Expectations

What you can expect from me

My role is not just to lecture to you, but to train you. I approach this course with the mindset of a physicist and engineer: I value logic, systems, and first principles. My goal is to teach you to view biological complexity through that same structured lens, turning messy problems into solvable puzzles.

I set very high expectations because I know what is required to excel in this field. You can meet them, provided you are willing to engage deeply with the material. In return, I promise to be reliable and transparent. I will provide the scaffolding, the resources, and the honest feedback you need to grow. I view errors as data points, not failures; we will debug your process together.

I deliberately chose to teach. I pivoted from a career in the tech industry to academia because I found mentorship more rewarding than product development. My goal is to help you figure out where you want to go and give you the tools to get there. I invest deeply in students who take the time to come to office hours—not just to debug code, but to discuss their ambitions. I want to know you as a person, not just a roster entry, so I can be a resource for your career long after you leave this classroom.

I take our subject matter seriously, but I don’t take myself too seriously. You can expect dry humor and a candid, direct lecture style. True confidence comes from mastering difficult things, not from having the bar lowered. However, learning requires vulnerability: I will be honest about what I know and admit when I make a mistake (or a typo).

To be the best coach I can be, I practice sustainable working habits. You can expect me to be fully present and dedicated to you during class and scheduled office hours. In exchange, I expect you to respect my time boundaries.

• I respond to emails during business hours (M-F, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm). Emails sent on Friday evenings will generally receive a response on Monday/Tuesday. I encourage you to use that time to work on other problems or rest.
• Assessments will be graded within seven business days so that you can iterate on feedback quickly.

What I expect from you

I treat this classroom as a professional environment and view you as a junior colleague. I expect you to approach this course with professional curiosity, ownership, and resilience. In a professional setting, you aren’t paid to sit passively; you are paid to solve problems. The same applies here.

Authentic learning happens when you push past the edge of what you already know. If you are confused, that is not a sign of failure; it is a sign that you are building a new mental model. Do not shy away from the friction of learning complex systems. I expect you to persist through that initial difficulty. I will help, but you must put in meaningful effort.

You cannot master this material simply by listening to me talk. My lectures provide some mental framework and logic, but they will not teach you everything. You must build the structure yourself through independent study and practice.

I respect your time, and I do not assign busy work. Every reading and assignment has been designed to help you achieve a specific learning objective. In return, I expect you to be fully present in the classroom. Please restrict phone use and distractions so we can make the most of our contact time. Plan to engage with the course material for at least 5 hours each week outside of class. This is the standard required to succeed in a course of this rigor.

We are all individuals with different backgrounds. We will likely disagree on ideas, but our discourse must always remain civil, logical, and evidence-based.

Because I value mentorship, I want to help you before a problem becomes a crisis. Do not wait until you are drowning to ask for a life raft. Come to the office hours when you first smell smoke, not when the building is on fire.

While I strive for precision, I am human. If you catch an error on a slide or a mistake in the materials, please let me know! I am committed to getting it right, and I appreciate the peer review.