Prof. Ramesh Yerraballi has been one of the most popular professors among students in Texas ECE for the better part of 17 years. Many students have battled through 306 - Intro to Computing or 319K - Intro to Embedded Systems with him. IEEE once voted him "Favorite Professor" three years in a row. Many students have enjoyed a yoga session with him on the lawn outside EER. But in September 2023, that all changed. For the first time in 17 years, there was no Yerraballi for the 23-24 academic year. Where did he go? We asked him.

Where did you go?

I took a year off from teaching and spent it in Taos, New Mexico with my family. While I was there, I was planning on finishing a book I am writing and renovating an old adobe house we bought. I did not make much progress on the book but successfully finished renovating the house. I also spent a lot of time with my family, hiking, skiing, fishing and playing soccer.

What did you miss the most while you were away?

I missed teaching, my friends and all the places I loved eating at in Austin.

What makes him so good?

Students gave a lot of reasons why he is so beloved:

"The best teacher in UT. He has a way of building your knowledge base and guiding your thinking process to tackle challenging topics. He actively listens and is very kind. In terms of lecture style, I love that he writes down the table of content on what you will learn today. Helps you get the bigger picture and anticipate the dots to connect."

"He is the greatest professor at UT. He understands what he teaches us. He is kind and endearing. He always helps you understand the bigger picture of content, as well as adding in the small intricate details that connects all of the concepts together. But overall, he is really funny! He keeps his thoughts real and even brings laughter to lectures."

"He is very kind and understanding."

"He always makes you feel comfortable when asking questions, and is truly passionate about what he does."

"This guy is the real deal. I started UT in 2020 and took Yerraballi for 306 my first semester. I had never met him in person, as we were all virtual at that time. Someone said my name as I was walking through the EER one day and I turned around and it was him. He remembered me from the limited interactions we had on zoom during the semester. That’s the kind of guy he is. He takes the time and cares about his students."

"He can simplify really hard topics and make them easy to understand."

"He slays so hard."
 

Here are some photos of Prof. Yerraballi renovating his home in New Mexico.