CHEM 4320

The course material is difficult and there is a lot of it but Machan is really approachable and gives you a great idea of what will be on the tests. Read the textbook and do the practice problems as well as redoing the practice problems from class. It takes up so much time but it's all you have to do to get a good grade.

Although Prof. Machan is a good lecturer, he falls short of the ideal when writing exams and helping people understand the material. Previous reviews have said that his practice problems and review sessions give a good idea of what is on the exam. This is no longer the case. This semester in particular he seems to have gotten the idea that previous exams were too easy, and writes the Fall 2025 exams with a particular eye for concepts he didn't focus on in class, weren't topics of review sessions, and never emphasized in class material.
His communication style also leaves something to be desired. Multiple times important information was only communicated buried in the text of a single email or post, and he was borderline rude on multiple occasions. I have heard from multiple that he is often rude and combative in office hours and openly belittles people who ask questions.
Although I have to emphasize that he is an effective lecturer, he is not a good professor. Sadly, he is the only option for a required class in the major, and it shows.

This class gives PChem a run for its money in terms of difficulty. Machan is clearly very knowledgable, but he fails to translate that knowledge in a way that is digestible. Personally, I found his lectures pretty hard to follow because of how much jargon he uses. I had to watch YouTube videos that explained the concept simply before watching the lectures and trying to decipher what Machan is saying. It also doesn't help that some of the concepts are pretty abstract (like symmetry and point groups).

His exams are also pretty devious. He releases exams from previous years for practice, but besides maybe the first exam, they were not at all representative of the exams he gave us. The exams we got emphasized concepts that were covered in 1-2 slides rather than the major concepts focused on in the homeworks, review sessions, and practice exams. Exam averages were always in the 60-70% range. Try your very best to maximize the first exam score since most of the content covered in that exam is review from gen chem.

There is also a semester-long project that entails producing a paper and video summary of a scientific paper of your choosing that is related to any concept learned in class. The groups are randomized, so pray that you get a good group. Also, he grades the first paper draft VERY HARSHLY, so follow the rubric closely, but most people end up doing pretty well on the final draft. He does curve the overall grade quite a bit at the end of the semester, so you will likely end up with an okay grade, but you cannot pay me to take this class again.