Getting Help¶
Having questions or getting stuck on something is entirely expected in the learning process. If you find something challenging with your studies, that is a sign you are learning! Learning is not something that you need to do alone though! In fact, connecting with your peers or asking a member of the course staff for help can add extreme depth to your knowledge.
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Synchronous Help (Office Hours): One place to go to get help is our Office Hours hosted throughout the week. TAs staff office hours for many hours a day to provide you the help you need when you need it! This is a great place to go if you want to review a particular course concept, work on a practice problem with the help of a TA or your peers, or get help on one of the take-home assessments if you are running into difficulties.
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Asynchronous Help (Ed Discussion): With a class of our size, directly emailing a member of the course staff is not always recommended. There are many of you and only few of us, so if you email one person directly we can’t make a guarantee how quickly we can respond! To alleviate this one-on-one communication of email, we have a course discussion board that will be a much more lively place for discussion and a way to make sure you can get helped more quickly. The message board is set up so that all of the course staff can help you, which will make it more likely for you to receive a quicker response!
Ed Tips
- If you are asking a general question about the course logistics or content, you can make a public post. This way other students can benefit from seeing your question, and you can even answer each other’s questions to share your perspectives!
- If you want, you can choose to post anonymously so that other students in the course can’t see your name. Note that anonymous posting does not hide your identity from the course staff.
- You’re encouraged to answer each other’s questions as well! Explaining a topic to someone else (even on a discussion board) is a great way to help you better understand the material The course staff will still look over student answers and can nicely point out some misconception if there is one so that everyone benefits.
- If you have a question that’s pretty specific to your homework solution, or, is about some personal details that you would not want to share with the class (e.g., DRS accommodations), you can make a private post on Ed that is only visible to the course staff. This way, any member of the staff can respond to get you the help you need!
- For personal sensitive matters that you only want to discuss with Wen, you can instead email Wen if that makes you feel more comfortable. Note that the response time for Wen’s email is longer than posting on the Ed board.
Instructor¶
Hello! My name is Wen and I am currently a Master’s student studying Computer Science in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering. I was born and raised in Guangzhou, China and moved to the US in 2017.
I took the very first offering of CSE 163 and absolutely loved the range and utility of the tools introduced and the eye-opening discussion on machine learning ethics. I found myself using the skills I picked up in this class in personal projects and internships, and have since then stayed on the staff to help develop the course materials to what it is today. I am super excited about being your instructor this summer and while my goal is to help y’all get the most out of the course, I am always open to feedback for improving it as well.
In my free time, I like playing video games, binge-watching anime, and listening to podcasts. I also enjoy making digital art on video game characters and doing small crocheting projects, so you might find me with hooks and yarn in the office sometimes 🧶. Feel free to give me recommendations on anything fun to do when you drop by my office hours :)
Teaching Assistants¶
Aishah Vakil she/her
Quiz Section: AA
Hello everyone! I’m Aishah and I’m a second-year student interested in computer science. I’m from Redmond, WA, so I’m pretty used to the PNW environment by now and I love it! In my free time, you’ll probably find me working my way through the endless bookstores and coffee/boba shops in the area. Let me know if you’d like to exchange recommendations! I also love watching movies and bothering my two cats.Â
CSE163 has been my favorite class so far at UW, so I decided to return and help out this quarter. This is my second time TAing and I’m super excited for what’s to come! If you have any questions or just want to chat, be sure to reach out or stop by my office hours :)
Aneesha Ramesh she/her
Quiz Section: AB
Hello everyone! My name is Aneesha, and I am a sophomore studying Computer Science. This is my second quarter TAing for CSE 163, and I’m super excited! I really loved taking CSE 163, and I hope you enjoy this class as much as I did. In my free time, I enjoy exploring Seattle, traveling, binge watching television shows, running, and playing with my dog. If you have any questions or just want to chat, feel free to reach out!
Ben Zhou he/him
Infrastructure
Hello! My name is Benjamin but you can just call me Ben :D. For the past 9 years I’ve lived in Bellevue Washington and before that I lived in Ottawa, Canada where I was born. My family is originally from Shanghai but then moved to North America many years ago. In my free time you’ll find me playing volleyball at the IMA or practicing/composing piano music. CSE163 has been one of my favorite classes and I really hope you guys enjoy it too. Feel free to shoot me an email you have questions about anything and I’m forward to a great quarter together.
James Cao he/him
Quiz Section: AC
Hello! My name is James Zheng Cao, a junior studying Mathematics. I am really excited to be a CSE 163 TA for the 2nd time! I went to high school in Southern California and spent my earlier years in Jiangsu, China. I love music, exercise, reading, writing poems, cooking, gaming… I have done a series of math research and modeling competitions involving programming and machine learning. Currently, I am working on a financial mathematics project developing better stock trading models based on different neural networks for 177,000 companies. Feel free to reach out to me to talk about anything!
Karen Velderrain-Lopez she/her
Quiz Section: AB
Hi y’all!! I’m Karen and I am a third year majoring in Computer Engineering. I was born and raised here in Redmond and my favorite parts of the PNW are the coffee and the boba.
CSE 163 was my first CSE class here at the UW and I had an amazing experience; it’s what helped push me to apply to CompE, and although it can be tough at times, it was definitely the right choice for me. This summer I’m focusing on learning more recipes, visiting more cafes, and playing genshin :))
Come by to chat about anything above or anything else - I’m sure we have at least something in common 😊
Paolo Pan he/him
Infrastructure
Hello all! My name is Paolo Pan, and I’m a third-year student studying Computer Science. This is my second time TAing for this class.
Outside of school, I spend most of my time playing video games(Elder Ring) and hanging out with my friends. Recently, I have also started to learn how to cook; I was not very successful, but hopefully I will get better at it at the end of the quarter!
Ryan Siu he/him
Quiz Section: AC
Hi there! I was born and raised in Northern California where I developed a keen interest in good food and videogames. I came to UW right out of high school pursuing a degree in CS and TAing for a few quarters along the way. In my free time I’ve been brushing up on my soup-making skills and learning how to record some songs. Feel free to ask me about music, cooking, or anything else on your mind.
Sabrina Fang she/her
Infrastructure
Hey! My name is Sabrina Fang and I’m a sophomore majoring in Informatics. I also intend to double degree in Geography with Data Science option. Most of my free time is spent on digital art and origami, but I’m also big on thrifting and trying new restaurants on the Ave. I welcome any recommendations! I’m super excited to be TAing this quarter and hope you all find this course as fun and interesting as I did. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or would just like to chat :)
Suh Young Choi she/her
Quiz Section: AA
Hi folks! I’m Suh Young (not Suh—common mistake!), and I’m a rising senior double-majoring in Statistics and Classics. Unconventional combination, but hey, both involve urns to some degree! I did most of my growing up in Northeast Arkansas and I’ve been vaguely adulting in Seattle for the past few years.
This is my third quarter TA’ing for CSE 163, and I’m super excited for it! I’m quite fond of CSE 163 and Python in general. I think machine learning and data analysis are both pretty neat, and this class is a great intro to both topics! Fun fact: this was the only CS class at the UW I didn’t pull any all-nighters for! (I did take it in the summer, though, so it’s completely possible I never saw the sun go down…)
I try to be a pretty avid reader and writer in addition to keeping my math and coding skills sharp. Some of my not-very-CSE-related interests include Shakespearean tragedy, language learning, European musicals, and the Marvel Cinematic/Disney-Plus’ed Universe. Come down to office hours for questions, chill vibes, and/or impromptu puns.