Very friendly, and so enthusiastic! :) Good teacher.

had to go for help alot, but was very nice. has wicked hair and a great dog

Great teacher; funny. HORRID legibility for notes.

great prof with entertaining explosion stories

great stories

made it easier by relating it to great stories

Cool Guy, Great Teacher, Funny Too

awesome prof!! actually got me liking physics!! great stories, explanations, etc

studies explosives....need i say more?

You have to love those stories, great guy

Very helpful outside class. Great stories and a very cute kid.

funny stories, and lots of demonstrations, made it a bit easier to get through

Nice guy, love the nuke stories

awesome! who cares if he can't spell, demos are fun.

Best prof i have had so far, makes class interesting and humorous with his relating everything to explosives.

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best teacher ever! Funny stories but a little too into bows and arrows.

Best ****in teacher. The white sand new mexico story will forever be the best story i have ever heard ( Hey guys, want to know how to impress your friends ), Way better than that french guy

Intelligent interesting prof. Bad hair :) Our class did on average 15% better than other sections. They were scaled up to match us. Keep that in mind! I would take him again if i was forced to chose a physics prof.

He's full of energy and his demonstrations are awesome. And he's really helpful with homework. Go Monday homework hints!

Very helpful and funny. Has lots of energy and sloppy notes but that only adds to his charm. He made physics enjoyable and really cared about our problems. He's also very fair.

Awesome Proff. I hate Physics and I loved going to this class. He tells the best stories. You can tell he cares about the students.

Alex was the best physics prof ever! he helped everyone out a lot on the assignments, and had wicked stories that got everyone really interested in the class!

AWESOME prof! Totally cares about his students, and makes every lecture interesting by supplementing with great demos and halarious stories. (So, I'm building a house...) I found course really easy, but he gave a lot of help to those struggling.

Awesome prof. Likes to blow things up. Knows his stuff and how to teach it. Phys 102 is an easy class for anyone who's done any physics in highschool.

he is a great prof; easy materials and basically feeds the material to your mouth. Likes to do demonstrations and talk abt his personal life (and the physics of his personal life). Can't read his writing tho, haha i like his hair

Hate physics,loved this prof. He is crazy but he makes the class interesting. Really cares about his work and his students, always helpful. Love the hair and the viking shirts!!

His enthusiasm keeps me interested in a subject I generally dislike. Very helpful to students who are troubled. Highly recommendation!

Awesome prof!!! he makes physics fun and he is really helpful, he wants you to succeed!

Can't say enough good things.

Hated physics in high school, sucked at it. Phys 102 with Van Netten is awesome. he makes physics easy and ... as fun as physics can be

He looks like Jesus!!!!! I hated how he did his examples. I felt sorry for ppl who had never taken physics before. He uses weird symbols and solves things in the most tedious way. But hes sooo COOL!!

Great proff, loves what he does, and makes those around him love it too. If you can, get in his class, unless you don't want to hear about things being blown up!

What a nice guy!! doesn't make you feel embarrassed about being a first year student. Apparently, according to most profs, it's like you having the plague.

I hated physics but i love going to his lectures!!! he is so funny and loves what he does. He actually finds real uses for physics and applys them to everyday life. which usually makes for a pretty entertaining story. I love van netten, he is the physics god!

The best professor on the face of the earth. His tests are a little hard but his teaching makes it all worthwhile. I am not a science student and he managed to make me understand physics. Now that is impressive!

Best Prof ever!!! SO helpful, so fun, very fair. He wants his students to succeed. Exciting lectures... lighting fires, long bows, demos. He is great! He makes physics worth taking! THANKS Alex!!! Lectures are so easy and the biggest waste of time ever! But easy marks, no lab tests.

I hate Physics, but Alex totally made it worthwhile! His lectures were clear, informative and very helpful. He was not the least bit dull and class was fun! He had alot of really cool demos that made you understand the concept he was trying to teach! I definetly recommend Alex for a Prof, he rocks!

Definately the best prof I've ever had at UVic. Loved his stories and how he would have the whole class laughing all the time without even meaning too.

This prof was hilarious, engaging, and made physics easy to understand. I used to hate physics, and now its one of my favourite courses cuz he makes it easy to understand and tells amusing stories in his lectures. great demos

Absolutly fabulous. He has a great sense of humour and you can really tell he loves to teach. He is very clear, and explains everything until you understand. He does wacky demos and always keeps you interested. Be prepared for alot of notes (mostly examples) as to be expected for physics. very fair on the finals.

One of my favourite profs

He's such a funny guy.. and he deffinetly wants us to do well and it shows in his lecturing techniques.

One of the best profs I have had so far. Approachable, kind and fair. Enthusiastic in teaching and fixates on eccentric projects- like making fire from an ice lens...Alex has given me a new appreciation for Physics. It's now applicable to life and his humour, analogies and personal experiences help put a complicated subject in comprehensible terms.

excellent teacher - my favorite so far. clear explanations and hilarious anecdotes guaranteed. Easy class - but make sure to show up every lecture for the notes (there's not much textbook, or online stuff etc).

Good teacher. Has lead a very interesting life which he loves to share.

After four years at university, this is my favorite teacher. The best prof. at UVic. Extremely helpful out of class and super friendly. BEST TEACHER EVER.

GREAT prof! Guaranteed to make you laugh in class and very approachable and helpful. The course is easy if you attend all the lectures - none of the material is posted online and the textbook is hardly used. He tells hilarious stories in class and will brighten your day, as well as get you excited about physics. Definitely take 102 with him!!!

Great teacher. Super funny and keeps the class interested. Sometimes his notes are hard to understand and he does examples that are above first year level and he says are not examinable so you have to learn which stuff to study and which stuff to ignore. Cool demos.

generally a pretty easy class.. and even easier if you've taken phys12 in high school. interesting lectures and his stories are sometimes pretty funny. the problem is that the lectures are in the elliot lecture hall and i ALWAYS fall asleep in that room.. otherwise he's pretty good at his stuff

Van Netten is God.

There are no words to describe how awesome Van Netten is. When I'm in his lectures I feel like I want to change my degree choice and go into Physics. He does many cool demos almost daily, and his explanations of concepts are absolute gold. He is an incredibly smart, nice guy, probably the best prof I've had this year. Absolutely love him.

Today, Van Netten started a fire on the floor of the lecture hall with a fire bow to demonstrate the principlas of frictions. Enough Said.

Van Netten is an amazing prof. He is hilarious and tells many entertaining stories that are also relevent to physics. Midterm and final are all MC, so I strongly recommend buying the questions booklet from the bookstore as many questions are very similar. Great prof and course overall.

Van Netten is a beauty. PHys 102 is a fairly easy and boring course but he makes the lectures interesting by telling funny stories and doing cool demos. A great prof and a great guy.

I've bee at UVic 3 years and Van Netten is the greatest prof I've had at hands down. He is funny, interesting, gives great examples and hints for tests and assignments. I am not into math or physics at all and he makes me want to switch my degree to physics. Definitely take phys 102 with him!!!

Great prof. He's enthusiastic, funny and always has great stories. He makes physic very interesting, but his tests and assignments can be hard. Going to class is mandatory! If you did physics 12 this course will be easy.

best physics prof anyone can ever have :)

Awesome professor, I don't generally care for physics, but I'll be damned if this class didn't interest me

The best physics prof! If you attend class, do the assignments, and take good notes then you will do well. Text book use was minimal - maybe opened it three times for the all-year course.

K, I actually HATE physics. But van netten made it more than just physics. He used a lot of class demonstrations which made the material easier to understand and more fun. He was extra helpful and kind when I got sick and wasn't able to attend the exam. He had a lot of side stories which helped time go by faster :)

he is awesome. always has good stories to give you a little break from the examples. he is clear about what he is looking for and what he will asking for on the exams. demos help as well. when he talks, you WANT to listen.

He's such a funny/interesting guy! I never really liked physics but he made it my favorite class.

Easy course if you did OK in Phys 12. Unfortunately notes are not provided online so you HAVE to attend lectures. Had they been posted online I would not have attended class regardless of how interesting the man is because lectures were a waste of my time. Absolutely get the MC question pack from the bookstore & use Google to find more examples.

Great prof, explains concepts and provides perfect notes to copy in lectures. Tells great stories and really made classes interesting. Exams were harder than expected though.

He's awesome! Mixes in the best stories throughtout the year. Notes are very clear and uses lots of demos!

FANTASTIC PROF. I organized my schedule to have him as a prof and am very glad I decided to do that. I found physics very difficult in high school but this prof provides clear notes of examples to write down and study from.

AMAZING!! Learned so much! Definately go to class though.

Amazing prof! Lectures are actually about material and questions on midterms and finals. Super clear and made class interesting by relating concepts to the real world. If you are taking Phys102 please take his class. You will not regret it!

Okay, let's be honest guys. Van Netten is an awesome guy with great stories and he made Phys102 a bearable class, BUT he is crap at teaching, explaining concepts, and has messy notes. That being said, I took no highschool Physics and still managed a B- in this course. The easy assignments and labs saved me, the midterms and finals, not so much.

Alex makes a fairly basic class very interesting, relating personal stories (and there are lots, this guy is awesome) to the material. If you struggle with the material he is eager to help outside of class time, and his midterm exams are very fair, if not a little easy. Definitely recommended.

Alex was my favorite first-year science prof by far!! I came into the class hating physics but his enthusiasm and clarity of concepts made me eager to learn. He also kept the class very entertaining by his endless stories. HIGHLY RECOMMEND him for Physics 102!!

The model of what every professor should be. Alex has a good sense of humor, keeps the class interesting with anecdotes and demonstrations, and is available to help any time. If you are able to take a class with him, do it.

BEST PROF EVER. Highly recommend.

Best prof ever ! Don't take physics 102 with anyone else you will regret it. His tests were fairly easy and based on the assignments for the most part. I recommend using the multiple choice booklet as well. He made class very interesting with many demos and funny stories !

Everyone knows Van Netten is the best.

I have to stress that I had him only as a lab instructor. He's an awesome guy, super helpful and interesting. If your lab writeups are not perfect you will find out very quickly. Hardest lab report marker ever. He'll go through your calculations with a calculator. This is not a bad thing, you just better be on your A game every time!

Best prof ever, take his class!!!

I needed to take this class to finish my bio-psych degree, and I am HORRIBLE at physics. Alex made the topic interesting, and his demos were fun. Tests were REALLY HARD. You will need to study a lot and do every practice question you find. Don't miss a class. Alex is a great resource if you're having trouble - USE HIS OFFICE HOURS.

Super funny and a little bit crazy. Has funny examples and life stories. Examples are pretty close to what he tests on. I'd definitly suggest signing up for his section.

He is absolutely hilarious and keeps the class interesting and short.

Van Netten makes physics class enjoyable to attend! His personal stories and demonstrations are hilarious. One of the best classes I've ever taken. Need to study to know the material but very fair tests! Writes all his notes on the blackboard, nothing online, so must go to class or get notes from a friend. Take physics with Van Netten if you can!

great lab instructor, marks are a lil bit too harsh but I suck at labs anyway

Tests killed me but Alex made a pretty dry subject super interesting! He moves fast but breaks up classes with hilarious stories.

Tells hilarious stories usually has a cool demo rrlated to the lecture. One time he he started a fire with sticks it was awesome.

My grades aren't great, but his lectures are awesome. I learned more than expected in his class, and what he shares with us are truly some treats for your brain.

Entertaining prof, explanations are clear, but could be a bit more organised in teaching. You will hear lots of funny stories from this guy which makes physics more bearable. Super friendly and approachable, use him or the physics help center on questions you have on material to do well.

Alex is the best prof I had in my first year. He keeps students engaged by relating physics problems to his hilarious life stories, and often relates his classes to current research. He is a clear, engaging, and obviously brilliant teacher who's class I was lucky to be in. If you can, register in his class. You will not regret it at all!

Alex is one of my favourite profs. He is hilarious and keeps dull material interesting through his crazy stories. His writing is a mess so don't sit at the back. Amazing prof, take physics with him!

Great lectures, super interesting topics discussed even if he does go off course material a fair bit. Sample problems given online have clear solutions given and test questions tend to be simpler than sample problems

Alex is a great prof and he's super funny and interesting in lectures! The only problem is he goes off on random tangents and stories that kinda relate ? Be careful of his tests though, they're more difficult than anticipated and there's always a discrepancy with the other sections. Do his q's and you'll be good though!

I used to hate physics but Alex made it my fave class

I hate physics but Alex made it somewhat enjoyable with his humour and demos. He preps you for labs and you can study directly from his notes/practice problems and you will do fine on tests. Highly recommend

Very clear explanations. Goes off on side stories, but often they are both hilarious and related to material. Exams are usually relatively fair.

He is an amazing professor. His lectures are engaging, especially when he brings in his weird demos. Though his writing can be a little hard to read, he provides many examples which are super helpful. To succeed in this course DO THE SAMPLE PROBLEMS he provides as they are very similar to questions that are on the midterm and final.

Amazing lectures, truly.

Amazing prof, amazing lectures! Truly inspirational and a hilarious guy. His notes are very specific and examples in class are usually VERY helpful for the midterms/exams. Almost changed major just to take his class again!

Amazing lectures! Fair midterms and is amazing at breaking down complex ideas into simpler terms. Very inspirational too, and truly answered my questions about the natural wonders of the world. Wish he could teach Biology too haha

Alex was a super guy. His stories and demonstrations made the class quite interesting. However, I don't like his teaching style. I found it to be difficult to follow. The majority of my learning was done through the textbook. I would take the 102 courses with Alex; however, be ready to learn mostly out of the textbook, particularly for 102B.

Everything about this guy is great. Only thing is his writing is impossible to read, but other than that A+

He's the best of all my first year professors. He stops the lesson just to tell a story and makes the class enjoyable. He's super caring and will make his office hours work for you individually. I loved being in his class and would recommend him to anyone. I did find the exam a little difficult due to the number of questions, but it was worth it!

Super funny, explains concepts well, and genuinely wants students to succeed.

I really liked Alex as a prof and he told so many hilarious stories in the lectures. He was one of my favourite profs from first year and i definitely recommend taking his class. I had him for physics 102B and didn't find the class to be too much work and the mid terms were all multiple choice and pretty easy.

Alex made online learning so easy! He rambles on in his lectures a little much, but you can easily skip through with recorded lectures. He gives great resources to prepare for tests and easy access to helpful tutorials.

350 characters is not enough to describe how much I loved this class. Dr van Nettens lectures were so informative and fun to watch! He himself was fairly accessible via email. Lots of practice opportunities were provided. Exams were fair, in my opinion. He organized the online class extremely well and made me enjoy physics. Incredible professor!

Van Netten is such a beauty. Lectures were a bit long but his asides were hilarious, actually provided good life advice. Easily accessible via email with prompt answers, tests could be a bit rough but if you do the practice you'll get a B at the minimum. Lab is worth 30% and can easily boost your overall grade so put in the time for an A+!

Alex is a gem. His classes were all pre recorded and short. Most of them he lets us know he just got back from surfing or he couldn't surf that day. He is SUPER understanding with online learning! He was very helpful if you have any q's and he doesn't really expect you to know anything. Over all he's awesome. Pretty easy course too.

Alex is passionate about his work and it shows in his teaching, I've never been a fan of physics, but I loved this course. His stories were sometimes off topic but very interesting and funny; he related topics to real-life experiences. He always replied to emails and gave alternate dates for midterms if you could not write on the original date.

Alex is awesome. His lectures are legitimately enjoyable and I hate physics. He is so charismatic and funny it almost made me forget I had no idea what he was doing. Only problem I had with him is his handwriting. Totally illegible sometimes. Often I would have to rewind 2 or 3 times to watch him write or hear him say it. Otherwise great prof

Teaching online could be very challenging, but he makes all his classes fun. The demos he prepared for each week were exciting as well. Awesome prof in general.

Great prof. Makes a class for students who don't want to take physics enjoyable. His stories in lectures are great and he does a great job making the concepts enjoyable for anybody!

You can tell he really cares about what hes teaching and I love it! Hes also just super hilarious and quirky and honestly makes his class so much more fun. Had him for online class, but all of his pre-recorded lectures rarely left any unanswered questions!

I was initially dreading physics but Dr. Van Netten's lectures made it a lot more enjoyable and easy to understand! His lectures were all pre-recorded but were manageable. I found that the textbook was not necessary as most of the required information was provided through the lectures and homework questions on webassign.

I had to take this class as part of my major and put off physics because I struggle with it normally. van Netten makes all the problems that you will have on an exam very clear in class. He is an awesome lecturer who makes the class stress-free and enjoyable. If you pay attention in class and do the assignments you will do well in the class.

It's impossible to describe alex in a single review. He is essentially Shrek combined with Bill Nye, mixed with dwight shrute but teaches physics. every lecture is jammed with great stories from his life that vaguely relate to the material and yet you somehow learn everything that you need. If you don;t have him, sit in on a lecture its worth it

What more could you ask for in a professor honestly. All content is covered clearly and efficiently, tests are based on assignments, and assignments are based on lecture notes. The stories he tells are by far the best part of the lecture. I would say his class is better described as an experience rather than a lecture in the best way possible.

Alex is great because he'll just go into random tangents about his life, which kept the class pretty interesting. His demos were cool, and you can tell he's very passionate about the material. However, some of the examples he gave were confusing and unhelpful for the homework, and maybe it was just me, but his handwriting was hard to read at times.

Alex is the best. Period. He truly cares about his physics students and he tells the best stories. Midterms are not difficult as long as you did the homework, practise problems and extra questions in the textbook. Physics class was my favourite class because of Alex (and I always hated physics).

Prof.van Netten was amazing.Overall he tried to engage the class with funny stories and applications from the real world. Assignments were pretty easy.Labs did not compliment the lectures.He is super carrying and nice (offered multiple dates for midterms etc).His handwriting is not the best,so it is a bit hard to follow but you will get used to it.

Dr. Van Netten had the best stories but the worst handwriting so make sure you follow along closely! He also posted short videos that covered all lecture content in 1/4 of the time so attending lectures isn't always necessary, but it's worth it just to hear his stories.

I recommend him! Physics is not my favorite class but he made it interesting.

Alex is a passionate professor and manages a mostly online course (labs and the final are still in-person). The textbook questions will be your best friend - you WILL find them on quizzes and exams. Lectures are still worth a watch for his fun examples and stories. You will need to get the hang of deciphering his wild writing. Would take again!

I took the Monday night lectures and they were amazing! Alex is such a cool and entertaining dude. He always brings in cool demonstrations, and even invites you to come up and try them out yourself after class. He is very clear on what will be on midterms and exams, and his assignments reflect that. super cool guy, made me excited about physics :)

His lectures are super engaging and filled with cool demos. He's a great professor, I never once found myself watching YouTube videos to learn the material despite it being one of my weaker subjects. I took the course online, there's minimal homework with no due date. Went into the course hating physics, came out considering a change in majors.

I love him and I would take his classes again just to be in his presence but as a professor he goes through material way too fast and doesn't explain in depth enough. His final exam was so hard but he does his best to prepare you by giving you hints + examples he goes over and puts on the final. There are no surprises, but still tough.

love this guy

Great passionate professor, I enjoyed his classes and felt he was very straight w what to study, never tries to trick anyone. He wants his students to succeed. Def will go on tangents about his personal life, but I enjoy hearing about his woodworking, surfing, bow making. You get to learn more than just physics Class Avg 69%

He wants you to do well, the labs and assignments are easy as long as you try your best. The finals the hardest thing - but he does have a hints video which really helps. He really made physics fun for me, its really interesting stuff that he teaches and he's very engaging! I would definitely take another class with him!

Alex is a fun and engaging professor and I enjoyed the demonstrations that he would do in each lecture. His lessons are all done by hand on the chalk board and can be difficult to read sometimes, so I would recommend sitting close to the front. If you go to all the labs and understand most of the material you should do fairly well in his class.

It was refreshing taking a course where you felt like your prof wanted you to succeed. Lectures are super interesting and if you miss one there is online videos to watch. Labs are easy and interesting and the assignments are straightforward. Final is tough, but he gives lots of hints. Best phys prof I've had. Wish he taught 110!

An absolute gem at UVic. He really wants his students to do well and at the very least have a chance at passing the course. You can't read his writing but he is extremely approachable. He even gives hints for the final (extremely helpful) and his labs are pretty decent. The final is rough but you're set up to succeed during the term.

Honestly made 1st year physics bearable. He's funny and a little chaotic but cares about students. Always had demos which were fun and had some really wild stories. Tell him if you can't read his writing (it's pretty rough) and he'll always stop and let you know what it says. His videos are really helpful.

Professor Alex is passionate and engaging. Lectures are filled with demos and fun stories, though his handwriting can be tricky. The workload is manageable if you stay on top of it. unstuckstudy was a lifesaver for exam prep.

This man made me love physics, even though I'm only taking him for the first year. Super supporting and enjoyable, although his rambles go on for a little long sometimes. Would absolutely recommend for a first-year course.

The cold never bothered him anyway.

Absolutely loved him as a prof (other than trying to decode his writing).

Alex is a really engaging lecturer, with interesting stories and demos. Final weighted 50% is stressful but definitely a manageable exam if you practice the questions he does during lectures. Quick to respond to student questions as well.

Alex was by far my favorite prof of the semester. His lectures were amazingly engaging and his lore is unmatched. He is clearly very knowledgeable about the material and regularly brought up his life stories to better explain concepts. The final was tough because there weren't many graded assignments throughout the semester.

Clearly loves physics and teaching. Overall, I had some struggles connecting to his teaching styles, and he does go on a lot of tangents. But he does his best to make the class enjoyable with stories and demonstrations. This is also a really good course to take as a non-physics major.

He is very good. Me like him. Listen to him.

Honestly he wants all his students to succeed he takes the time to make explanation videos for all his assignment questions. However the final is worth 50 and dropped me from a high A to a C+.. that is my only complaint but he so kind and and supportive to all his students such a cool guy