Professor Knospe is one of the better teachers you will encounter in the MAE curriculum. Unfortunately this comes at a price. His exams are extremely difficult and he gives almost no partial credit. It is a worthwhile course and you will learn a lot but it will not be easy. Make sure you have a strong homework grade and don't underestimate the exams (they are week-long take-homes).

Prof. Knospe is unforgiving to those who completely understand the topic but make a small mistakes on his multiple choice test by awarding 0 point for the entire problem. The tests weren't even reflective of the homework problems or his lectures. Class was very dry as he was always just copying down the notes that he probably wrote up over the summer. The administrative organization of this course was very poor.