Expectations

What you can expect from me

My role is not just to lecture to you, but to train you. I approach this course with the mindset of a physicist and engineer: I value logic, systems, and first principles. My goal is to teach you to view biological complexity through that same structured lens, turning messy problems into solvable puzzles.

I set very high expectations because I know what is required to excel in this field. You can meet them, provided you are willing to engage deeply with the material. In return, I promise to be reliable and transparent. I will provide the scaffolding, the resources, and the honest feedback you need to grow. I view errors as data points, not failures; we will debug your process together.

I deliberately chose to teach. I pivoted from a career in the tech industry to academia because I found mentorship more rewarding than product development. My goal is to help you figure out where you want to go and give you the tools to get there. I invest deeply in students who take the time to come to office hours—not just to debug code, but to discuss their ambitions. I want to know you as a person, not just a roster entry, so I can be a resource for your career long after you leave this classroom.

I take our subject matter seriously, but I don’t take myself too seriously. You can expect dry humor and a candid, direct lecture style. True confidence comes from mastering difficult things, not from having the bar lowered. However, learning requires vulnerability: I will be honest about what I know and admit when I make a mistake.

To be the best coach I can be, I practice sustainable working habits. You can expect me to be fully present and dedicated to you during class and scheduled office hours. In exchange, I expect you to respect my time boundaries.

• I respond to emails during business hours (M-F, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm). Emails sent on Friday evenings will generally receive a response on Monday/Tuesday. I encourage you to use that time to work on other problems or rest.
• Assessments will be graded within seven business days so that you can iterate on feedback quickly.

What I expect from you

I treat this classroom as a professional environment and see you as a junior colleague. Approach this course by actively asking questions, taking responsibility for your learning, and persevering through challenges. In a professional setting, you are paid to solve problems, not to be passive. Apply the same active mindset here: take initiative in your learning and make problem-solving your priority.

Our work here mirrors research labs or the private sector. In those environments, there’s no manual with all the answers. For that reason, I won’t provide every solution upfront. I am not testing memorization; I am challenging your problem-solving ability.

I assign work just beyond your current expertise. I do not expect you to readily solve every problem or know each new concept. This is a laboratory for your logic, not a lecture course. These challenges are designed to practice problem-solving skills.

Expect to feel stuck. “I don’t know, but I can figure it out” is the key skill to develop here. This classroom is a safe place to practice that mindset. When stuck, research, test, and debug to move forward. When seeking help, explain what you tried and why it didn’t work. This lets us move beyond “how-to” to “why,” ensuring you leave confident enough to solve problems on your own.

While I strive for precision, I am human. If you catch an error on a slide or in the materials, let me know! I want to get it right and value your peer review.