Student Reference

Even though Phil Trinh was not the official instructor for my Ordinary and Partial Differential Equations course, he volunteered to tutor a weekly “workshop.” Every Wednesday afternoon, we would huddle around a conference table and solve problems together. First, he would give a clear, easily-digestible 15-minute review of the material we learned. Then, we would each work through the thoroughly-prepared packet of problems.

Despite the solitary nature of these problems, Phil added an element of collaboration by designating two students as that week’s “helpers.” The helpers received the problems earlier, and Phil met with them the day before to go over questions and teach them how to best explain the questions and give hints. It is evident that Phil loves to teach, and through the “helper” system, he made us enjoy it too. Explaining ideas to others forced us to learn the material twice as well.

Phil dedicated an incredibly generous amount of time to preparing for and leading the workshops. The formula-based problems were well interspersed among more theoretical questions. He was also very skilled at working with a group of students from varying backgrounds of mathematical rigger; he helped those who were behind and challenged those who were ahead. He made the DiffEq concepts interesting, fun, and well within the grasp of any student.

I would highly recommend Phil to any student. The Princeton faculty is privileged to have him.

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