MSE 2090

I would recommend this course to anyone who wants a challenging course.

Fall 2024 saw the class co-taught by R Kelly and A Zhang, which may lead to the way our class was run being dissimilar or not to how others in the past or future may be conducted. Roughly weekly HW and quizzes, HW is not easy, do it in a group and it is graded harshly on accuracy. Two midterms are take home, final is take home, all still time limited digitally, Assignment and exam grades are low, but made up for by an obscene amount of extra credit opportunities, so do them all. The GPA listed on here (as of F24) is much lower than what it was for our semester, although that could be accounted to A Zhang handling most of the grading, would recommend, and don't be scared by the GPA on here which I was wary of before taking the course.

Pay attention in lecture and then you shouldn't have to do much textbook reading. Would definitely recommend to anyone with an interest and willingness to put in the work.

I definitely recommend Professor Kelly's lecture. He explains concepts very clearly and in a humorous way. Take this class for your science elective!

Professor Kelly is a very good instructor. He takes teaching very seriously and it shows. The class itself can be a little boring if Material Science isn't an interest of yours, but I would highly suggest it otherwise.

The homework problem sets can be tricky but the tests problems are generally not any harder.
I made the mistake of thinking the multiple choice test questions were single-answer, they're not!

Kelly is a great guy, but the subject was very dry and did not interest me at all. Lots of reading, and the new WileyPlus online HW system is kind of annoying to work with. Don't take this unless you're into mechanical/chemical/materials engineering, and if you do end up in it otherwise, DON'T SLACK!

Prof. Kelly is one of the best professors I've had at UVA. Very intelligent and knowledgeable about the subject, with a sense of humor to get through sometimes dry subjects. If you're interesting in materials science/need an engineering/technical elective, I'd definitely recommend this class.

This was not an easy class, but one I thoroughly enjoyed. Professor Kelly not only REALLY knew his stuff but was excellent at teaching it and was hilarious to boot. Definitely requires doing the weekly reading to excel but the home work isn't too bad- especially working in groups. This was my favorite class of the semester and I would love to have Professor Kelly again.

Great class to take! Professor Kelly is one of the best, most helpful, funniest professors. He is always available to talk about any problems you are having- take advantage of this whenever possible. You have 4 homework problems a week which usually take 2-3 hours total. But if you truly understand the homework, you will do fine on the tests. The homework is worth a lot too, so take it seriously and get help if you need it. There are 2 tests and then the final exam. The material is pretty interesting as well. Overall, a good class and a great professor.

Kelly is terrific in lecture, grabbing your attention with tangible examples and keeping you awake with dry humor. Class barely scratches the surface of most topics, so not having absolute understanding of one concept does not snowball into a bad semester. Homework is twice a week, and while the required assumptions initially seem silly, they are both useful and not as annoying as they first may seem.

Kelly is an awesome professor. He does very well in explaining the material. HW doesn't take long. Tests aren't that bad. He is also the funniest professor ever.

Robert Kelly is a fun guy who likes to make corny jokes, but he at least tries which is more than I can say for some professors. Solid class, if you spend time learning and doing the homework then the tests should be easy for you.

Best class I took this semester. Professor Kelly is a great teacher. He does, however, expect you to put in a lot of work to get a good grade.

This is by far my least favorite class this semester. I signed up for this class to fill a science elective after hearing how it was not very hard last semester. Clearly, they stepped this class up from last semester because it is not a walk in the park. Unless you absolutely love reading about how temperature changes turn austentite into bainite or martensite, do not take this course. The reading is the most boring material I have ever seen and weekly, online reading quizzes will destroy your grade no matter how well you read. Weekly homeworks are tedious and an absolute pain in the ass and will probably make you hate the material even more. Everybody on courseforum raved about Professor Kelly, but ever since the second month of the semester he has basically disappeared and allowed a grad student to take over. I really detest this class.

Professor Kelly is great; He explains the material and concepts very well in class, so pay attention. However, the class does require a bit of time for the readings (which you should do since everything isn't covered in class) and the homework sets. Overall, the class isn't too hard as long as you keep up and don't skip class.

Kelly was a good professor, but not my favorite subject matter.

great teacher! made materials science at least sort of interesting.

By far the best class I have taken so far. Engaging and knowledgeable professor who makes the material interesting and accessible to all

My best professor at UVA thus far! He uses analogies a lot which make relating stuff so much easier.

I LOVE KELLY

Kelly is one of the best professors I've had thus far at UVA. The class was a lot harder than I anticipated, but Kelly is extremely enthusiastic and makes the class really enjoyable. The tests were long, and you'll have to work very quickly in order to get through most of the problems. The homeworks started out really easy in the beginning of the semester, but by the end they got kind of impossible (TA office hours were so helpful and saved my homework grade). Although its a tough class, I would recommend taking it just to have Kelly.

Lectures: Amazing. Short recap of previous lecture at the beginning of every class. Very approachable. Do participate in class, because it helped my grade. Participation is apparently 5% of the course grade? Because when you participate in class, he learns your name faster, and can give you preference/"benefit of the doubt" when you have a borderline grade like I did.

Exams: 2nd exam is definitely the hardest. Final Exam was easier than the 2nd, but just a lot longer, so it felt harder as time passed. First exam was definitely the easiest, but that doesn't mean you don't have to study for it.

Professor is very approachable. His printable powerpoint slides gives you room to write in your own extra notes.

This class is really applicable to any kind of engineering. Professor Kelly is fantastic and his analogies are priceless. He brings enough humor into his lectures to keep them interesting and does a short review of material at the beginning of each class. Tests are hard but fair. Be sure to ask Professor Kelly any questions you have about the homework because he will be sure to answer them. I highly recommend this class.

Kelly is a great, very engaging professor. He provides easy to understand examples for difficult concepts, and covers all the information on the test. All the homework is graded for correctness, but he sends enough hints to make it easy.

Kelly is a great professor. He tries to keep things interesting, and you learn the material well. Tests are hard, but every professor gives the same one.

This class is very useful for any engineering field you go into, and it's very interesting. Kelly is an excellent teacher and he makes lots of jokes. Definately take it with him if you have an option.

A fantastic teacher who really makes learning about metals enjoyable and understandable. The tests are hard but the class is definitely worthwhile

Great teacher. makes lecture very interesting. i gain alot from going to the class. homeworks help prepare for tests very well.