Panagiotis Dimakis

This professor has taught: MATH135, MATH136, MATH140, MATH141H, MATH401, MATH410

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Panagiotis Dimakis MATH136 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/18/2025	Really great guy who actually cares about students learning. He says grades don’t matter, and fully proves it (the average on the first exam was a literal 99%). The exams do get harder as the semester goes on, but nothing crazy; if you spend a day or two studying, you’ll be totally fine. Plus, they’re all open-note. The class is pretty disorganized, though. The syllabus was never updated with the right exam dates or grading weights, and important emails sometimes came a little late. That said, the class is easier than most calc courses, so it kind of balances out. The final was definitely harder than the other exams, but still very doable. Also, every exam is out of 120 points instead of 100, so you basically get a free 20-point buffer.
Panagiotis Dimakis MATH136 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/17/2025	For the first time, I have actually understood any type of calc. He is very lax, and I appreciate that. It was open note exams for all three midterms and the final, and the practice exams he posts are the exact format of the actual exams.
Panagiotis Dimakis MATH136 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/16/2025	this professor is a good guy who is kind to his students and understanding of a student's state of mind surrounding exams (and math), which I think is genuinely pretty important and rare to the professor-ing profession. He's also incredibly smart, and it shines through! He's also VERY lenient when it comes to scoring exams (dropped the lowest of 3 exams + 'curves' each exam by a flat 20/100 points), and gives out practice exams that are very similar to the actual exam. I never left an exam thinking it was unfair. With that said, I did not personally mesh well with his teaching style at all </3 </3 I think he was a little bit out of his depth with this class since it's presumably a lot more basic than what he's used to (which you could def tell with how he'd occasionally backtrack and try to simplify a concept, which honestly seemed to end up confusing more students), combined with the fact that our class was very quiet and timid. As a solution i think he ended up using a lot of very specific terminology and questions from the textbook, which came across a little more disjointed to me than anything else, especially when giving context about a larger concept. he also writes on the chalkboard instead of the projector/camera combo, which i deeply respect but did resent a little at the beginning LOL. there were no notes uploaded. in the end what helped me a lot was my TA actually LOL. Lauryn is a gift and the way that she'd solve problems and explain larger concepts would make sooooo much more sense to me, and she had her own office hours that she'd host to do exam review and take questions. I'm not trying to be shady or something when I say that I learned more from her than I did from Professor Dimakis, and think she is genuinely an incredible teacher who knows how to read the room.
Panagiotis Dimakis MATH410 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/11/2025	One of the best math professors I've ever had. The course is based on the first 7 chapters of Baby Rudin, and the content is often dense and difficult, but Panos' teaching is excellent. He goes through all the proofs step-by-step and asks questions in a way that is engaging and makes it interactive so we learn the content better. His responses to students' questions are also very helpful. The course grade is 10% homework, 30% for each of the two midterms, and 30% for the final. The problems for most of the homework assignments and exams were exercises from the textbook, which were often very difficult (with exams taking 3-6 hours). However, this was balanced by the fact that the they were all take-home, and we had 24 hours for each of them. Homework was graded on completion. After talking to friends who took 410 with another professor, I feel that I took away much more from this class by taking it with Panos. As a postdoc, he truly cares about his students and wants them to learn and appreciate math instead of having to worry about grades or assignments. He is clearly passionate about the subject and often connects the proofs we write in class to how mathematicians work, giving us a glimpse of what doing real math looks like. I came away from the course with a solid understanding of basic topology, sequences and series, differentiation, etc. The only reason I am taking off one star is that I feel the homework and exams would benefit from having more easy-medium and fewer hard problems. I think that this would help me with practicing my understanding of the course concepts and gauging my understanding of where I'm at with the material.
Panagiotis Dimakis MATH136 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/11/2025	AMAZINGGGGG professor who genuinely wants you to pass his class. He cares very deeply and doesn't want you to feel as if the class is a burden, which is a nice change compared to other professors on campus. His tests were reasonable, so if you studied, you would pass. The reviews for the exam were very similar to the exam itself, so that was helpful. The exams were open-note and had a 20-point buffer, meaning there were 120 points on the exam, but you would be scored out of 100. The discussion was fine (I didn't go to any, but I heard they were useful). There were some downs, like him overcomplicating the math for some questions, but if you were confused, he would explain it to you, so don't be afraid to ask. He's a chill guy, and I 100% recommend taking him if you have the chance.
Panagiotis Dimakis MATH410 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/11/2025	The BEST math professor I've encountered. Panos is extremely knowledgable and interacts with everyone so well each lecture. I love how he never reads straight from the textbook, but instead tries to derive every proof himself, which really helped me understand how to problem solve and think about things. He also made each exam take-home including the final, making this class not very stressful unlike other professors. Highly recommend.
Panagiotis Dimakis MATH410 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/11/2025	He is super understanding and probably one of the most relaxed and laid-back professors I have ever had. There is hardly any graded work for the class, but everything is super confusing, and he expects you to do a lot of self-exploration if you really care about the subject. I wish I could take him again if I have the chance.
Panagiotis Dimakis MATH136 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/11/2025	Amazing human, but not the best teacher. This can be a double-edged sword because on one hand, you don't learn much but on the other hand he saves you time to focus on other classes. As a Bio major, I prefer this format but for math majors, you might not learn much. He has a pretty thick accent but it did not interfere with my comprehension of him speaking. Workload was pretty low, compared to Math135. I am not sure I learned much and there was a curve, but I certainly am grateful for that since I had other really hard courses to focus on. It was clear he was focused on other things in his life and I really appreciate that he did not make my life hell since other courses were already doing that. He also genuinely cares about students and is really philosophical in his approach to teaching, emphasizing the importance that students learn rather than memorize.
Panagiotis Dimakis MATH410 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/09/2025	Panos is one of the best math professors I have had at UMD. He obviously cared so much more about us understanding the concepts of the class and enjoying the proofs than "testing" us. All of our exams were take home and we were able to work on homework in groups. I couldn't recommend him more for this class.
Panagiotis Dimakis MATH136 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/03/2025	Best professor you could take for Math136. He dropped the lowest exam, all of our midterms and our final were open note, and he had a 20 point curve for each exam.
Panagiotis Dimakis MATH141H Expecting an A Anonymous 05/25/2025	Genuinely changed my perspective on math - turns out I didn't hate the subject, just the teachers I had before. Goes over concepts in multiple ways, asks comprehension questions (but not in a cold call way), is always super prepared, and is generally very invested in his students' success. Quizes and exams were reasonable, and while the homework was challenging, together everything felt like it helped me understand both the practical and theoretical parts of the content. The class was also made much easier by engaging more with Panos: going to office hours, asking questions, etc. Whatever class he has next, I hope they will enjoy one of the best that UMD has to offer.
Panagiotis Dimakis MATH141H Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/21/2025	GOAT ALERT. UMD hidden gem. Panos is genuinely the greatest teacher I have ever had EVER. He's so funny and made calc 2 super easy. The quizzes and exams were exactly like the practice quizzes he would post and he was a super lenient grader. The homework's were basically impossible but you could do them with a group. Go to his office hours because he gives lots of good information that couldn't be covered in class, as well as little easter eggs on what could be on quizzes/exams. Panos felt more like a friend than a professor and I'm genuinely going to miss seeing him. Aside from his character, his teaching is top tier as he spends lots of time breaking new concepts down. If he ever went too fast, he asked that we tell him so he could go back over it again.
Panagiotis Dimakis MATH141H Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/20/2025	Panos is genuinely one of the best professors I have had at UMD. I am so beyond appreciative of everything about him — not only is he a wonderful teacher (and explains concepts very well + at a slow pace so everyone understands), but he is SO kind and understanding towards all of his students. Following a terrible experience in MATH140 with a different professor, Panos made up for it x100. If you have the opportunity to take him, I would highly recommend it. Quizzes & exams were very fair and were almost exactly what we went over during lecture. He is also a very generous grader and hosts long office hours to re-explain everything taught in lecture. Take him!
Panagiotis Dimakis MATH141H Expecting an A Anonymous 05/16/2025	UGHH. Don't even know what to write because he was so genuinely fire. Best math professor I have ever encountered. He's young, so he's not boring like the other professors. He is super fucking funny and entertaining, so class doesn't seem boring, and he makes you actually want to learn math. The quizzes were hardish but never impossible. The exams were fair, if you know how to do the problems he goes over in class, and on the review, it's so hard to do poorly. I recommend going to office hours, it helps a lot with the exams, and both Aris and Panos are fun to chat with. BESTTTT fucking professor. Already miss him.
Panagiotis Dimakis MATH401 Expecting a C- Anonymous 05/14/2025	Found it impossible to learn anything, dont take this professor. He explains things in a very wonky way and exams were unrelated to anything we learned.
Panagiotis Dimakis MATH141H Expecting a B Anonymous 05/12/2025	The BEST professor I have ever encountered. He truly cares about his students and urges everyone to come to office hours for additional help beyond class time. He will even set time aside to meet with you if his office hours do not accommodate your schedule. The exams and quizzes may be a bit tedious, but they are fair and simple if proper studying is done. Review ANY topics he suggests in class because they will likely if not definitely appear on an exam or quiz. Overall, study well, attend every lecture and office hours, and you will likely succeed in this class. I will genuinely miss Panos as a professor. If you have the opportunity to take any of his courses, you will not regret it.
Panagiotis Dimakis MATH401 Expecting an A Anonymous 02/04/2025	Great Prof - finished syllabus halfway through the semester and then took class recommendations on what to teach. Take home midterms, pretty easy homework and final paper which made a lot of sense for this class. Truly goated
Panagiotis Dimakis MATH401 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/09/2024	Classes were easy enough to follow/understand. He's a pretty engaging lecturer. He made our midterm a take-home exam to be solved using a computer, which was awesome. Also the final exam was replaced with a project, which is probably a lot better since this class should be an APPLICATIONS of linear algebra class. The homeworks were a bit long but they were pretty helpful in helping to understand course content.