Reviews for ENME202

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Avik Dutt ENME202 Expecting an A- Anonymous 01/30/2024	Pretty good professor, teaches the concepts well. Was neither particularly engaging nor boring, but was always friendly and there to help. Would recommend.
Avik Dutt ENME202 Expecting a B- Anonymous 12/26/2023	Dr. Dutt is very nice and he teaches well. Although this class was hard, it was the most enjoyable to go to since he went slow enough to understand at the moment (so there was less stress). However, I am not giving five stars because his exams are awful. The reason the curves are so steep are because he tests on stuff he has never mentioned before or said once. The most confusing things were asked on the exams, and if you do the assignments yourself and understand them, it helps a lot, but not nearly as much as you need. There are "select all that apply" and true and false type questions, and if you do not know all of the minute details about everything, it is so easy to miss so many points. If the whole exam was based on writing code or looking at it then it would be fair, but my semester this was not the case and I would have done so much better if it was (and I try hard). If he made the exams fair then he would earn the extra star. Also, I was told by the TAs that is is virtually impossible to fail the class because of the curve (stated later for my semester and based on a standard deviation). 35% is from assignments and 65% is from those "gotcha" exams. Finally, for those wondering, 94%=A+, 87%=A, 82%=A-, 78%=B+, 72%=B, 63.5%=B-, 58%=C+, 50%=C, 40%=C-
Avik Dutt ENME202 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/06/2023	He's super smart and really knows his stuff, much more helpful than all the TAs (who are also pretty good btw). Very responsive to email, always posts lecture slides and code from class. Only problem is that he expects us to really understand and have mastered the material - like all the studios and hw require way more conceptual understanding of how coding works than the average student possesses, and the exams are therefore super hard bc he'll give us problems that I've never seen before on concepts that we talked about on a surface level. Def not an intro to coding class, if you already know C++ and MATLAB you'll only be semi-bored.
Don DeVoe ENME202 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/21/2023	DeVoe was a great professor overall. The lecture times for his class were horrible but that was not something that he could control and you can tell that he tried his very best to teach the material and what you needed to know for the class. Exams were fair but they can be hard. One tip for this class is that if you have coding experience for other languages but not MATLAB, do not be cocky as the programming language is not similar to really any other but C++ is a lot easier to understand if you have prior experience with object oriented languages like Java. For those with no experience whatsoever, do not fear as DeVoe is very accommodating and teaches the class on the basis that you have zero experience for programming. He is very knowledgeable with these programming languages and while I have a good amount of experience with programming, having a refresher on some important topics were well appreciated. One of the best professors you will have in college.
Avik Dutt ENME202 Expecting a B- Anonymous 03/29/2023	I liked this class and Prof Dutt takes a lot of effort into teaching the course material well and explaining things that are difficult to understand.
Avik Dutt ENME202 Expecting an A- Anonymous 03/03/2023	I was extremely nervous to take this class. I had heard first-hand from a friend about how bad the course would be, especially the exams. And to be fair, the exams were difficult. The studios and the homework assignments were time consuming, often taking longer than the 2 hour period we had. However, Avik is GREAT. His rating being anywhere below 4 stars is just not fair. He's kind and considerate to students' needs. He moves at a pace that anyone can understand if they're paying attention. He is always taking the time to stop, ask for questions, and then fully answer each one. Despite being a very new professor, he is good at his job and cares about improving. If I'm given the option to take classes with him in the future, I will 100% choose Avik.
Avik Dutt ENME202 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/27/2022	As basically everyone has already said and is close to universal opinion, Professor Dutt is tremendous at lecturing and does a phenomenal job. He responds to emails quicker than any professor I have had and is among the most understanding. I am shocked to see how low the current rating is, but I am optimistic that as Professor Dutt gains more experience with running the course, people's opinions will rise as well. As someone with a CS background, the course is structured in a very difficult way to teach, first starting with MATLAB and then moving to C++. Teaching two languages in the course of the semester (although only going into the basics) is a task nearly impossible, especially branding itself as a beginner programming class. Many of the beginners in the class seemed to struggle with this being their first coding experience as this is the first coding class in the mechanical and aerospace engineering programs. Regardless, Professor Dutt cares and tries his best to make the class accessible to all backgrounds of coding experience, he even asks students if they have any ideas for improving the class and the learning. I believe the class exams are the source of the biggest weakness as it would be more productive to focus less on debugging minor things that any IDE/compiler will tell you and more on the mechanics and how the code functions. Coming from a CS background, when I got my final back I was shocked at the amount of things I got wrong because I missed a fairly minor syntax error hidden somewhere in the given code and I wish there would be more parts on exams writing code/pseudocode since writing code is the single most fundamental aspect to the class. However with the low exam scores (averages of 63.8% and 53%), the exams will probably be edited in the future due to the caring and attentive nature of Professor Dutt and even if they are not, the curve is quite generous.
Avik Dutt ENME202 Anonymous 12/24/2022	W prof. L TAs.
Avik Dutt ENME202 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/21/2022	Professor Dutt is a nice guy and in lectures, he explains things well. Although his midterm was difficult he gives a pretty large curve to make up for it, and he made the final far less difficult. He is also very flexible and is willing to push back due dates and give extra credit if the class asks for it. Some of his TAs were unhelpful but, Professor Dutt answered questions well. The class was tough but the professor was not bad at all.
Avik Dutt ENME202 Anonymous 12/20/2022	Prof Dutt is very nice and can explain concepts very well. I went to his office hours and he did an excellent job walking me through the problems. He was also willing to provide an occasional extension on the HW when warranted. I'd say Dutt was a 5/5 professor. However, I can't quite say the same about the class as a whole. Studios and HWs were very involved, at least for me with no prior programming experience, so I needed lots of help, unfortunately so did everyone else so there were too many people per TA during the studio sections. This meant that if you had a question on a hard studio, you had to wait quite a while to get help, and god help you if you had a second question. Thankfully you were allowed to finish studios during office hours, but I don't know what I would have done if my schedule didn't align with those. I'll leave a 5-star review because like I said, Dutt as a professor was very solid. Given that this was the first time he taught this course I have a good feeling many of my issues will hopefully be worked out for anyone taking the class in the future.
Avik Dutt ENME202 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/20/2022	Professor Dutt is a very good, nice, and understanding professor that would always try to explain the concept to you and his Office hours is the best. This is a difficult course, but the problem is seriously the TAs. Most of the TAs do not even know what is going on or how to help us, but they will design the hardest studios and homework possible. For what I have noticed, Professor Dutt do not design the homework or studios, he just checks if they are doable by us, and a lot of the times he had to cut them by as much as half because they were simply too complex. The TAs do not understand how difficult it is for us sometimes, and when we ask for help in our code, they most of the time confuse us even more or just tell us to google straight up. The hardest part about this course is the studios that are on zoom. They say that we should need 2 hours but outside of the first two studios, I have never completed the others in just two hours. Sometimes it took me several days to complete them because I had no idea what the hell they wanted us to code, and do not expect the TAs to make the questions clearer because they won't. The main TA is Kevin who would always design the hardest studios and homework ever, but his office hour is on Friday which is useless because the assignments are due on Thursday. Personally, I would say that Professor Dutt is fine but them TAs are useless. During the studios Kevin would be the only one to help but the other just check you off, if you have a problem, they will send you back to Kevin which won't always answer your question because they are so many people that needs them.
Avik Dutt ENME202 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/16/2022	Prof. Dutt is a very nice person and takes a lot of effort into explaining things in the lectures. He is also very approachable in office hours or over email. Granted C++ is tough, but there is a curve to the grading.
Avik Dutt ENME202 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/15/2022	Professor Dutt is good professor. He's helpful in office hours and answers questions well and thoroughly in class. He is also willing to be flexible and push back assignments if people ask him too. He also gives a pretty large curve, and although the class can be a lot of work, part of this is due to the TAs who were unhelpful during the studios and not because of Professor Dutt.
Avik Dutt ENME202 Expecting a B- Anonymous 12/13/2022	I'm gonna be straight forward. The professor? 3/5. The course? 1/5. One thing I'd like to highlight beforehand is that the first half of the semester is MATLAB, with the midterm being based around MATLAB, and the second half is C++, with the final exam being focused solely on C++. MATLAB is...okay... but C++ is AWFUL. I'll mainly be focusing on the C++ portion sicne MATLAB is somewhat manageable. Professor Dutt is a great person and is reasonable when it comes to grades and curving. He was good with teaching MATLAB programming, but C++ was definitely a weakness. C++ on its own is difficult, but explaining it in a lecture style class is definitely a horrible idea. Professor Dutt means well, but I can say with confidence that I will not remember a single thing about complex coding when this course is over. Lectures are almost useless since a majority of it is professor Dutt pulling up C++ or MATLAB code and explaining how it works rather than working through it from scratch. He also types and explains fast, so as a student you are limited to how much time you have to copy the code. Have your phone ready to take pictures of the code. MATLAB can be a useful skill in the future, especially with math courses such as MATH241 and MATH246. C++ is not easy, and you will have to teach yourself for a large majority of the course. For booth coding methods, I would recommend going into ENME202 with some sort of background knowledge of MATLAB and C++ basics, or be prepared to sit down for HOURS during the semester teaching yourself. The studios, although the curriculum says they should only take you 2 hours, can take you up to 4 since you are given no guidance or clear directions. The TAs are useless. The head TA when I took the course was Kevin Chieu, who clearly knows how the studios are supposed to be done, but gives EXTREMELY vague advice, or will simply repeat the question to you if you ask about it. The other TAs simply check you out, not helping with the actual coding process. What makes the studios extremely difficult is that it's online via zoom, so rather than having the assignment explained to you in person and your code looked at 1 on 1, you have to share your screen on zoom, which can give your hard work and code away to anyone in the call. The studios would be EXTREMELY more effective and easier to understand if done in person. The homework assignments will definitely take up a large portion of your free time, so designate a solid 4 hours per week to the homework, 1 of which will be you actually typing something and the other 3 being you trying to figure out what the heck your supposed to do in the first place or crying, because coding sucks. Some of the code you can find online, but otherwise, hehe, good luck! In summary, Professor Dutt is a good person, but he's teaching abilities are questionable, but that's to be expected when it comes to a college level coding course I presume. Professor Dutt is also relatively new tot the university and education as a whole, so he's not doing too bad as a starting professor. The course (ENME202 or ENAE202, since they're the same thing) will be the bane of your existence. It is a weave our course for engineers, so be prepared. I'm not trying to scare anyone, I'm just trying to be as honest as possible.
Avik Dutt ENME202 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/12/2022	As far as I can tell a lot of these other reviews have had bad experiences with the studios that the TAs make rather than the professor. Professor Dutt is really good and will make sure to answer any questions that pop up in the lecture thoroughly. He also tries to learn names in class (even though the class may be quite large) and will push back due dates/shorten studios if he thinks they're unfair. Professor Dutt is also very approachable and you can tell that hes passionate about what hes teaching. The curve he gives is also very forgiving (prior to the final a 50% is a C) and he has said he will curve more after the final.
Avik Dutt ENME202 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/08/2022	Professor Dutt is an extremely nice professor, and an extremely intelligent individual. However, this course is much more difficult than it needs to be. Lecture is useless. He always waits until 5-10 minutes after the class start time to begin lecture. He reads off one two or three slides with minimal information, and then codes infront of us for the remaining 30 minutes of class. You will be spending more than just one or two hours to complete some of his homeworks and studios. You will not finish the studios within the alotted 2 hour time frame. On average, you will spend 4-5 hours on 1 studio assignment, and a lot of studios have taken me multiple days to figure out. Studios are the worst part of this course. They were held on zoom, and you could never get the help you needed because every other student is just as lost as you are. Studios should be held in person as I don't think they worked that well online. Office hours were often packed too. I've always had to wait half an hour or more just to get some help or ask a question, and most of the time you get a vague, unhelpful responses, especially from certain TA's . The homeworks are little bit easier than the studios imo, but you will spend a similar amount of time on home work as you do studios. By the end of the course you will easily spend 10+ hours a week on this course. ENME350 is less of a pain in the butt than this course.
Avik Dutt ENME202 Expecting a C Anonymous 12/06/2022	Prof Dutt is good at his job even though he’s new.
Avik Dutt ENME202 Expecting a B- Anonymous 12/06/2022	The studios are involved and I did struggle at first but got the hang of things later. The lecturer does a decent job of teaching C++.
Avik Dutt ENME202 Expecting a C Anonymous 12/05/2022	Taking 202 with him right now and he was alright for the matlab part, but once we got to c++ it went down hill. During lectures he is so disorganized and really hard to follow. He does his best to explain the concepts, but the explanations are confusing at times. The studios are too long and difficult. If you never coded before be prepared to spend 2+ hours on the studios/HW. If he is the only option for 202 then learn as much C++ as u can before taking the course.
Avik Dutt ENME202 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/05/2022	I find Professor Dutt to be quite approachable and helpful during office hours. The course material is quite interesting and the assignments really helped me learn useful concepts.
Avik Dutt ENME202 Expecting a C Anonymous 11/14/2022	This professor has been difficult to work with for most of the semester. He has poor communication and organizational skills, i.e. changes due dates for assignments. I hope I do not have to take another one of his classes. I get the feeling he doesn't take this class seriously. The nice thing is there is a curve to the grading.
Avik Dutt ENME202 Expecting a C Anonymous 11/13/2022	This professor has been difficult to work with the entire semester. He has poor communication skills and organization, i.e. changes the due dates of assignments. I will be avoiding him for the rest of my time at college park.
Monifa Vaughn-Cooke ENME202 Expecting a B Anonymous 02/24/2022	Just fine is what I can say. Lectures are pretty basic, the slides are somewhat useful. Early on the homework is very easy, but as the semester goes the homework and studios get harder. Studios are wildly hit or miss, in my section the one TA would spend the entire class helping one student, and the other would basically say "you don't understand the problem, you need to reread." Yea no s*** that's why people are asking for help. Studio is automatic 100% if you go in person, regardless of correctness or completion, but you have to put in effort. There is mandatory attendance via clicker quizzes that are graded only on completion. Do the homework early, do the studio early or go in person. Exam review was insufficient. I think to get an A you need to find practice material outside what's provided in the class, or come in with prior programming knowledge. You can easily get a B if you do all assigned work and review problems, even if you have no prior experience.
Don DeVoe ENME202 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/20/2021	DeVoe was an okay teacher, but a chill person that likes to joke from time to time. His lecture notes were simple to follow and review, but the studio and homework assignments were more complex than what was taught in the lecture. A big way to learn the material came from going to TA/TF office hours. Since this was done virtually, not sure how the class will run in person, but if possible, going to office hours and working with friends is a big way to be successful in the course. DeVoe struggled with online learning as he had technical difficulties throughout the semester, but he was very knowledgeable about MATLAB and C++. DeVoe tried his best, but the course itself is challenging if you are unfamiliar with coding.
Sami Ainane ENME202 Expecting an A- Anonymous 01/20/2021	This is a difficult rating to give because programming is not easily taught through lectures, you really just have to use the studios to practice, and make sure you do all the homework. He's a nice guy and tries to answer every question as well as he can, but sometimes he didn't have the answer or other students would correct him. As his first semester teaching I'd say he did well though, he kept everyone informed and was clear about the expectations of the studios and exams. There was some disorganization but I'd expect that to go away as he gets more experience.
Don DeVoe ENME202 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/20/2020	Best professor I have had so far. Explains concepts really well, and takes the time to create really engaging course material.
Don DeVoe ENME202 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/25/2019	Good. Hard course and slightly boring lectures, but fair exams. Homework was not easy, but good for learning material
Johan Larsson ENME202 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/22/2018	Larsson was a pretty good teacher. Although the material gets kinda crammed throughout the last few weeks of class, if you do the homeworks without getting help unless you absolutely need it and you try in studios, you should get an A.
Johan Larsson ENME202 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/15/2018	Very fun to listen to even though what he was talking about was mundane as hell. He will answer any questions you ask of him directly and he even gives the option of regrading.