Laxman Dhulipala | PlanetTerp

Information	Review
Laxman Dhulipala CMSC858N Expecting an A Anonymous 05/23/2024	Already wrote a review for his version of 451, but he's also great for grad-level parallel algorithms.
Laxman Dhulipala CMSC451 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/17/2024	I took 451 with Laxman Fall 2023. By far my favorite CS professor, hands down. He was very knowledgeable, very nice, and very relatable. He frequently expressed his confidence in all of us to succeed in the class and in our future careers. No CS professor I've had so far has actually encouraged me to have a growth mindset. I'd take him again if I could! 451 challenges your brain in all the right ways. Laxman and his TAs handpicked assignment questions to be as interesting as possible, and it really showed. They were difficult and took a lot of time to do, but were engaging. Lowest assignment grade was dropped, and your overall grade was calculated in a way that maximized your strongest scores and minimized your weakest ones. This format ensured that you were set up for success, and as long as you put in the effort, you would get a good grade. I don't know what else to say other than to take him if you can as you will not be let down!
Laxman Dhulipala CMSC451 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 01/29/2024	I agree with most of what has already been said about Laxman for CMSC451 over the fall 2023 semester, but I wanted to add another 5-star review because he deserves it.
Laxman Dhulipala CMSC451 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/11/2024	This professor is fantastic, and I would take any class taught by him. The homework (both written and programming) is challenging and time-consuming, but the course overall is manageable. Exams are medium-hard difficulty but fair. Both Laxman and the teaching assistants are super helpful and quick to respond. The lectures get complex sometimes, but that's expected with this class. You'll need to dedicate time outside of class to review lectures and read the textbook for a clearer understanding. Laxman genuinely cares about your learning, telling us to focus on learning while he takes care of our grades, and he really means it. His extensive industry experience really helps with understanding the applicability of the coursework. In my opinion, he's the best professor in the Computer Science department!
Laxman Dhulipala CMSC451 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/06/2024	Probably the best professor I have had here at UMD. Very understanding and caring professor. Makes the homeworks hard intentionally but gives you more than enough time and resources to do well on them. Definitely recommend taking the class with him
Laxman Dhulipala CMSC451 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/25/2023	Long homeworks, but very willing to help and super nice to talk to. Lectures are usually pretty good, but the content isn't always the most interesting.
Laxman Dhulipala CMSC451 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/24/2023	The grading scheme for this semester was very very generous. The midterm and final are only worth 30% of our grade, while 70% is on homework. However, the drawback was that the homework was extremely time-consuming. There were 2 parts for each homework, writing (70-80%) and coding (20-30%). I really enjoyed the coding assignments, the difficulty varied from easy to medium to hard, just like leetcode. Ngl the homework took me at least 40 hours for each. But the TAs are super helpful, we could always ask them to verify our solutions or explain the concepts. Feel free to go to OH if you are struggling in the course. Laxman is very nice and responsive on piazza. He's a great lecturer as well. He also cares very much about his students, given that we got like 4-5 extensions on the homework. The course wasn't easy but you'll definitely learn alot. Take it with him if possible. The cutoffs were reasonable, as long as you spend time on the coursework, there's no way to fail the class.
Laxman Dhulipala CMSC451 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/23/2023	If I could rate him more than 5 starts, I would. Prof Dhulipala is very understanding. He wants to make sure everyone will take CMSC451 and pass it. Office hours are your best friend, he will try his best to answer your questions. Homeworks are quite difficult (as expected) but exams are very fair!! I would say the lectures vary in terms of speed. Sometimes he goes through material fast since there is a lot to cover and imo it was just better to listen and not take notes. (He also record lectures and uploads them!). All in all, awesome professor for CMSC451
Laxman Dhulipala CMSC451 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/22/2023	Laxman has been my favorite professor so far in my career at UMD. He has a strong passion for the course material and is always looking for ways to make the course more effective in passing that passion on to students. In many ways, 451 just picks up where 351 finished, so you spend time diving deep into a lot of different algorithmic ideas and patterns in a way that really helps you to strengthen your algorithmic thinking. It's also still just a survey course of algorithms, and after finishing this course I feel like a whole world has opened up to me. This semester we had competitive programming-style homework problems on CodeForces as well as written theory homeworks. You could pick any language you liked to implement your solutions. I really liked this way of teaching the course since it kept a strong focus on algorithm theory (very fun) but also forces you to really understand how to implement algorithms in practice. Definitely take Laxman, he cares.
Laxman Dhulipala CMSC451 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/12/2023	Laxman is a great professor. He is very knowledgeable about algorithms (particularly graph algorithms and parallel algorithms). He is responsive to student feedback, and most importantly, he picks interesting topics to cover in the class. There is one homework every two weeks with a written and coding part. In my opinion, the coding parts were more challenging than the written part in most cases. He ended up giving a lot of extensions this semester, but hopefully in the future he will do a better job making the assignments doable in two weeks and sticking to that deadline. The ones towards the middle of the course are the hardest, but just try all of the problems, go to office hours and don't worry about your grade. The grading scheme is super favorable, so just focus on learning. The mitderm was easy as well.
Laxman Dhulipala CMSC451 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 04/07/2023	The homeworks are definitely long, but Laxman was extremely responsive on piazza and always answered questions clearly in class. Was caring and compassionate during office hours which you should definitely take advantage of.
Laxman Dhulipala CMSC451 Anonymous 03/09/2023	Homeworks take extremely long, no consideration for students, doesnt respond to emails, condescending, take someone else if at all possible. biggest regret of my life.
Laxman Dhulipala CMSC451 Expecting a C+ Anonymous 12/19/2022	Had the other section, but I watched his lecture videos instead. Beast. Never left me hanging on Piazza. As far as the class goes, the homeworks made me want to cry. The dynamic programming homework was so hard for me that I started to resent the course.
Laxman Dhulipala CMSC451 Expecting a C Anonymous 12/06/2022	New professor from industry, but has an excellent handle on a few areas that other professors struggle with. First of which is relating abstract material to real life. He manages to do this most often by incorporating the history and intuitions from which algorithms were developed into the introduction to learning them. Second of which, he takes time to engage with the class ALL THE TIME, and will not often leave a question unanswered. If he does, he usually clears it up after class. Exceedingly responsive on Piazza and ridiculously welcoming in office hours. Prof Dhulipala is a wonderful and passionate teacher, and I urge you not to take the kindness for granted nor take advantage of it, but instead take this opportunity to learn! The course material is rough, no doubt, but it is not for lack of teaching skill. The homeworks take a LONG time. I waited until far later in the semester than I should have to get assistance with them, so I will say this: do not push this class to the backburner to focus on other easier assignments first. I would say the best strategy would be to take some time to at least write questions you have about the homeworks at face value, early on, so you have something concrete to bring to office hours, and then go early to get guidance and intuition. Getting even a little bit of help goes miles.
Laxman Dhulipala CMSC451 Expecting an A Anonymous 11/17/2022	Lectures are written on iPad. He keeps lectures interesting by relating algorithms to the history and intent of them in the past. His explanations focus on building intuition for algorithms and he answers questions thoroughly. The class is good for building general algorithms intuition which may help in other coursework. The class is a decent amount of work, the homeworks each take 6-8 hours and are quite difficult. The exams are reasonable. He is open to suggestions since he is new at teaching but he is doing a good job already.

Laxman Dhulipala
CMSC451

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
05/17/2024

I took 451 with Laxman Fall 2023. By far my favorite CS professor, hands down. He was very knowledgeable, very nice, and very relatable. He frequently expressed his confidence in all of us to succeed in the class and in our future careers. No CS professor I've had so far has actually encouraged me to have a growth mindset. I'd take him again if I could! 451 challenges your brain in all the right ways. Laxman and his TAs handpicked assignment questions to be as interesting as possible, and it really showed. They were difficult and took a lot of time to do, but were engaging. Lowest assignment grade was dropped, and your overall grade was calculated in a way that maximized your strongest scores and minimized your weakest ones. This format ensured that you were set up for success, and as long as you put in the effort, you would get a good grade. I don't know what else to say other than to take him if you can as you will not be let down!

Laxman Dhulipala
CMSC451

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
01/29/2024

I agree with most of what has already been said about Laxman for CMSC451 over the fall 2023 semester, but I wanted to add another 5-star review because he deserves it.

Laxman Dhulipala
CMSC451

Expecting an A
Anonymous
01/11/2024

This professor is fantastic, and I would take any class taught by him. The homework (both written and programming) is challenging and time-consuming, but the course overall is manageable. Exams are medium-hard difficulty but fair. Both Laxman and the teaching assistants are super helpful and quick to respond. The lectures get complex sometimes, but that's expected with this class. You'll need to dedicate time outside of class to review lectures and read the textbook for a clearer understanding. Laxman genuinely cares about your learning, telling us to focus on learning while he takes care of our grades, and he really means it. His extensive industry experience really helps with understanding the applicability of the coursework. In my opinion, he's the best professor in the Computer Science department!

Laxman Dhulipala
CMSC451

Expecting an A
Anonymous
01/06/2024

Probably the best professor I have had here at UMD. Very understanding and caring professor. Makes the homeworks hard intentionally but gives you more than enough time and resources to do well on them. Definitely recommend taking the class with him

Laxman Dhulipala
CMSC451

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
12/25/2023

Long homeworks, but very willing to help and super nice to talk to. Lectures are usually pretty good, but the content isn't always the most interesting.

Laxman Dhulipala
CMSC451

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/24/2023

The grading scheme for this semester was very very generous. The midterm and final are only worth 30% of our grade, while 70% is on homework. However, the drawback was that the homework was extremely time-consuming. There were 2 parts for each homework, writing (70-80%) and coding (20-30%). I really enjoyed the coding assignments, the difficulty varied from easy to medium to hard, just like leetcode. Ngl the homework took me at least 40 hours for each. But the TAs are super helpful, we could always ask them to verify our solutions or explain the concepts. Feel free to go to OH if you are struggling in the course. Laxman is very nice and responsive on piazza. He's a great lecturer as well. He also cares very much about his students, given that we got like 4-5 extensions on the homework. The course wasn't easy but you'll definitely learn alot. Take it with him if possible. The cutoffs were reasonable, as long as you spend time on the coursework, there's no way to fail the class.

Laxman Dhulipala
CMSC451

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/23/2023

If I could rate him more than 5 starts, I would. Prof Dhulipala is very understanding. He wants to make sure everyone will take CMSC451 and pass it. Office hours are your best friend, he will try his best to answer your questions. Homeworks are quite difficult (as expected) but exams are very fair!! I would say the lectures vary in terms of speed. Sometimes he goes through material fast since there is a lot to cover and imo it was just better to listen and not take notes. (He also record lectures and uploads them!). All in all, awesome professor for CMSC451

Laxman Dhulipala
CMSC451

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/22/2023

Laxman has been my favorite professor so far in my career at UMD. He has a strong passion for the course material and is always looking for ways to make the course more effective in passing that passion on to students. In many ways, 451 just picks up where 351 finished, so you spend time diving deep into a lot of different algorithmic ideas and patterns in a way that really helps you to strengthen your algorithmic thinking. It's also still just a survey course of algorithms, and after finishing this course I feel like a whole world has opened up to me. This semester we had competitive programming-style homework problems on CodeForces as well as written theory homeworks. You could pick any language you liked to implement your solutions. I really liked this way of teaching the course since it kept a strong focus on algorithm theory (very fun) but also forces you to really understand how to implement algorithms in practice. Definitely take Laxman, he cares.

Laxman Dhulipala
CMSC451

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/12/2023

Laxman is a great professor. He is very knowledgeable about algorithms (particularly graph algorithms and parallel algorithms). He is responsive to student feedback, and most importantly, he picks interesting topics to cover in the class. There is one homework every two weeks with a written and coding part. In my opinion, the coding parts were more challenging than the written part in most cases. He ended up giving a lot of extensions this semester, but hopefully in the future he will do a better job making the assignments doable in two weeks and sticking to that deadline. The ones towards the middle of the course are the hardest, but just try all of the problems, go to office hours and don't worry about your grade. The grading scheme is super favorable, so just focus on learning. The mitderm was easy as well.

Laxman Dhulipala
CMSC451

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
04/07/2023

The homeworks are definitely long, but Laxman was extremely responsive on piazza and always answered questions clearly in class. Was caring and compassionate during office hours which you should definitely take advantage of.

Laxman Dhulipala
CMSC451

Anonymous
03/09/2023

Homeworks take extremely long, no consideration for students, doesnt respond to emails, condescending, take someone else if at all possible. biggest regret of my life.

Laxman Dhulipala
CMSC451

Expecting a C+
Anonymous
12/19/2022

Had the other section, but I watched his lecture videos instead. Beast. Never left me hanging on Piazza. As far as the class goes, the homeworks made me want to cry. The dynamic programming homework was so hard for me that I started to resent the course.

Laxman Dhulipala
CMSC451

Expecting a C
Anonymous
12/06/2022

New professor from industry, but has an excellent handle on a few areas that other professors struggle with. First of which is relating abstract material to real life. He manages to do this most often by incorporating the history and intuitions from which algorithms were developed into the introduction to learning them. Second of which, he takes time to engage with the class ALL THE TIME, and will not often leave a question unanswered. If he does, he usually clears it up after class. Exceedingly responsive on Piazza and ridiculously welcoming in office hours. Prof Dhulipala is a wonderful and passionate teacher, and I urge you not to take the kindness for granted nor take advantage of it, but instead take this opportunity to learn! The course material is rough, no doubt, but it is not for lack of teaching skill. The homeworks take a LONG time. I waited until far later in the semester than I should have to get assistance with them, so I will say this: do not push this class to the backburner to focus on other easier assignments first. I would say the best strategy would be to take some time to at least write questions you have about the homeworks at face value, early on, so you have something concrete to bring to office hours, and then go early to get guidance and intuition. Getting even a little bit of help goes miles.

Laxman Dhulipala
CMSC451

Expecting an A
Anonymous
11/17/2022

Lectures are written on iPad. He keeps lectures interesting by relating algorithms to the history and intent of them in the past. His explanations focus on building intuition for algorithms and he answers questions thoroughly. The class is good for building general algorithms intuition which may help in other coursework. The class is a decent amount of work, the homeworks each take 6-8 hours and are quite difficult. The exams are reasonable. He is open to suggestions since he is new at teaching but he is doing a good job already.