2.0

PK Imbrie

Engineering - Purdue University - West Lafayette

2.0
Quality
3.8
Difficulty
50%
Would Retake
115
Reviews
2.0
Quality
3.8
Difficulty
2.0
Helpful
2.0
Clarity

50%

Would Retake

115

Reviews

Rating Distribution
Official

5

8

4

13

3

15

2

32

1

47

What Students Say

ENGR195H was the worst class I have ever taken

ENGR195H - 1.0 rating

Very unorganized and purposely makes assignments impossible

ENGR111 - 1.0 rating
Class Info

Attendance Mandatory

100%

Textbook Required

100%

Grade Predictor

Your expected effort level

LowHigh

Predicted Grade

A+

62% confidence
Based on 4 grades
Most common grades:
A- (2)
A (2)
Pass (1)
Grade Distribution
A(2)B(0)C(0)D(0)F(0)A-/B+(2)
Based on 5 reported grades
A-: 2
A: 2
Pass: 1
Common Tags
Tough Grader (1)
LOTS OF HOMEWORK (1)
GROUP PROJECTS (1)
Hilarious (1)
Caring (1)
Respected (1)
Rating Trend

Improving

+0.23 avg change
Nov
Jan
Dec
Jan
Oct
Jun
Last 6 months
Ratings by Course

ENGR117MOFOS

5.0

(1)

ENG103

4.0

(1)

ENGR116117

3.3

(4)

ENG1167

3.0

(2)

ENG126H

3.0

(1)
+17 more courses
Difficulty by Course

ENGR11611

5.0

ENG126H

5.0

HIST126

5.0

ENGR111

5.0

ENGR117H

5.0

Reviews (115)
1.0
4.0
ENGR106
Jan 26, 2001

Imbrie doesn't seem to be working against the students, not with them.

1.0
5.0
ENGR116
Nov 27, 2001

Gets frustrated with students, unorganized class

1.0
4.0
ENGR116
Apr 24, 2002

He is by far one of the worst professors I have ever had.

1.0
4.0
ENGR116
Feb 3, 2003

Said that Newton's third law didn't apply in this case . Enough said.

1.0
4.0
ENGR1161
Feb 12, 2003

No Comments

1.0
5.0
ENGR116
Feb 17, 2003

Perplexed by his own powerpoints

2.0
3.0
EE116
Feb 18, 2003

Doesn't care if students learn

1.0
5.0
ENGR106
Feb 19, 2003

why is he still teaching???

1.0
2.0
ENGR1167
Feb 19, 2003

No Comments

1.0
5.0
ENG1167
Feb 24, 2003

Why is an Aero prof. teaching programming??

1.0
5.0
ENGR1167
Feb 28, 2003

Inconsistent.

1.0
4.0
ENGR116
Mar 5, 2003

No Comments

1.0
5.0
ENGR1167
Mar 6, 2003

No Comments

4.0
2.0
ENGR116
Mar 11, 2003

The class was challenging and interesting, most of the time, and he has high expectations.

1.0
4.0
ENGR116
Mar 24, 2003

this guy is horrible

1.0
5.0
ENGR106
Mar 25, 2003

He was nasty towards students and was completely uninterested in what we were and weren't learning.

1.0
5.0
ENGR117
Mar 28, 2003

No Comments

1.0
5.0
ENGR11611
Apr 3, 2003

You HAVE to be taught by this guy. Once you put up with him for 2 semesters you can leave with the warm, soothing feeling that you'll NEVER have another professor you'll HATE SO MUCH ever again in your whole life.

4.0
2.0
ENGR116
Apr 17, 2003

No Comments

3.0
5.0
ENGR117
Apr 22, 2003

He does a good job with the programming part, but the whole lego project is just ridiculous--and we don't go over anything in class about it.

1.0
5.0
ENGR117
Apr 22, 2003

No Comments

1.0
5.0
ENGR117
May 1, 2003

This is an Engineering Programming class. Yet he doesn't know how to program efficiently and clearly. He also has a language problem. I think he speaks Martian or Uranian.

1.0
5.0
ENGR117
May 2, 2003

To the kid that thinks he prepares us well for 3 more years... I had him two years ago. Still scarred for life. He sucked badly!

1.0
5.0
ENGR117
May 4, 2003

No Comments

2.0
1.0
AAE204
May 10, 2003

No Comments

2.0
3.0
ENGR106
Jun 12, 2003

Didn't like him at all. But I know he doesn't like to be called PK.

2.0
1.0
ENGR116
Sep 7, 2003

ENGR 116 is designed to be a pain in the rear to prepare students for 'harder' classes later on. Since the material is easy, the class is designed with the most ridiculous, anal-retentive rules to make up for this. Presentation is often needlessly unclear

3.0
3.0
ENGR116117
Sep 29, 2003

Really easy, grades seem low but theres a huge curve in the class, pretty much everyone gets A's/B's. He's a horrible professor, but the TA's are great and the course is really good. Class is really frustrating, but it's WAY better than ENGR106 and CS156.

2.0
4.0
ENGR116
Oct 25, 2003

I just don't know about a prof. who calls things "doojiflibbies."

2.0
1.0
ENGR100
Nov 16, 2003

This guy was annoying as hell...he made us feel like children every week.

1.0
4.0
ENGR117
Feb 3, 2004

doomagligy and other imbrisms lead to confusion and pain.

1.0
4.0
ENGR116
Feb 3, 2004

No Comments

1.0
5.0
ENGR117
Feb 6, 2004

No Comments

2.0
1.0
ENGR100
Feb 11, 2004

Class was a waste and so was he. Maybe people would like him better if he didn't still treat us like we were in high school.

1.0
4.0
ENGR117
Feb 12, 2004

No Comments

1.0
2.0
ENGR116117
Feb 14, 2004

No Comments

2.0
2.0
ENGR116
Feb 16, 2004

Dork.

1.0
5.0
ENGR116
Feb 18, 2004

No Comments

1.0
5.0
ENGR117
Grade: A-
Feb 23, 2004

I thought I procrastinated; Imbrie practically posts homework after it's due.

1.0
4.0
ENGR117
Feb 25, 2004

No Comments

1.0
4.0
ENGR116
Feb 25, 2004

No Comments

2.0
2.0
ENGR116
Apr 1, 2004

The one feeling most prevalent in his class: *sigh*.

5.0
1.0
ENGR117
Apr 14, 2004

This is the most informative FORTRAN course I've ever taken. Finally, we learn that an ancient, dying, archaic programming language is better than the most prevalent programming language in the world! <-- A BANG! operator

1.0
4.0
AAE204
Apr 14, 2004

Has openly admitted (not in class) that he does not like to teach students - would much rather be a research professor... he owes Purdue students to put in a transfer to somewhere else.

2.0
3.0
ENG116
Apr 15, 2004

No Comments

2.0
1.0
ENGR100
May 13, 2004

oh yes, he "teaches" this too. you can't miss a lecture or you fail. you can't fall asleep or you fail. so is that starbucks cup glued to his hand...?

1.0
4.0
ENGR117
Jun 26, 2004

No Comments

1.0
1.0
ENGR116
Aug 19, 2004

Don't bother asking questions - you will only be referred to Google/the completely useless course text. He claims thats how it works in engr. - funny, since in 3 years since, I've never been discouraged to ask questions.

3.0
3.0
ENGR116
Sep 5, 2004

No Comments

2.0
5.0
ENGR116
Sep 14, 2004

Professor Imbrie is a man on a mission to be a worthless teacher. Rather than let us TRY to understand the worthless lab instructor...he makes us play mastermind for 20 minutes...then we get a check for understanding about the stuff we SHOULD have done.

1.0
5.0
ENGR106
Sep 18, 2004

He mentioned he used to be in research is because he used to be in AAE. Unfortunately for him he just could not be in there because he is lack of 'skills' and the school could not fire him. So they send him to hell, Engr 106.

4.0
4.0
ENGR116
Oct 24, 2004

You know, the further into the semester we get, the better this guy gets. He comes off as a jerk in the beginning but he really isn't all that bad. Even though he has a really busy schedule, he's never unwilling to talk to students if they just come in and ask for it. He just wants people to try.

5.0
4.0
ENGR1167
Oct 25, 2004

Dr. Imbrie cares a whole lot about his students. He spends more hours than most people know or can imagine doing work for them and for his classes. He loves helping people! People can't handle not understanding things in college for the first time and they unfairly take it out on him.

4.0
5.0
ENGR116
Nov 17, 2004

very hard... hate matlab

2.0
3.0
ENGR116
Nov 30, 2004

No Comments

3.0
3.0
ENG116
Dec 14, 2004

I understand what he's doing and it IS useful but I just wish he would do what he says he'll do WHEN he says he'll do it. Remember the rubber band cars? We were graded on how well our predictions matched our performance. I think Imbrie should be paid that way. He would get about $5 each semester.

5.0
3.0
ENGR116
Dec 14, 2004

It's easy to hate a man in his position, but I don't. He works hard. Don't take your failures out on him.

4.0
3.0
ENGR116
Dec 15, 2004

He does a good job making us want to hate him. In class, he's a real ass, but if you catch him out of class, he's a really nice guy. I'm pretty sure he single-handedly stopped the advances of Hitler. He probably stopped the spread of communism too. He's just that damn dedicated.

2.0
3.0
ENGR116
Dec 15, 2004

This class, once over, is clearly excellent training for more difficult college days ahead. Though it is natural to hate the class while in it, the overload of work and vagueness of questions/lectures will undoubtedly prove to be useful experiences in the years ahead.

4.0
5.0
ENGR116117
Dec 16, 2004

I like PK, no matter what anyone says. His classes at least made this year's classes seem much easier, and I am so much more relaxed now that I don't have to do a stupid robot anymore.

3.0
5.0
ENGR116
Dec 25, 2004

This guy is, in a word, extremely idiotic.

4.0
5.0
ENGR116
Jan 1, 2005

Challenging, unclear, often leaves much work for TAs who get behind and as a result slow down the distribution of grades, etc. Don't expect to see any realistic measures of your aptitude during the semester.

2.0
5.0
ENGR116
Jan 13, 2005

This class was terrible. The material and the lectures are ok. The labs are horrible, with almost no instruction. Basically you and your team are by yourselfs in this class. Imbrie will always blab for a while about crap in each class. He seems to be fixated upon making people hate engineering.

2.0
4.0
ENGR116
Jan 19, 2005

I don't seriously think he wants us to quit engineering but the class was so disorganized at times it was pathetic. Instead of posting project demo times 3 days ahead like he said he would, it'd be done about 3 hours ahead. He also tends to ramble a lot. You have to work on your own to keep up.

4.0
3.0
AAE204
Jan 26, 2005

whats not to like...he brought our class krispy kreams and starbucks to wake us up.

1.0
5.0
ENGR117
Apr 19, 2005

Terrible, just terrible. He's ambiguous about everything. The homework and projects are never posted when he says they are. Dates are constantly changed and assignments revised, so you cant get work done.

5.0
3.0
ENGR117MOFOS
Apr 29, 2005

First of all, everyone who rated PK already and gave him bad ratings is a |/|00|3, seriously though. PK is the 1337357 prof ever, and if you dont understand that, quit now. PK is an arrogant ****..and I LOVE IT. He doesnt tell people what they want to hear, but what he wants to say I <3 PK IMBRIE

5.0
3.0
ENGR117
Apr 29, 2005

Everybody who has a problem with PK is an idiot. We're in college. Do you expect everything to be spoon-fed to you? You try to teach a class of over 100 people as well as him. His arrogance is great. So go ahead and cry to your mom that he said we suck. Don't b*tch because you failed. PK is great.

2.0
2.0
ENGR100
May 3, 2005

This guy is such a hardass. And a prick about everything.

1.0
2.0
ENGR106
May 4, 2005

Engr 106 project was a disaster when I took the class. Project had to be re-spec'ed midway through because the design was impossible given the specs from Imbrie.

2.0
5.0
ENGR117
May 4, 2005

This man doesn't seem to like his students very much, although that could just be his poor grasp of the English language shining through. Not only was his class ridiculous and bizarre, but he also screwed me over when registering for classes. Avoid him at all costs.

4.0
3.0
ENGR117
May 13, 2005

Uses high school teaching methodologies by keeping attendance and actually interacting with students. Does a wonderful job with the first year honors program, but the class is not the hallmark it should be. Purposefully vague all the time. Pretty boring when it comes to programming.

5.0
3.0
ENGR116117
Grade: A
Jul 11, 2005

The class is sometimes hard but the grades in the class are always good. He challenges you but that's a good thing and teaches you had to work well in teams. He's always willing to help to. So the class was stressful at time (alot of the time) he's a good professor.

3.0
5.0
ENGR116
Aug 30, 2005

No Comments

1.0
2.0
ENGR116
Sep 6, 2005

Probably the worst teacher ever. Comes in late every day with his Starbucks.

5.0
1.0
ENGR116
Oct 16, 2005

even though the class was hell looking back on it it was a huge help and a nice kick in the ass to start college

1.0
5.0
ENGR116
Grade: Pass
Nov 25, 2005

No Comments

2.0
4.0
ENGR116
Sep 22, 2006

I think he's crazy. thought he was doing everybody a favor by giving ambiguous requirements and then downgrading heavily on pointless details. He knows students hate him, but he might like it; actually called himself a mean **** on more than one occasion in class. Solely responsible for making me quit engineering, and this was an honors class!

3.0
4.0
ENGR126H
Jan 7, 2007

He's a really hard professor, but he is really good. He knows what he is doing and by the time you leave, you realize you have actually learned a lot. All you really have to do to get a good grade is put forth effort and make it clear that you are working hard.

2.0
3.0
ENGR126H
Jan 31, 2007

Extremely slow at putting things online. Final project is terrible (how is it realistic that in a job we won't be able to ask more than 5 questions a week?) Homeworks are trivial but made difficult through strange rules. However, as long as you show up and do decently on labs and exams, you'll get an A or a B.

1.0
5.0
ENGR116
Feb 2, 2007

The only professor I ever had who never released the final project assignment. For two months, he kept saying, "I'll get it up by next class."

4.0
5.0
ENGR117
Feb 15, 2007

Yes, the material is hard, but let's face it: ENGINEERING IS HARD. If he went easy on us now, we'd be in deeper trouble later on when it actually matters. As far as people hating him, he is very helpful if you approach him with a problem if you can't solve it yourself.

2.0
5.0
ENGR117
Jun 19, 2007

If you've got him, GOOD LUCK! you totally need it. You're going to get mad @ him, but just accept it and move on.

4.0
3.0
ENG103
Sep 21, 2007

Anyone who rates Prof. Imbrie poorly, needs to grow up. Good luck joining the work force and finding a boss that is clear in his demands and becomes your best buddy. In the mean time, why don't you switch to Liberal Studies where everyone is a slacker and high-fiving eachother all day. Maybe one day you'll grow up and understand!!

3.0
5.0
ENG126H
Oct 15, 2007

The class is horrible, but P.K. is a great teacher. He's a cool guy outside of class as well. I didn't agree with the class at all, but I have to admit that I liked his teaching style.

1.0
5.0
ENGR126H
Nov 21, 2007

Claims to prepare students, yet focuses on formalities rather than problem solving. I've taught myself several programming languages before his class, and only when learning with him have I found programming confusing. Motivated students have already taught themselves all information. Class is purposefully aimless to discourage potential engineers

2.0
5.0
ENGR126H
Nov 27, 2007

He has no clue how to teach. The entire class has been a massive GPA drain. I have no doubt that I would have an A in regular 126 but hell in this class I'll be lucky to get a C. What a waste of life.

2.0
5.0
ENGR126H
Dec 31, 2007

Entire class was ridiculous and vague

2.0
4.0
ENGR126H
Jan 7, 2008

this man ruined my life

1.0
5.0
HIST126
Jan 15, 2008

Very disorganized and nowhere near helpful

4.0
3.0
AAE204
Apr 9, 2008

I don't think he was that bad of a professor. He wasn't as tough as he was on his students in ENGR 126, but the class was still difficult. While the class was tough and at times confusing he was more than helpful outside of class, I spent a huge amount of time understanding the material and he helped me every step of the way.

2.0
3.0
ENGR116
Jul 14, 2008

Speaks as well as george W Bush and almost as intelligent.

4.0
5.0
ENGR126H
Jul 28, 2008

People who complain don't get the point of the class and his teaching style. Yes it sucks sometimes, yes you'll spend lots of late nights hating him, and yes you'll be leaps and bounds ahead of the regular engineering classes. To top it off just working hard usually gets you an A or B! The ambiguity is intentional and he really does a good job!

3.0
4.0
ENGR195
Nov 24, 2008

The man should be a centerfold for "Vague" magazine. And I'm pretty sure he said his research was in "teaming," which makes more sense with salmon than with people. But it's probably like jumping into a hot tub: hurts really bad at first, but lessens as you remain in it.

2.0
3.0
ENGR195
Jan 10, 2009

He was incredibly unorganized, both in the class format and in his expectations. He would say something one day and then say almost, but not quite, the opposite thing the next day. He would come to class late and the TA's had no idea what was going on. The class was only useful toward lowering my expectations of the engineering program.

3.0
5.0
ENGR195
Jan 29, 2009

Has an aggressive teaching style. Not the kind of teacher you want for a 7:30 class. Not great at helping you out, but scares you enough to make you figure things out yourself. His class was one of the few I actually studied for. Just remember that this is honors engineering for a reason.

2.0
3.0
ENGR126
Mar 2, 2009

PK is frustrating more than anything else. The class material isn't particularly hard, but the nature of the class is that it sucks up all your time and makes you worry so much about it that you start to neglect your other classes. It doesn't help that PK is VERY unorganized and can't manage to post things on time or even show up to class on time.

1.0
5.0
ENGR195
Apr 20, 2009

The classes have good intentions and, if organized a bit better, would be very highly useful. Imbrie on the other hand opts to berate students for questions and comments, is disorganized, comes to class less often than students, and today even "crucified" himself on the board, rather than responding to questions from the class.

1.0
4.0
ENGR195
May 7, 2009

Good topics covered, but for a two-credit hour class he expects way too much. Not to mention none of our finals started on time and often he didn't print enough out and we had to wait another 15 minutes. And he rarely bothers to show up to class and just lets the TAs do the work.

3.0
5.0
ENGR117
May 31, 2009

At heart, he is a nice guy. But he puts up a tough, demanding demeanor in class to push his students (honors kids) to near insanity. He is pretty good with explanations. The only problem is that he is also often deliberately vague, so communication, whether its related to material or assignments, is the biggest issue. He has a small army of TA's.

2.0
5.0
ENGR195
Jun 4, 2009

This professor is the kind of guy who probably reads ratemyprofessors.com to laugh evilly about all the mean things that people write about him. I think most students will come to appreciate this class in the future, but shortly after the suffering it is hard not to be bitter.

2.0
4.0
ENGR195H
May 11, 2010

While he may be the one prof that knows what he is talking about, the way he tries to present what he knows is horrible. His way of teaching are almost completely irrelevant to what shows up on the exam. His habit of not posting vital information until <12 hours before the event make life a hectic game of checking online every few hours for news.

1.0
5.0
ENGR195H
May 16, 2010

He tries hard to teach everything he thinks is important. However, when asked questions in class by students, he does not answer them, and turns them back around. Very unorganized, no schedule, and no grading scale. The TAs did all the teaching and were awesome!!

2.0
4.0
ENGR195H
May 17, 2010

Nice guy but totally irresponsible. The exams are impossible to prepare for as well. This class definitely toughens you up.

3.0
5.0
ENGR195H
May 1, 2011

The Honors program is the best decision I ever made at Purdue. While PK Imbrie is very unorganized, he understands how the industry works and how to teach a class that will prepare you for the vagaries of engineering in real life.

3.0
3.0
AAE204
May 1, 2011

He never showed up on time for class all semester, and sometimes his TA showed up instead. He teaches "concepts" but for students who dont understand the basic background stuff it is hard to paint the whole picture. He didnt give enough time on exams and was very unorganized!

3.0
4.0
ENGR195H
May 16, 2011

I don't feel like Imbrie really respects his students. This especially comes through when he fails to send out some email or notification that he promised he would do two weeks ago. If he's too busy to perform the basic duties of his positions, he needs to trim his career obligations.

2.0
4.0
ENGR195
Nov 7, 2011

I know he's prepping us for how school's going to be in the future, but the least he could do is teach the whole class - or leave his TA to be the professor. Quite fustrating trying to communicate with him. Try to get into one of the other H195 classes.

1.0
4.0
ENGR195H
Nov 20, 2011

ENGR195H was the worst class I have ever taken. Claims to prepare us for the 'real world' but all I learned is how to deal with idiot professors. Extremely disorganized, expects us to spend all our time working on projects, skips basics, not allowed to ask questions, and no grading scale. I am in 'real' classes now, and 195 did not help me at all.

2.0
5.0
ENGR195
Jan 1, 2012

Not really a bad guy, I do feel like he doesn't respect us though. Not a good teacher however.

1.0
5.0
ENGR111
Dec 12, 2013

Very unorganized and purposely makes assignments impossible. Do not walk.. RUN from this class.

1.0
5.0
ENGR117H
Grade: A-
Dec 16, 2013

Took this class in 2001. I can still remember how horrible he is. It doesn't prepare you for the real world. Mr. Imbrie is in love with himself more than engineering or teaching. Just awful.

3.0
4.0
ENGR116
Jan 2, 2015

Tough but the more I look back the more I value the punch in the face this class gave me. Following the process on problems where you already know the answer seems dumb until you realize you're actually learning the process in order to apply it to problems in real engineering life that are WAY harder. Always check your assumptions! :D

1.0
5.0
ENGR126H
Oct 31, 2017
Wouldn't take again

This man "teaches" engineering and honestly the class is really difficult, not because of the content. The teacher is disorganized, sends emails late, and doesn't let you ask questions in class. He claims to prepare you for the real world but I don't really feel prepared from this class

Tough Grader
LOTS OF HOMEWORK
GROUP PROJECTS
5.0
1.0
ENG1167
Grade: A
Jun 8, 2025
Would take again

i would take him again and again. he's awesome!

Hilarious
Caring
Respected
Class Info

Attendance Mandatory

100%

Textbook Required

100%

Grade Predictor

Your expected effort level

LowHigh

Predicted Grade

A+

62% confidence
Based on 4 grades
Most common grades:
A- (2)
A (2)
Pass (1)
Grade Distribution
A(2)B(0)C(0)D(0)F(0)A-/B+(2)
Based on 5 reported grades
A-: 2
A: 2
Pass: 1
Common Tags
Tough Grader (1)
LOTS OF HOMEWORK (1)
GROUP PROJECTS (1)
Hilarious (1)
Caring (1)
Respected (1)
Rating Trend

Improving

+0.23 avg change
Nov
Jan
Dec
Jan
Oct
Jun
Last 6 months
Ratings by Course

ENGR117MOFOS

5.0

(1)

ENG103

4.0

(1)

ENGR116117

3.3

(4)

ENG1167

3.0

(2)

ENG126H

3.0

(1)
+17 more courses
Difficulty by Course

ENGR11611

5.0

ENG126H

5.0

HIST126

5.0

ENGR111

5.0

ENGR117H

5.0

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