the bestest teacher ever.

nice to look at, hard course

he is such an incredible teacher and takes the time to get to answer questions

HE IS THE BEST, clear, makes jokes and explains really well

I hope to get him for another course.

i hate chemistry, but going to class was *AMAZING*!!! he laughs at own jokes

a sweetness professor

He's funny, concise and very friendly.

The only professor who can work a Harry Potter reference into a chem lecture...

Great, helps out before the tests, amazingly smart, and has a nice ass

awesome lecturer, helpful, actually cares. *BEST* of all the ch 101 profs!

awesome teacher!!really helpful and cares about his students!

he is awesome very clear and a good lecturer

A very engaging and dynamic lecturer. He's very good at answering questions-- as in he has a sort of intuition about what students are asking even if they don't articulate well. Definitely cares about his students.

made Chem kid of bearable (that means alot comming from me) nice guy

Best CH 101/102, 109/110 lecturer. Hoffman puts up pictures from the book and calls them nice cartoons , Straub actually explains applications in interesting way, works well with Golger's demos.

Overall great prof and guy. You can tell he's genuine about wanting you to understand what's going on.

Excellent teacher, esppecially compared to the other choices. He really cares about chemistry and the students.

He is on of the greatest things that ever happened to Boston University Chemistry Department

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Awesome awesome awesome! Love the chalk, jokes, definately makes it interesting and understandable, which is rare in such a difficult subject. Wonderful lecturer, caring person, thanks a ton for a great semester!

very good lecturer, i go into tests well prepared cause the ?s he writes come strate from his lectures. has great jokes, which make classes engaging and entertaining. worth wakin up early for

Colored chalk....

Extremely wonderful person!

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Simply the best... if you must subject yourself to this class, definitely take it with Straub! Avoid other profs. at all costs!

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I want to be like Straub when I grow up! Awesome teacher, very easily understood, knows what he's talking about...definitely the best prof for chem...probably one of the best I've ever had...I'll miss not having him anymore :-(

He is the BEST!!!

Amazingly helpful and fully explains things. He is very intelligent and can answer all questions and an absolute pleasure outside of class.

I miss Straub!

What a wonderful man. He truely wants to be teaching and wants to see his students excel. If you can have him as your Chem 101 lecturer, do take up the opportunity. It's just the chem dept. that's lacking :)

The use of color chalk is amazing...mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....very good professor....

Best Chem professor ever, wish he was teaching CH 102. Best lecture professor i've had at BU. Very helpful and intelligent, makes chemistry fun! I always look forward to lecture

He's an amazing professor. He makes Chemistry fun (yes, FUN!), and truly wants his students to excel in the subject. And the colored chalk makes me happy!

helpful one on one, funny, hard to follow in lecture- can be confusing

I learned a lot and still did well. Can't complain.

I wish he was teaching chem 102. Very informative, and makes lectures worthwhile. Doesn't read out out of the text like others, but uses his BRAIN! Incredible teacher, one not to be missed!!!!

straub sounds and acts a bit like steven colbert from the daily show -- material covered is pretty elementary, but he does a great job of covering it.

By far the BEST teacher that I have ever had.. even if you dont have to take chem.. take it just to have him. You can't get better than Straub

Very good teacher. Very helpful, he makes chemistry fun. Take his class, he is by far the best teacher.

amazing chem professor, far better than anyone else

Good lecturer! makes it so you can actually understand the concepts (i know!) and hes really funny.. reminds me of the boss in office space.

Great professor! Made the concepts easy to understand, and was funny at the same time. Very friendly and helpful during office hours. Highly recommended.

The best teacher I have ever had!! Straub made CH so easy and fun. I would not recommend taking CH unless you have Straub as a teacher. He is not only a great teacher, but he is also a good person and a nice family man.

Straub is a really great professor. Not only does he explain things in great detial in lecture, but he is also readily available during his office hours. Makes a tremendous effort so students understand the material. Straub is by far the best professor

great teacher but too fast paced. does a great job nonetheless

I was in Tullius's lecture for the beginning of the semester ... and what a difference going to Straub's lecture made. Definately attend his class!!

I tried both of the other professors' lectures before going to Straub--on the next test my grade jumped 25 points. An AMAZING teacher--colored chalk rules! Go visit during office hours.

Coolest Professor around! He's nice funny and teaches everything clearly. He makes chemistry fun and puts in all the extra work one could ask for. If you want to not only do well, but enjoy chemistry, take his class.

He's is a great professor and explains difficult concepts very thourghly. This class is very difficult but having a teacher like Straub helps a lot, he has a great personality and loves to entertain while teach.

Great teacher, if you have a choice between anyone and him, CHOOSE HIM!!!

awesome

Really fun class. All of intro chem is really hard, and the course moves too fast to really explain the necessary concepts that underlie the math. Still, Straub is the best teacher by far. Watch for pyro-fun.

if it wasn;t for him.. chem would be a tough subject.. he's very clear.. HE;S THE BEST

The best professor I've had yet. He brings an energy to the lecture and is very good at explaining difficult concepts in an easy, understandable manner. And he is one of the funniest people ever!-great sense of humor.

Awsome professor. I would recommend taking his class to everyone. He is unbelievably nice and helpful. He gives you additional notes on stuff not covered in lecture. He even uses different colored chalk, you just can't go wrong with Straub.

Straub is hilarious, and a great teacher. He keeps you interested in the material and makes the usually boring task of going to chem lecture a nearly pleasurable experience ;)

I came into this course dreading chemistry, but Straub has made the material interesting. I look forward to his class every monday, wednesday and friday. His enthusiam for the material and clarity in explaining concepts has made his class my favorite.

Great professor. take his lecture time.

Straub rocks my world. He teaches with great clarity and is pretty funny. He makes Chemistry bearable.

Straub is the best Chem professor. He's a bit enthusiastic about the discoveries, so he rambles a bit on how the concepts came to be rather than how to use them, but that gets better after the mid-semester. He's so hot, too. Plus he's a chronic pyro.

Just an awesome hilarious teacher. Don't miss a single lecture. All you need to do is attend his class, have some basic knowledge in chemistry from high school, and do what he is asking for to get an A. Do webassigns seriously. Office hours helps.

Staub is my hero. I wasn't scheduled for his sectioned but I got so fed up that I ended up going. Post-switch my test grade went up 40 points. TAKE HIS LECTURE SECTION

Just an awesome Prof. The class is definetly very challenging, but he's a really good teacher. He's very willing to talk about any problems you have (chemistry, grades, whatever), definetly worth taking, being a very pretty tough class.

Dr. Straub is hot, smells great, and wears short pants. Other than that, the material is relatively difficult (thus the 3 rating), but his unique voice and different style make the material really easy to understand. He is really helpful along with Dr. Murphy. Both of them combined are a couple!

prof straub is an amazing professor, one of the best I've ever had. He knows the material and more importantly he knows how to teach it.

Very interesting prof, actually made it to all 9am classes because he made it fun. Although some of the time I was more busy watching to see if he would get colored chalk all over himself but he never did. Pay attention in class, do the hw, and the web demonstrations and you'll be golden!

colored chalk!!!!!!!!!

Prof. Straub is an excellent teacher. He explains the material clearly and addresses questions asked with careful thought. Outside of class he is very available to help with matters concerning material or otherwise. Take his class if you want to learn but not if you want an easy A.

great professor, his enthusiasm and love of the subject matter made freshman chemistry interesting. he is a "theoretical statistician" or something, which gives him a unique perspetive during lecture. if you think having taken AP chem will help you in CH111/122, you are wrong. only take this course if you are very interested in chemistry!

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Excellent

THIS DAWG IZ DA****!

straub is freakin' awesome but this course is tremendously hard. i quit after first semester because of all the work (you go to 8 hours of class a week plus hw) and that i didn't need the credit. my advice is don't take this class unless you love chemistry, need the credit, or just want a challenge.

An excellent professor is one who deeply understands the subject and has an innate feeling for the matter....Straub fits that perfectly. Clear as sky, and one of the most helpful professors, take him no matter what.

Professor Straub is an awesome teacher. His class is not easy though, but he makes the effort in class and in office hours to explain it to you. I gave a 4 on clarity because he goes very indepth into the subjects he teaches so at times he can be clear and sometimes it's just over your head.

Excellent professor; knows his subject thoroughly and his teaching is very effective. His tests might be difficult if you don't have a thorough understanding of the material though. He has a subtle (sometimes sarcastic!) sense of humor, he switches between colored chalk like no-one I have ever seen :-P !

Straub is the man. This is a difficult course. You have to study, and you have to study well. It's not about just reading the book or just going to class, you have to do it all and more. Seek out help when you need it, even if you don't need it. If you're doing poorly, talk to straub or murphy. They'll help you figure out how to study better.

Straub is an awesome professor. He explains the material very well. If you still don't understand you can go to his office hours, and he'll gladly help you in anyway he can. It's good to review the material before lecture, and if it is still confusing, going to his office hours will help tremendously. The course is difficult, but Straub makes it fu

Amazing professor. His passion for chemistry and teaching really shows. He's also a very caring and thoughtful person. A+!

Class was relatively hard..but if you study the concept quizzes and lecture notes, you should be fine. If you still need help, he is very very helpful - go to office hours! All in all, his class was probably one of the best lower level chemistry classes at BU.

He was a really awesome professor. Honestly speaking, he is the best professor I have ever had at BU and made me really love chemistry! I highly recommend taking this class!

The best professor ever!

the class is REALLY hard - be prepared to be faced with types of problems you have never ever seen before on tests. he's SUCH a nice guy though and you can do well if you go to office hours and make sure you understand the lecture material - he is super helpful. TAKE CH 109 IF YOU'RE PREMED THOUGH!!

Professor Straub has got to be one of the best professors I've ever had. He is an amazing teacher who knows chemistry extremely well, is very friendly, and is helpful outside of class with any matter (confusions about subject matter, test scores/problems, etc). The course is tough but you will learn A LOT. I highly recommend this course! He's great

One of my favorite professors at BU! He uses color chalk which is way more helpful than you think. Tests are straightforward, just do the HW and discussion worksheets.

Thank You Prof Straub! Super engaging class where I learned a lot and thoroughly understood the material. Consistently asks the class during lectures if there's any misunderstandings with the material in order to ensure we're all on the same page. He definitely calmed my fears regarding thermodynamics and is a lovely person to talk to as well! :)

Great professor. He explains exactly what he wants from you and what is to be expected on the test. Honestly, everything that was on the test, he went over. He is very willing to go over previous exams and work out a plan with you and really, truly wants to see you do well in his class.

Straub is very nice and wants to help his students. His tests are tough, but if you make sure you understand all the material, you will do fine. His lectures are good and organized, which is great for taking notes. He also makes himself very available to his students. Overall, he is a very good professor.

Professor Straub is one of my favorite professors at BU. His lectures are very thorough (and his color coded chalkboard notes are amazingly helpful!). CH 109 was a difficult class, but you learn a lot, and Straub makes it very interesting!

Prof Straub takes a hard class like Chem and does his best to help you pass. He's always available (rearranged office hours all semester to BE available for everyone), always wants feedback to better the class, and overall takes his students concerns into deep consideration. He explains topics well and provides materials that later appear on tests.

Amazing Lecturer. He just really wants to see you succeed. I loved his lecture style with his colored chalk. Seriously that colored chalk is the most helpful thing ever. His tests are difficult, but if you pay attention in lecture nothing will really surprise you. If you ask for help he will give you as much as you need.

Straub is a great prof who really cares about his students. He writes his notes with colored chalk and is patient with questions; go to his office hours to clarify the material. He also tries to know his students, and is very approachable when you need recommendations (unless he doesnt even know your name because you dont go to office hours).

Professor Straub is an amazing human being and my favorite professor at BU. He is incredibly helpful and kind and very clear.

Professor Straub is my absolute favorite professor at BU. His lectures are very interesting and he's very clear in his expectations. He is so kind and helpful and really wants his students to do well in his class. Definitely go to his office hours!

He uses different colored chalk during lectures, so his writing on the board is very easy to read and is easy to understand. He is super nice when you talk to him/reach out for help. The first unit of CH109 can be difficult, but do not be discouraged. It gets a lot easier to understand after that.

Don't take Straub because he is the best professor ever. If you take his class first semester of freshman year, everything is just gonna go down hill from then. You can't top him because he gives amazing lecture, he is hilarious and he uses color chalk. Why is he the best? Why isn't he teaching CH110? And go to his office hours!! Don't be afraid.

Get ready for some wild jokes told during class. They're subtle but hilarious. He also uses colored chalk so lecture is a party. Getting a good grade is tough but it's worth it because Straub is love, Straub is life.

Best lecturer I could have wanted for my first semester of college, explains concepts well, organizes info well on the chalkboard, brings the funny but subtle jokes to class. Really wants his students to succeed

Great lectures, extremely hard tests, available office hours. Seems to really care about the subject and students. Teaches difficult material in a clear and easy to understand format. His office hours were the most useful of any of professors this year.

Prof Straub is one of the best prof at BU! His amazing lectures+color chalks+jokes helped me understand the materials very well. He explained concepts and gave us a lot of problems to make sure we understood them. He sincerely cares for his students and wants us to do well. Extremely sad that he won't teach CH110. That's why I'm not taking CH110.

Straub is an amazing lecturer. I enjoyed his humor, his appreciation for scientists, and how fluidly he switches between colored chalk while drawing and writing and lecturing- at the same time! I must say, though, this class is quite demanding: Textbook reading, HW, discussion quizzes, labs. Yet I've learned so much and have grown to love chemistry

Best professor I've ever had. Straub takes incredibly complex concepts and actually makes them understandable.

Class was the hardest I've taken but he was a great professor who genuinely cares about the success of his students.

An admirable and grounded lecturer. Famously known for his incredibly organized written notes, his colored chalk, as well as his sardonic, intellectual humor. Would definitely take his class again, but to receive a good grade means investing plenty of time and effort. Derives most of his test material from discussion worksheets and occasional HW.

I had Straub for CH109 and I genuinely enjoyed his class, though it was really difficult. Between his lecture and the lab portion, I found myself dedicating most of my time and energy to his class, but definitely worth it in the end. Never felt so satisfied finishing a course.

He is always attempting to make himself of his TFs available outside of class for questions or extra help. you can retake two of your three exams during the final, so you can compensate for your procrastination in the beginning of the semester. There is a lot of weekly homework so be on top of your game for the discussion quizzes!

Fantastic professor. Really cares about his students and how much they learn. Made Gen. Chem. interesting and exciting. Read the book and study his worksheets and discussion materials and you'll do fine on the tests. Wish I could take this class again.

i love this man - best professor i have ever had

Professor Straub is a great teacher who I would recommend to anyone. He really cares about the success of his students and does everything he can to make it possible. Although his class might be a little challenging with the right amount of effort anyone can get a good grade.

Prof. Straub's lectures are immaculate. He basically dictates your notes for you and gives some pretty solid examples. You better be ready to study though, this class was tough. Read the textbook too, he really only uses it for homework but its extremely helpful for comprehension. Also, office hours are phenomenal.

He is very caring about his students and wants to get to know them. He remembers your name if you talk to him just once. His lecture notes are amazing as he uses many colors of chalk and tries to give a good insight to the materials discussed.

Straub's chalk game is amazing, and his lectures are very interesting and go into depth. He is also really willing to answer questions. I will say I believe the grading was unnecessarily harsh. If you're taking this class, don't plan on having a social life because between lecture, lab, pre-lab, and discussion, its like 4 courses in one package.

Straub is the most amazing professor you will ever have. Yes, the class covers multivariate calculus, linear algebra, and ordinary differential equations all in one semester, and yes it is a lot of work. BUT, take good notes, stay on top of the textbook (which he prints out!), and attend office hours, and you will do great. Plus, he TRULY cares!

Hard class, but Straub is an awesome lecturer and he really cares about his students. he is definitely willing to meet outside class to help you if you need it, and is very understanding. The "phoenix" system for the exams is great (I raised my grade on the 3rd exam by 35% with the final) and he genuinely tries to help you succeed.

Phenomenal professor. Excellent at explaining difficult concepts, especially in thermodynamics. He makes sure that students' questions are heard by all before answering them thoroughly. He provides numerous resources for success, and will often send emails clarifying topics from lecture because he cares. GO TO OFFICE HOURS! They really help.

Explains the principles of the material incredibly well and is extremely easy to follow conceptually. Gives a lot of homework and grades it based on accuracy, which can be very difficult. However, he's very accessible and willing to help; furthermore, he always welcomes questions and explanations in class.

Absolutely PHENOMENAL lecturer. The literal best professoer I have ever had. Every single lecture is meticulously organized; this man has the chalk skills of a GOD. I have never seen such beautiful diagrams freehanded so quickly. He's also sweet and very kind, and will do his best to help you outside of class. 10/10. (also straub is lowkey a dilf)

Incredible professor! He makes you work, but the result is very rewarding. He's always willing to help and has chalk work that is unparalleled. Don't bother trying to skip lecture and catch up. Grading is tough and you might lose motivation, but just keep doing the HW, going to office hours, get to know him, find a study buddy, and you'll make it!

Probably the most effective professor I had my first semester freshman year. His lectures are fantastic and his office hours are also incredibly helpful as well. The effort you put into the class (studying, homework, office hours) is pretty important for a class like this

Awesome! The one critique I do have is the grading; in a course based on quantitative analysis, we were never given an exact picture of how our grades were calculated; I've heard that it isn't even fully quantitative, but rather a qualitative discussion among Prof Straub and the TFs about each student, which doesn't seem like the best way to grade.

The greatest teacher at BU, hands down. Study hard and you will do well. I messed up one exam really badly, but still ended up with a B+ due to understanding grading. Lectures are challenging, engaging, and actually fun. If you like chemistry, you will not regret taking this class. You may resent it in the moment, but you will be sad when done!

Amazing professor! Above everything, he wants you to learn. I know he has great research, but I know he is genuinely passionate about teaching. Disappointed half of it was online, but even so he still lectured with his incredible chalk game. Go to office hours, do the homework, and it'll actually be fun! Great alternative to MA225 for chem majors

Professor Straub is one of the best chemistry professors at BU; his lectures were easy to follow and exams were very reasonable. He also just genuinely wants everyone to succeed and constantly asks for our feedback/opinions on things

The best professor that I have ever had at BU. Straub is gifted at teaching and his lectures are not only easy to follow, but also really interesting. He cares a lot about his students and as long as you are putting in effort he will ensure that you succeed.

Dr. Straub is an amazing professor and his lectures were something I looked forward to each week! His explanations were clear, concise, and he does fine work with the colored chalk. Loved quantum chemistry and how he taught! Exams were fair and generous policy to remake midterms on the finals. Overall, would recommend!

He is the best chemistry professor I have had! The content is naturally difficult but he makes it as clear and understandable as possible.

Amazing, caring professor. Absolute gem at BU. Be sure to redo all the worksheets he gives you. Those will likely resemble the difficulty/style of the exam questions. Gives you great support so never hesitate to reach out to him about anything.

Professor Straub takes an extremely difficult subject and makes it digestible. I wouldn't want to take p-chem with any other professor. Colored lecture notes are also a plus!

Tough class, but Prof. Straub makes it manageable. Colored notes and engaging lectures are a plus. unstuck study was a lifesaver for study prep alongside the textbook.

I love JS. He is awesome with his colored chalk. JS makes some fun jokes in pchem, which is a really tough class. I enjoy learning with him since he digests the ideas in the class pretty well. His exam is considered hard but also thought-provoking, so make sure to work on problems and understand the concepts. Definitely recommend taking with him.

John Straub is an amazing Professor! The content in CH109 is quite difficult but he lectures in an organized and easy to understand way. His office hours are very helpful especially if you are struggling on certain homework problems (he is willing to do the whole problem out on the board to help you understand). Tests are difficult and fast-paced.

CH109 is a very hard class but Prof. Straub is amazing, he is very nice and cares about his students. Lectures are organized and engaging, he uses colored chalk and is good at explaining. Tests are very hard and long, but his office hours are helpful. Lecture is technically optional but if you don't attend, you wont understand the material.

Very difficult class, but he is very kind and cares about his students.

Straub is an amazing professor. He genuinely cares about his students and his office hours are helpful for clearing up any questions. Although his exams can be a bit long, if you understand the material well, they are definitely manageable and you can do well.

CH109 is a super hard class, but Prof Straub is an amazing lecturer. He's a god with chalk. Make sure to attend class and OFFICE HOURS! His office hours are the most helpful of any prof I've ever had. Homework is super necessary. Nice person, too.

CH109 is a difficult class, but he helps make things easier. There are times where I felt his lectures were not particularly useful, but he is extremely easy to reach outside of class. He genuinely cares about students, and I feel that he wanted us to do well. However, if you do not do a lot of extra work outside of class you will not pass.

Amazing professor but the class is hard. The quizzes and tests have very low averages but the curves help. The textbook is confusing but the lectures are very helpful and so are office hours. The homework is very long and sometimes irrelevant but you should definately do. Very funny and charming and cares so much about his students.

The quiz and test averages are really low but as long as you put in a lot of work studying and doing practice questions, you should be fine. I personally didn't find the lectures to be very helpful but he was always open to questions and it's very easy to reach out to him. The tests are much harder than the homeworks and quizzes.

Very nice professor in a very hard course. Professor Straub always tries to improve the course based on feedback from students. Very talented lecturer who wants to see students succeed. Exams are very hard but if you get the concepts down overall you will do good. Course is very heavily curved and it will save you if you do your best. Thanks JS :)