Teaching

Classes were interesting. powerpoint handouts were helpful. i really liked the project – i learned a ton and it was much more valuable than having a final exam. i enjoyed the real-world exposure and getting feedback from professionals in the field.
Professor Zekkos is obviously very serious about teaching and very passionate about this subject. That made this class so much more enjoyable. On top of that, he is probably one of the most approachable professors I have ever had. Thanks for the semester, Professor!
Absolutely enjoy Prof. Zekkos’ method of teaching. I use his method as a ruler to judge other professors teaching methods. He makes it easy to learn and understand the core concepts of a class. I especially enjoy that the homeworks are based on real world problems instead of just textbook problems.

Great focus on the truly important things such as intuition over formulas. liked the quotes.”
“The instruction in this class was great. Dr. Zekkos did a good job of covering a broad group of subjects. This gives a good base of knowledge for those going into geotech and helps those of us that will be in other concentrations understand what to look for and consider when we enter the working world. I especially appreciated Dr. Zekkos’s enthusiasm and real life examples, which make the material much more interesting. He motivates me to work hard to excel and learn, especially outside of the classroom. Finally, his willingness to meet and discuss not only course material, but also the students’ lives and interests makes him very approachable and easy to talk to.”
“I think the instruction in this course was excellent. Professor Zekkos was constantly available for office hours and questions, and even if the material was difficult to understand, I was never worried, because I knew that Professor Zekkos would respond to my email or be able to meet to help me to learn it.”
“This course sparked an interest in the field of geotechnical engineering for me. I found the material to be very interesting. I believe the instruction of the course was excellent and the methods of teaching were very helpful.”
“An excellent course. I have a much greater appreciation for geotech engineering although I am planning to concentrate on structures. Professor Zekkos was one of the best professors I have at at UM. It is very clear that he is passionate about what he does. He expects a lot of us, but he always explains why. I feel more prepared for a future in graduate school and the industry. The lab section of this course is the most valuable lab I have taken in CEE so far. I found the labs to be very relevant to what we learned in class. They greatly improved my understanding of the material. Mustafa was an excellent GSI and explained things very well. I did not buy the textbook for this class and I found that I did not need to. I checked it out of the library once to complete a homework assignment. In the future, it might be beneficial to list the book as ‘recommended’ instead of ‘required’ although the reason I did not need to book could be because Professor Zekkos’s completeness in lecture. I enjoyed going to lecture. It never seemed like a chore. Great class!”
“Professor Zekkos – The emphasis placed on experience and professional engineering was enlightening and helpful”
“I liked how he talked a lot about real world cases involving geotechnical engineering. It made things a lot more interesting.

“Professor Zekkos was a great professor. I will miss having him as a professor. He truly cares about his class and students.”
“Professor Zekkos contributed significantly to this course. He was always extremely well prepared, clear, enthusiastic, and occasionally genuinely funny. In general this class was very well organized and fair. I really liked to balance between presentation of theoretical concepts, and practical application. I find it difficult to provide any critique.”
“Clear, concise, and to the point. Especially enjoyed examples of real world applications.”

“One of the strongest points in this course is the homework. I like the homework that makes the students put theories, equations, and so on from the class into practice. Even though it takes so much time to do the homework, it is so worth for the experience in engineering practice.”
“The instruction was clear and presented in a logical manner. There seemed to be a reassuring connection between class concepts and real world applicability.”
“Very good course. I especially liked the semester project, and I learned a lot from having to do outside research on my own. It helped seeing many of the methods we discussed in class actually being used in the Publications”
“I enjoyed the method in which lectures were presented. The explanations were clear, and the explanation of concepts on the blackboard was helpful in learning the material. The homework assignments and research project were interesting and relevant. The instructor was very enthusiastic about the subject and imparted this to the students.”

“This was a great course. I feel like I have gained alot of knowledge from it. The instructor did an excellent job and I admire his passion for the course content and for teaching. His teaching style was very practice-oriented and I feel that this was very beneficial to the students. I also greatly appreciate the instructor’s willingness to help students outside of class with not only the course content, but more importantly career goals. I feel that the instructor has made a great impression on me and that I will benefit from this course and the instructor’s advice for years to come.I have no suggestions for improvement. Perhaps, however it would have been nice if the semester project were assigned a little bit earlier in the semester to allow students to think about it as they learn the course material.”