he's pretty nice and you can miss class if you keep up with the book.

The biggest mistake of my short math career. Had I not taken this class I would have been a math major for sure, rather than a dual major in math and econ. Yes, his pacing is unbearable, but so is his method of teaching-which he constantly prides himself on in comparison to the way math is taught in the U.S. of A. (Not very welcome if you're American, thank you very much.) Well, and it can't be that I'm an awful math student. I made it to Modern Analysis somehow, but the only thing I'm willing to use from CalcIA is L'hopital's Rule.

The course followed a few chapters in Munkres fairly closely. The homework was weekly, fairly easy, and varied greatly in length, though it was always graded forgivingly. The midterm was easy, and the final exam, though long, was reasonable.

Walter Neumann is a really approachable professor who will take time to help you out if you do not understand class material. His exams clearly follow his notes and if you study hard enough, you can scrape by with at least a B regardless of your level of ability. Each problem set he assigns comes with an Extra Credit problem, and if you rack up enough of those (provided you answered them correctly) I think your grade can get bumped up by at least 1 threshold (think B to B+, B+ to A-, etc) Modern Algebra I and II are hard. They demand your time and attention, and Neumann explains the subject well. My only criticism of Neumann is this: he seems to base his lectures on the Dummit & Foote book, but does not follow the book explicitly. This drives me crazy because, having read the book as a study aid myself, I can say that the book is an ENORMOUS help to those who have trouble with M.Algebra, though Neumann seems to dismiss it. I say this is a 'criticism' of Neumann because the way he explains things is not for everybody, and it would've been very helpful to a lot of students in his class to have followed the book, instead of simply trying to absorb Neumann's notes, hoping for the best.