Mamdouh M. Abo-El-Ata

This professor is approachable and friendly, but not always accessible outside his very limited office hours. Watch out, he can sometimes be downright smug and dismissive in candor. He's also not very good about responding to emails. The lectures and textbook are unsatisfactory in offering enough information and direction for solving homework problems. His tests are ~70-80% qualitative and very subjective; not what one would expect for an engineering class. Homework is more challenging than the exams. If you're good at memorizing, you'll be fine. Otherwise, be sure to turn in all the homework and lab reports so you can get a decent grade.

This class was time consuming for me. I felt that the lecture barely gave enough information to do the hw. The exams weren't difficult as long as you memorized everything, but realistically speaking who has time to do that. Detail is very important to him. There were two midterms and a final. Over all, if you study for this class you will do well.

Dr. Aboelata is a good teacher but watch out for his exams. He gives 4 questions, which usually break down as follows: 1 is identical to a homework problem 1 is technical\calculating 1 tests your knowledge of a graph or formula from the text, which has been covered in the lecture There is always 1 question that 'separates the men from the boys'. He puts 1 question from the text that has NOT been covered in lecture, so make sure to read the book.

This has been my experience anyway,

Professor Abo-El-Ata is extremeley knowledgable in the field of machine design and fracture mechanics. He is always willing to assist students with problems. However, he lacks a motivated attitude toward the subject, and has a poor teaching style. If he were to put more enthusiasm into his lectures and offer some hands on and lab skills to accompany the information presented, it would greatly benefit the students and make these classes more effective.