Makes lectures and material very interesting. Puts forth tremendous effort to help motivated students.

Entertaining lecture, great guy

Fun guy who knows his stuff. However, tests and homework are sometimes very hard.

It's stand up comedy, chemistry style!

Chirik is an awesome professor! His lectures remind me of episodes of "Bill Nye the Science Guy" with a bit of stand-up comedy thrown in.

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Chirik is funny. He tries so hard to make everyone enjoy the class. Its the only class that I don't fall asleep in. He's seriously hysterical. The Problem Sets so far have been really hard and time consuming... but its Cornell... its GOING to be hard.

OMG...he's sooo hot!!! i wonder if he's married and, if not, PLEASE tell me!

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humorous fellow

he's got an interesting dichotomy going on: he is funny & motivating, but, all of the work in the class is ridiculously hard. in spite of having a weekly meeting with him and him telling me i would get a B, he gave me a C. what's up with that?

Great guy - fun lectures. Problem sets can be hard, and the test is quite challenging, but not ridiculous.

A hilarious teacher that is able to combine entertaining lectures with actual knowlege. Too bad my TA does niether :-/

He seems nice until you realize that his problem sets are truly evil. Frequent explosions in class make life more exciting. just one question-- why is chirik listed twice here?

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Really funny

chirik is the man.

Very entertaining and straightforward teacher. Class is challenging but fun.

CHIRIK ROCKS MY WORLD! But his class is very hard, especially if you miss 2 seconds of lecture. The tests are actually easy if you know the material, but most people don't know the material... Oh well. He still rocks.

A genuinely nice guy that really knows chemistry and a really good teacher. Lectures are clear and understandable even though tough material at times.

This guy is the best!

The lectures are not boring at all because hes a funny guy. The class is hard but for intro chem it is not so bad

He's the most compelling lecturer I've ever had, and manages to make Chem funny and understandable, too. Before taking this class, I hated chemistry with a blazing passion; now I love it. Chirik rocks!

He is the best. That's all there is to it. His TAs suck, but he's wonderful!

Chirik is AMAZING!!! He is a great lecturer, who takes care to make class fun and interesting! And he constantly is making jokes! He explains the material really well, and is helpful in office hours. Prelims are solely based on notes in class, and are a bit hard, but its totally worth it!

Chirik is awesome, his prelims are easy. Everything comes from the notes and the ?s arent too hard but the time restraint will kill u

ex-nerd turned comedian. all around loveable good-guy.

Intro Chem is hard, there's no way around that, but Chirik trys to make the class fun and interesting. He is a really funny guy at times which helps to keep people awake. The pre-lims are hard and the TA's for his class don't speak much english, but all in all, Chirik is awsome.

Wonderful presence combined with substance and clarity...one of my favorite lectures to attend!

Cool guy, interesting lectures - but u have to go to them! They're kinda fun... its one class I never fall asleep in.

Chirik is definitely one of the better intro professors out there (for comparison, see Tom Owens). It's been said before, but really the class isn't that hard. The prelims usually consist of 7 problems, lack of time is what will end up stressing you out.

Totally awesome professor. Take his class.

Awesome teacher, but watch the time restraints on the prelims. You do not have time to read the cartoons at the beginning of the test, although it may be tempting

He's a coooool dude...teaches in a fun manner...A-PLUS for him ^.^

Loves to give demonstrations, aka: blow up, burn, and freeze things. Makes class fun. The prelims follow his lectures, not the book, so you don't even need to read most of the time.

Chirik is AWESOME! I used to hate chemistry, but now I have learned to like it. I can tell that he loves chemistry through his energy and jokes. He is a great teacher. The prelims are very straight-forward but waaaay too long. Just remember to take good notes, and study the problem sets.

Chem is def. hard, but at least chirik makes it a little more interseting. He is funny and up beat in his lectures,so you dont fall asleep. The prelims are def. hard, but they follow from his notes in class! you dont have to read the book!Also he is very helpful if you go talk to him.take the class

I LOVE THIS MAN!!! WILL YOU MARRY ME!!??!

He's a cool dude!! Dont be mean.. and dont send him complaining e-mails and you'll be ok!

great lectures, very funny guy

Good professor, Bad class

very very funny

Lectures are fun and interesting, but prelims are pretty hard. Don't read the book - it's useless. Pay attention to lecture and take good notes and you should be fine.

Good guy. His tests are pretty hard, but he does a good job teaching the material. My only complaint is that he doesnt cover the harder examples in class

Most devoted professor I have had. Really works hard for the class.

Chirik is awesome! Prelims are challenging, but he makes the class sooo interesting. He likes to set things on fire and freeze things..

Hard class, but very engaging lecturer. He makes lectures fun, but still conveys lots of information. He explains and gives examples of how chem applies to real life so its not just science babble.

Great professor, lectures are always entertaining and easy to understand. Prelims are difficult, but an A is definitely obtainable if you understand the material. Avoid TAs for homework help, though, they usually lead you down the wrong track.

Awesome teacher. Makes chemistry so fun to learn.

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I never looked forward to going to a class so much, esp. considering I hate chem! Chirik is so funny. The prelims are def. hard, but if you stay on top of the material each week and know what's going on, it is def. very possible to do well. Don't read the book.. lectures are all that count.

Not gonna lie....I LOATHED chemistry before taking 207, but Chirik made it so much fun. I didn't miss one lecture and because he's such a good professor, I'm doing well in the class. This is by far my FAVORITE class of the semester. CHIRIK ROCKS MY WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!

funny

The best class. Ever. Bar none. The best lectures, the best jokes, the best explanations...Chirik is the COOLEST person--go to his office hours at LEAST once, even if you don't have any questions. And don't read a newspaper in class. And listen for exam hints in the lectures.

Chirik is hilarious. His lectures are good, his tests are really hard. Don't read the book. He is one of the leading young chemistry professors in the world. He recently got a $525k grant.

Very funny guy. Runs to all the prelim locations to answer questions! Problem sets are killer. Labs are always boring. Exams are hard. His personality makes up for it though

Before entering this class, I hated chemistry, and expected to hate this one and somehow muddle through. However, I was pleasantly surprised. Chirik is an amazing professor who gets the material across in a great way. His lectures are always fun to attend as well. He's nice funny helpful and fair

Great professor, always telling jokes. His tests are hard though and sometimes he throws a lot of info on the board without explanation. He is a genius and works really hard though.

chirik is the best!!!!! too bad he only teaches one semester of chem

One of the best classes here - challenging but not overwhelming. You'll def. learn a lot and enjoy it.

Let's be honest. Everybody loves Chirik. I haven't heard one complaint except that he can be a jerk outside of class, whatever that's supposed to mean. He really loves having the class as an audience and that shows. He's hilarious. He's lookin for a Nobel Prize.

Chirik is a brilliant professor and person. He made me love chemistry, even though I came into the class dreading it. Yes, his tests can be difficult, but if you do the work, you will leave with an A. Chirik is absurdly funny, and he bends over backwards to help anyone who needs it. Chirik = Best.

the best professor i've had at cornell. brilliant man, clever, knows how to be really be a teacher, not something i can say for most professors here

He burns the helium balloons, and freezes a banana, throws it up on the wall to shatter, and writes some kind of oil on the board and burns it.....etc. DURING the LECTURE .....does that explain? :) Very fun class to attend.

I hate chem and am horrible at it, but he made it more than bearable and quite manageable as well. Definitely the most positive chemistry experience I could have hoped for, given my dislike for the topic. Very entertaining and engaging lecturer; fair tests.

Great class - you'll actually like going to it, which is amazing considering it's general chemistry. Great lecturer, cracks a lot of jokes and keeps it real. Tests are somewhat challenging, but are curved. They make you think on the spot, so don't expect just to plug stuff into formulas.

What a Professor! I was always looking forward to attend this class.

Awesome professor! He knows his material and makes the class REALLY interesting by blowing things up, setting things on fire, and just making the most out of chemistry! Tests weren't too bad, definitely a worthwhile class

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In the past, I really didn't get chemistry, but Chirik made it clear and entertaining at the same time. A great chem professor and fair exams.

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the best

he's a funny guy, he makes class interesting all the time. tests are hard and he's not that clear with everything he teaches and some of it is pretty different from whats written in the book or told to us by the TAs.

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SOoo cool! Made me want to be a chemist. I love his teaching, its reallly really good.

Great lecturer! Really funny too (in a high-school boy kind of way). Presents material in a clear, though sometimes fast, manner. Exams can be ridiculous sometimes and you wonder what he is actually trying to test, but overall, I've had a pretty positive experience in Chem 207. Beware, though, the class is HUGE!

He teached really well. He tells jokes and performs all these cool experiements.

Chirik does a really great job of keeping you interested in rather boring material... I'm going by the beginning of the semester here because I'm going to be honest, I never go to lecture haha... oops!

Amazing lecturer!

I took this class my first semester here and it is still one of my favorites even thought it was a pretty hard class.

Great class, the lectures are always fun and entertaining as well as interesting. The exams are tough, they really make you think and analyze what you have learned but they are very fair. Probably one of the best if not the best chem classe that I will have.

Funny guy and great lecturer. Gives hard prelims though.

His lectures are the key to success in this class, so go to all of them. He explains concepts clearly and I hardly used the textbook. A complete set of notes and homework is all you need to study for the prelims and final. The tests are hard, however, but its very possible to do well in the class if you keep on top of the work and go to lecture.

Worth the trip down from North to see him blow something up every other lecture.

I didn't like him as much as some other people I talked to. He's not nearly as funny as he thinks he is, but his lectures were good becuase he blew stuff up. Prelims are very hard.

YOU SHOULD TAKE THIS CLASS. No, it's not easy. No, he doesn't answer questions carefully and sometimes makes light of students' stupid questions. But the spectacle that is CHEM 207 lecture makes it worth it. I consider him a good teacher because you will learn a lot, and lectures are incredibly fun and engaging. One of Cornell's best.

I loved Chirik...1st chem teacher ever that 1) cared about how I did 2)made chem fun and interesting and not as tense 3)taught chem in a way I could understand it...Great class, hard prelims but not impossible and a good guy

Sometimes, he taught really advanced stuff that i doubt was in the chem 207 curriculum, but he always made class interesting and mind-stimulating, even if you questioned your desire to be a chem major after a prelim. All in all, i thought it was a good class, and hey, he puts the board on fire and throws liquid-nitogened bananas around!

He's really cool! The class is fun, he uses good demos and makes the class very interesting. Furthermore, he connects very well w/ students. The workload is reasonable

awesome personality. really makes the lectures informative, scientific but every understandable for the student. take notes. go to lecture. go to office hours once in awhile, especially before prelims/final.

This guy is the best freshman prof I have had.

Problem sets can be daunting, TA office hours are incredibly helpful. Problem sets are often not as hard as they appear, sometimes just weirdly worded. Funny guy during class, keeps it interesting. Sometimes doesn't give examples which makes it hard to know how to apply some information, but generally a good professor.

A funny teacher, but sometimes takes time from class telling jokes and goes off topic. The demonstrations are always fun and his sense of humor keeps students awake in the morning. The labs for the class are hard and the tests are even harder, but the curve is generous. However, intense studying is required and the problem sets are sometimes hard.

Chirik has a great passion for chemistry and relates what he's teaching to reality. His tests are very difficult, but they push a student to do their best and then get better. Chirik expects students to work hard and think and act like scientists.

Great professor, amazing lecturer, and great class. He really made me interested in chemistry. Tests are very difficult, but fair in general. He seemed to become more patient with answering questions towards the end of the semester.

Good professor. Very funny. His tests were okay, learned a lot in this class.

Chirik's lectures are a blast... literally. However, the quality of the lesson could be better. Hes absolutely adorable and really funny though. Everyone loves him.

Definitely the best professor I've ever had. I never wanted to miss a class because they were so fun. The exams and problem sets are hard though, but he makes the class totally worth it! Also the class is "chemistry according to Paul Chirik" so you don't have to read the book!

Great professor. Very clear and very funny. I loved going to class cuz Chirik was interactive and friendly and the material was interesting. One of the best lecturers I have seen. If you want to learn chemistry (thermo, kinetics, etc.) start with chem 215, esp with Chirik.

He is hot and a great teacher. Sure his tests are hard, but he makes you think and grades fairly at the end.

Chem was always a problem for me, until I heard about this great prof, Paul Chirik. He made some of the most difficult areas very easy to understand. Great instructor.

paul is an amazing professor. his lectures were like chapters - each one with key developments and players. his exams were difficult, but fair, and he was very willing to assist on hw granted you attend office hours. he's friendly and funny and an organized, clear and effective lecturer. he can be patient - but he expects a high level of effort

Good overall

Awesome lecturer. He actually made gen chem fun which I thought was impossible. Great guy!