I took Zheng because I heard she was the lesser of 2 evils (Shivaram), but then I found out that a new physics professor (Matthew Joyce) was coming to UVA, and he had great reviews. I was too late to switch over, so I was stuck with Zheng. I know that physics covers a lot of material and we missed a couple of days due to snow, so we had to go fast, but she was not very clear. Also, it's almost impossible to stay awake. Show up for the clicker questions, see a demo (might or might not work), and fall asleep. Homework can be hard at times. Tests weren't bad, but the final was unnecessarily hard, and the huge curve at end of the course that I have heard every previous engineer talk about was almost nonexistent. Had Joyce for lecture once when Zheng was out, and he was so clear, and from what I've heard his tests are easier. Take Joyce if you can, but take Zheng over Shivaram.

Definitely avoid Zheng. Her accent/grammatical errors get in the way of understanding the material (especially when she doesn't speak clearly), and her notes are organized very poorly. She doesn't seem comfortable in front of people and as a result the class doesn't have any respect for her, so you won't be able to hear anything over everyone talking. Also, the homeworks, midterms, and the final are incredibly inconsistent with regard to content and difficulty. The class as a whole is structured quite badly and Zheng's teaching certainly doesn't help that.