This guy is so intense, he is downright intimidating. But he knows his stuff. Cold!! I would recommend learning from him. Never have to learn it again. Hard as nails though..

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Professor Kumar is THE MAN.

Awesome teacher, he knows soooooooo much and is very clear about teaching it. His tests are very fair, even though they are hard, although nothing in organic chemistry is ever easy! I can't imagine how hard the class would be without someone awesome like kumar.

hands down the best science teacher i've ever had. the true measure of a teacher is not general brilliance, but the ability to convey difficult material to the average person. kumar easily possesses both qualities.

Prof kumar is clear articulate and fun. I have enjoyed this year of chemistry soooo much. the exams are not your average exam and the poor sophomore who never took orgo is in so much trouble!

This was a good class. Kumar is organized although this class was taught by him, half the lectures given by a grad student. All in all I learned a grate deal.

He's busy so a TA gives half the lectures. They were both good but I woud prefer that the Prof took the time to teach the class.

Kumar gave a lecture on prions and it was great. He is awesome ... He quikly made us understand the overall probelm of mad cow disease and scientific basis.

Last semester this course did not do anything for me. I like it now and the conncetion with biology is good. Lectures are sometime too fast for a normal person to understand.

Good professor.

Brainy.. and a bit arrogant. Knows a lot and knows what question a student is going to ask before they finish. Enjoyed the two semesters and finished with A. Gradning scheme is transparent.

High level stuff... Im a philosophy maj and discussed Nietzsche during office hours instead of umpolung

The first semester was ok and disorganized. Second semester was better.

I took 51 with another prof. this was way better. nice lectures and use of blackboard instead of powerppt.

The protease and eznmye inhibtion types was very good. One lecture was short but the clarity was very good.

Cool class. Workload is deceiving if you don't pay attention it will going to cost you.

I decided to go into Biotech or Pharma as a med chemist after this class. Great class.exams assignments were compressed in the end. Did not like that.

One lecture was given by Kumar on peptide syntehsis and followed up by Prion Diseases. Superb lecture and entertaining.

It is the middle of the semester and Prof Kumar was grate! I wish he will do more lectures. He can be funny but also probing what the class knows. I liked it overall.

Professor Kumar was a guset lecturer. But he blew everyone away! He was excellent! I ha d him for three lectures and wished he had taught the entire class. Awesome...

Proteins as infectious agents. Mad cow disease. It was awesome...

Guest lecturer. I liked what he did with some cyclic reactions. Entertaining and good with Thomas as a guest lecturer.

Prof Kumar is providing all the information and has been very helpful -- he really does care. I think the bad grade students are the only ones posting here. I disagree -- it is a pandemic year...

Two instructors with very different styles. But the course is settling into a rythm now.

The lectures are well organized. Most exam qs come from the lecture notes. Savinov is amazing in answering on Piazz.a

The problem session was very helpful. I feel more confident going forward in this class. do not take the advice of not attending lecture -- lots of problems from lecture notes on quiz and exam

I am taking three science courses this semester and this is the best of them. It is stressful enough to be doing this living with others off campus. But both Kumar and Savinoe are very helpful and they respond in real time. I like this class.

Problem session 2x were very helpflu. I am beginning to really enjoy this course.

Synchronous but during this remote semester, of all the classes I am taking the instructors are putting in more work than any other course. Piazza is monitored and answered regularly and the concepts are explanied clearly. I love this class and will take more with Kumar.

So the exams quiz are really taken from lecture. Both Kumar and Savinov are proefessional but there is no hand holding. You better bring your A game as they will giev you all the material but no freebies.

It is a good class if you actually are attending lectures. Beginning to appreciate how orgo connects to biochem to real life medical treatments.

Savinov and Kumar are good at getting all questions answered. Class suffers from online format and the assignments are tough but fair.

Both Dr. Kumar and Dr. Savinov worked hard to make orgo accessible during the pandemic; there was a lot of content between lectures and weekly recaps. I found Savinovs style a little easier to follow, but exams were based mostly on lectures. I was asynchronous, so I watched lectures and recaps and worked lots of problems on my own. Learned A LOT!

I ended up with a good grade The final was challenging no freebies but I think I have learn a lot during this class. Whoever write super negative comments about Prof Kumarr Savinov are just plain unfair. Open book, open notes exam...

Don't be mistaken, Professor Kumar's class is a tough one but if you work hard and attend the lectures/recitations/office hours you will be rewarded. Chem 51 had a ton of materials but I never felt that the professor was unreasonable with his expectations with us and even managed to joke around in what otherwise would be a very heavy course.

I started the semester thinking this would be a walk in the park. But the quizzes exams were tough. Plenty of home work and both professors were always available throughout the semester.

Hey this is a great prof. Marvelous lecturer, I like many who are weeping here cant study and this course made me think I should become a theologian. Its science folks, science makes the world go around but it can make your head spin at the same time. Good luck!

Passion is not for chemistry, its for other things. Chemistry requires a brain. Passion and brain are not connected, just like an elbow and knee are not. I loved every word, every joke, every chemical invocation in this course.

Prof Kumar is a jenius. He is caring, affable, approachable, and a good lecturer. Some did not like him due to bias against a tough science course but that cannot be a reason. He strived hard to help me achieve my expected grade. I am grateful to him for that.

Professor Kumar is a great instructor for organic chemistry. His lectures are very clear and he is often available outside of class to explain more complicated topics. He puts some pretty good jokes in his slides so thats definitely a bonus.

Incredible professor. Really good at explaining difficult concepts, grades everything incredibly quickly, and gives good feedback on exams. Yes, there's a lot of reading, and yes, the tests are hard. That's orgo. But don't confuse a difficult class with a bad professorKumar doesn't deserve all the bad ratings here.

Tufts has a sped up orgo sequence, which is why lectures can feel rushed at times (not Kumar's fault). Kumar is clearly brilliant, which can cause a disconnect with students, but if you read the textbook and do the suggested practice material you will be fine. Exams are fair, but are difficult and they're curved to a B or B+. Good jokes in class!

Prof Kumar provides context and is an awesome lecturer. I found him to be very reasonable if you had an issue. I like the lectures and also why I need to know something now and how it might be useful later. Pattern recognition will become my life.

I love the lectures. A younger George Clooney?

Well organized course. I would have liked more of real life connections. Prof Kumar is a busy individual and tries his best to make time fro students.

Lectures are OK but organized. Insane amount of information & reactions and you have to keep up all the time. The connections to biological systems and polymers are something that is appreciated.

Fair course. Lectures are well annotated but could use more figures from the book. It is a lot of information but some organizing principles are summarized and re emphasized. Problem sets are fairly consistent with what you are tested on. Overall a good experience.

This was the one course that really surprised me. Inspirational and I read a couple of papers from his group. I look forward to further courses with Prof. Kumar.

OK, so this class so far is stressful. Lots of quizzes etc that raise my blood pressure and make me sleep less. I am surviving somehow but also weirdly entertained by the pre-meds in the class and calmed by their anxieties.

So far so good. I would add that Professor Kumar is really caring and empathetic to student needs. Review sessions of the exams are extremely helpful.

The class is a doozie. Although retrons are important and have helped me there is nothing to read that would help outside of the lectures. Three of the TAs are excellent and the other two borderline rude.

Kumar has been understanding what with the stupid (#$%@%) bomb threats. Not a great way for any course to end but not sure how this online final will go.

This class is intimidating when you first begin, but the key is really reading the textbook and the annotated slides somehow made me question why something was happening. The averages are usually around 83 in this class, but he is a really nice professor and genuinely does care about his students a lot and knows many by name.

I don't know how to convey this. I feel superhuman! I now see patterns in everything Even the milk in my coffee cup in the AM is making some retron appear

Glad to get away from the fracas on campus. It was super stressful. I already took the final and it was fine. Look forward to Biochem next semester,

Kumar is teaching this course at a different (higher but accessible) level. Not only at Tufts but my friends at other universities are amazed that we cover what we do. It is also interesting that I feel we may have a better understanding of the concepts. I hope these methods get incorporated in future courses.

I went into Orgo thinking I would hate it but instead actually really liked the context and the jigsaw puzzle of putting various reactive groups together. Prof Kumar has an engaging style and is very approachable outside of class. Going to class is key as many of the quiz and exam problems are directly from the lectures.

I do well in exams in general. In this class, I had to work hard as the very nature of the subject is that there is no one correct answer, something you don't encounter in other science classes. I am hooked and will take more molecule based chem and bio classes.

While anxiously waiting for the final exam results, I can ruminate about how the semester went. Very organized class, clear expectations, lectures were fast paced but kept you interested as there was "always a trick". Learnt quite a bit in this class and hope to do the same in Biochem next semester.

negative comments about this professor is incorrect. I worked very hard for C-, but I learned the material. If someone could check my brain they will see all the information I received in this class. Unfortunately, information in a brain can not be directly assessed in order to provide a grade. Choose an ad in to provide the venue with funding.

I got to know Dr Kumar outside of class through his office hours and he is quite something. Funny and he is able to always tell a story that may relate to your own life experience and he is a straight shooter. Gives direct and useful advice.

A cool cool prof. He only lacks shades. By the way ate my professor is a great sight. You should come here all the time.

Can Kumar teach? Oh yeah... A true tragedy that the final had to be virtual. By my count, a great semester that deserved all the applause it got on the last day of class. Bravo!

Pretty good course for the likes of Orgo. Prof Kumar tried his best to keep the memorization to a minimum but there is still some of it. Clear lectures and good annotated notes.

What is not to like? It is a tough science course but made as palatable as possible. New concepts not encountered anywhere else. Mirror images that are not superimposable, chairs flipping in and out and molecules choosing sides in a reaction. Crazy wild stuff that is also cool.

So postbac is not so much fun but this class may be the most fun I have had. Prof Kumar has been very helpful outside of class and I am appreciative of him taking the time to explain concepts that I missed. Thank you for a great semester Prof Kumar!

Best science course at Tufts.

Great teacher. He is really clear to understand and is easy to approach. It's orgo though, so what can you expect.

I dreaded taking organic chem but this class gave me a different view of how to solve problems. A different kind of science class. Professor Kumar is a great lecturer and my TA was awesome.

Pre-med trajectary looking good. Thank you.

Got done with a good grade. It was a good semester with a sucky end to it.

Happy to have finished well. Course made me choose ACS Certified Chem as my major. Prof Kumar's office hours were good and I could get all my Qs answered.

Prof. Kumar did a super job of teaching this course. By definition organic chem is not for the weak of heart. So here is respect. He broke down difficult concepts to easily understandable levels. But from what I am reading here, those that are unhappy seem to be unhappy with their grades. I did not do too good but I don't think I can blame him.

I loved Joe, Damla, Ozge as TAs. Prof Kumar's lectures were fantabulous and he totally deserved the applause from the class at the end. I like his style.

This class was fun and became more so as we went along in the semester. Prof Kumar is clearly someone who knows so much more that he tries to restrain himself. My TAs Ozge and Damla were also very good.

Hard grinding course but it became a kind of addiction for me in a good way. Dr. Kumar is one of the best in giving the bigger picture and the smaller details. Averages are around 81-86 and with a generous curve.

Orgo was well organized and if you went to Canvas everything was there. Students were treated as adults and quizzes kept us engaged. Kumar took an approach that cemented learning through pattern recognition. Spontaneous applause at the end of the last lecture said it all.

Concepts, framework, context. I loved this course and Kumar is one of the best professors at Tufts.

Good course. A bit laborious but nothing that is out of the ordinary for this course. If you you went to lectures and recitations it was manageable.

This course is what a college level course should be! Kumar does not suffer fools and there are no freebies in this class. If you want to do well, you work your butt off. The grading scheme is generous and from the scaling, it seems that 65-70% of the class got B+ or higher.

Professor Kumar is one of the most caring individuals. He is a busy person but still finds time to answer every email. I did not like the jumping around in the book but overall great course.

This course prepared me to look at orgo and biochem differently. Patterns make looking molecules a lot easier than memorizing tons of reactions. Dr. Kumar was available outside of class and this was an awesome course.

Excellent teacher, warm person. Obnoxiously sarcastic for people who can't deal with sarcasm - but great humor for people who can. I liked this class.

So this was like an eye opening experience for me. My besties told me that this is the worst class you will take and it tuns out is a pretty good class and i did learn something useful

I am new in Biochem and this class is awesome. Everything is clearly explained. The textbook is garbage and very difficult to read.

So I was in orgo and did well. Kumar can come across as someone who is intellectually very intimidating and now as I am in biochem I see why. He knows his stuff cold but he explains concepts in a way that's awesome. If you are in it for a good grade take another class. If you want to learn the stuff at a deep level, take this.

Professor Kumar's lectures are stories. The one to one correlation with the book is poor bordering on non-existent but there is reading material to supplement the lectures but, I wish he had more office hours.

I have probably learnt more from Prof Kumar than many of the other science courses combined. He is approachable and fair.

Prof. Kumar taught half this class and Prof. Pamuk Turner the second portion. Fair class -- Kumar's lectures got us thinking and now we are memorizing every reaction in metabolism. Both of them are good lecturers but very different styles of teaching.

Top rate class. We were given the opportunity to submit papers and then review and be reviewed. I learnt a lot about drugs in this class which is a passion of mine.

An eye-opening class that challenges you, but pays off if you engage. unstuckstudy and the free textbook were super helpful for study prep. Sarcastic but caring professor - worth the effort.

It is the whole thing about having a person like this at Tufts. Kumar does real life things and still pays attention to everyone who asks him any question. I learnt a lot and my parents are physicians and I can tell them what I am learning

A first time for me to write a paper about a drug molecule. We reviewed two papers from others in the class. Overall, a great experience. I am fascinated by what drugs do.

Pays attention to what is important and good at distilling "why do I need to know this" kind of thing