Robert Sanner

This professor has taught: EDSP652, ENAE202, ENAE432, ENAE641, ENAE788K, ENME202

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Robert Sanner ENAE432 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 10/30/2024	Although many people think Sanner is somewhat rude and pretty strict, it is the only way to truly learn control theory in my opinion. This class was by far the hardest class I've ever taken at UMD due to the extremely theoretical topics and methods covered. However, it is a very passable class if you put the work in. Now, this is easier said than done, as the lecture notes are again very theoretical and abstract, the homeworks require long derivations and critical thinking, and the exams consist of questions that test all facets of your understanding of the class. With all of this being said, Sanner and the TAs work overtime to make sure you understand the class as clearly as possible. During lectures, Sanner uses his own pre-written notes. These notes are some of the most descriptive and clear notes I've ever seen and Sanner goes into even more detail during lecture (hint hint, do not skip a lecture or you will be confused). He is open to answering "good" questions during class and is very good at making sure you understand his answer. For homeworks, they often consisted of 3-4 multi-part questions that, as I said before, were some of the most complex problems I've ever had to solve. These problems were designed to cover almost every single slide of lecture notes and test your understanding of the material. I'd say I spent most of my time each week on these homeworks just because of how much thinking that was required to solve them. However, I can confidently say that the TAs (I didn't go to Sanner's office hours so I can't speak on it) were the most impressive part about this class. We've all had a TA that seems like they are more confused than we are, right? Well that was the polar opposite with this class, as the TAs sometimes explained things better than Sanner would and were the main reason I still had some sanity by the end of the semester. They were more than willing to teach you (as opposed to give you the answer) and it worked every. single. time. I cannot stress enough how important office hours were for me in not just passing the class, but truly understanding control theory. Discussions were also a very big part in helping me understand the class, as we worked through past homework problems, exam problems, and examples the TA brought to class that day. The exams were also quite tough. Since there was a time constraint of 50 minutes, if you didn't immediately know how to solve a problem, it was better off to skip it and start another one. Fortunately, after doing the homeworks as well as the practice exam provided by Sanner, most of my studying was just reviewing concepts I was still shaky on and rarely was I trying to teach myself entire topics the night before the exam. In short, they were very hard, but also very fair. Instead of a final exam, Sanner assigns a final project that truly encapsulates the entire semester, requiring you to turn back to page 1 of your notes. I actually thought the project was very interesting, as it was not only a test of everything you learned over the semester, but also how to apply it for real world systems. Again, very time consuming, but very doable. In short, this class is very hard. Luckily, Sanner knows this and it is obvious that he set up an environment that allows his students to succeed if they take advantage of the resources. If you carefully work through homework problems, go to lectures, discussion, and office hours, and just generally work hard, you will do well. It is an extremely rewarding class and I couldn't imagine any other professor trying to teach control theory.
Robert Sanner ENAE432 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 09/07/2024	This was easily the hardest class I've taken in my academic career, but it was hard for the right reasons. Dr. Sanner is an extremely good lecturer. If you just put down your notes, and just pay attention to what he says and shows, you will understand the intuition and purpose for what we are learning, even if you don't get everything (aim to get 60-70% of a lecture which is a pretty average expectation). Putting in the work after class by going through the lecture notes step-by-step is how things will start making sense. The initial learning curve is extremely steep because you need to review differential equations, linear algebra, and complex algebra to even start doing the first few homeworks (and by the way, the homeworks are brutal but absolutely doable if you keep reviewing the lecture notes). At the end of this, you'll master the material. Success in the class is absolutely dependent on how much you absorb and master the content in the first half of the course (everything covered on the first midterm). Then, you will have developed enough intuition that the second half will feel manageable and rewarding. GO TO SANNER'S OFFICE HOURS. Think hard about the homework, try and absorb the lecture notes again and again, and talk about things in office hours. I promise you it will be very helpful and Dr. Sanner won't bite as long as you put in the work BEFORE coming to office hours. It all sounds like a lot. It is. The class feels like it should be 9 credits instead of 3 because it's seriously all-consuming. Get through this class and your academic maturity will skyrocket. Also... strongly consider getting an IPad or something similar for doing the homework. Good luck and take care of yourself.
Robert Sanner ENAE202 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/20/2024	He teaches what you need to know for your homework and exams well. The homework can be a little convoluted sometimes since he frequently expects you to read 4 pages of linear algebra/flight dynamics stuff that are beyond the scope of anything you've done prior in order to complete the homework. He sometimes puts that stuff on the exams, so you have to make sure you remember it. The labs are all really easy and you get to leave once you're done (it is scheduled as a 2 hours lab, but most people are out halfway each time). He is inflexible with late work.
Robert Sanner ENAE202 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/19/2024	He's a pretty rigid professor but he definitely knows his stuff and teaches it pretty concisely, although i wouldn't say he's the most engaging lecturer. As long as you pay attention in class and come to lecture, most people should be able to get a solid B without any prior coding knowledge. The only gripe I have about the class are the exams which feel a little brutal sometimes. All the exams are written exams rather than on a computer, which is tough since you have to write code on paper and you're use to having the program catch grammatical or structural errors in your code, although from what i know this is standard in CS classes so ig its fair.
Robert Sanner ENAE202 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/08/2024	I don't even know where to start. If Sanner is going to wear a mask and WHISPER, at least wear a microphone. I walked into his class a minute late one time and walked DIRECTLY BY Sanner, and was unable to hear a single word he spoke. One time, I approached him roughly 20 minutes before an exam to ask for clarification of a minor general concept that confused me, and he REFUSED to even speak to me or acknowledge my presence. He would not help me out, which is literally his entire job. He also does not allow any form of questions to be asked during exams about anything whatsoever, which is more understandable, but says he intentionally makes questions as confusingly worded as possible to trip us up and make us second guess ourselves with nonsensical wording. Even if you stay after class to ask a question, Sanner is extraordinarily condescending, making it very clear that his intention in answering your question is to make you feel stupid compared to himself. Like he tries to make you seem like an idiot for not having as much knowledge as him when, duh, he literally gets paid to be the only one that understands it in the room. I have genuinely never heard another student across any grade or age express a single positive thing towards Sanner's teaching or attitude about it. And I do understand that this is just a very hard course, but to threaten us with an XF at the very thought of ANY collaboration with peers on any homework is so cruel given that engineering in general is such a collaboration-based industry. Robert Sanner is the absolute worst teacher, professor, or instructor I have ever experienced in my entire life on account of superiority complex he holds over inexperienced 18-year-olds.
Robert Sanner ENAE202 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/08/2024	This professor is extremely difficult to work with. I was taught the MATLAB portion of the course in high school but still took this class for its credit. His lectures where extremely confusing and taught in a horrible way. The tests also are horrible. There were questions which asked for the output of code, and there where a bracket or two missing. I (like most others) assumed it was a typo. If you try to ask a question about that he would immediately refuse to even look at the question. Nevertheless, it was a horrible test. Also, the professor is impossible to understand. He wears a mask, making him extremely quiet. He also doesn't wear a microphone so you can't hear him. I walked in right past him while he was talking and couldn't hear a thing. I DO NOT RECCOMEND this teacher.
Robert Sanner ENAE202 Expecting an A Anonymous 08/26/2023	Sanner is very, very thorough in his lectures. He will make sure you won't miss a detail. I actually found his lectures to be very interesting and they definitely will make you think. There are no online notes or guides he posts, so attending lecture is mandatory to success. He also gives alot of hints that will help on the homework assignments and project. The homeworks have long and verbose prompts that are sometimes challenging to read in themselves. However they don't take too long once you figure out what's being asked. I even found some of them to be fun. The biggest part of the class are the exams, make sure to practice as much as possible since they do make an impact on your grade.
Robert Sanner ENAE432 Expecting a B- Anonymous 06/26/2023	His lectures are practically useless as all he does is read off his presentation slides that he shared before class which is nice if you don't want to have to go to class but bad otherwise. Additionally, he always sounds mad when someone asks a question during class removing what could be the last reason to actually come to class, especially since they are in the morning. His lecture notes can be pretty confusing and sometimes incomplete which is a pain since there is no textbook to cross reference them with. Due to all this, I spent the entire semester terrified that I was going to fail this course but somehow managed to pull out a decent grade, largely thanks to the TAs who were truly working overtime to answer questions and help with homework. Unfortunately he was the only professor teaching this course last semester and I'm pretty sure that a constant so good luck and go to the TAs office hours.
Robert Sanner ENAE202 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/17/2023	Sanner is a smart guy and his lectures are thought provoking. Unfortunately, the lectures often go much deeper than necessary for your assignments in 202 which left me feeling like I didn't need to attend maybe half of the lectures. That said, the homework and labs are honestly not that hard if you have ever programmed before. Final project was not too bad either, given how much time you are given to complete it . BUT the exams... who's idea was it to program on paper?? The exams were so unfair and I feel like they did not represent anyone's programming skill. -12% for syntactic errors that would be caught by the compiler?? Either way, you don't have a choice as an AE major, so study up for the exams, they are worth a lot of your grade.
Robert Sanner ENAE202 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/13/2022	Sanner is probably the smartest professor I have met so far, and that's a pretty hard feat. I feel you could ask him any possible question about the class (and then some) and he could give you the rocket scientist answer if he wanted to. I really learned a lot about matlab and c++ in this class and I feel many other professors probably wouldn't have been able been able to go this in depth. Now that's said, Sanner is also one of the least personable and accommodating professors I have met. He does not allow you to work on lab assignments beforehand, which would be extremely convenient if say, you had to leave early for a bus to go home for spring break. Other than that, most labs are pretty mild. Students have often asked questions in class and if he doesn't ignore them, he answers them like it's an inconvenience. Exams are difficult and contain a lot of little intricacies that if you don't know the material through and through, you're screwed. Averages for the first two exams were sitting around 70, after a curve that could be 5-15 percent. Some questions are purposely made to trip you up. Exams also have a pretty high weighting so make sure to study. I personally do have some prior python and matlab experience so I did ok, but someone with limited or no experience at all will definitely struggle after the pace picks up a few weeks in. Also, c++ is a completely different animal for the unexperienced so buckle up. As of before the final, the mean is sitting around 77 percent (according to canvas), but take this with a grain of salt. TLDR: Tough class, especially for unexperienced. No-nonsense professor with difficult assignments. Make sure to study well before hand.
Robert Sanner ENAE202 Anonymous 05/10/2022	Sanner's lectures were meticulous and thought out, and from the layout of the course, it was easy to tell that this was not the first time that this course had been taught by him. His lectures were certainly well put together, and if you paid attention, it was nearly impossible to not grasp the concepts. The homeworks and labs were also fair for the most part, though there were certainly stand-out assignments that took a long time to finish due to the difficulty of the content. Sanner as an instructor is good, but he seems to not care in the slightest bit about any of his students. The setup of the course and it's incredibly strict rules and the fact that lectures are online without being able to even see him through his camera makes it seem like he just wants to "set it and forget it" with this course of that he doesn't want to interact with his students. He is frequently dismissive with questions during lectures, but it seems as though it is because there is a set amount of information that he needs to cover each class, and doesn't have much time to stop. However, he exceeds the 50 minute lecture time every single class, which makes it inconvenient when trying to arrive at the next class on time. Additionally, he seems super condescending in all of his communications, which is a stark contrast with his apparent terror at talking face to face with students. He takes forever to grade, but doesn't accept any late work, and offers the most miniscule amount of exam prep material ever. It was pitiful how little studying material we received. He gave us a 5 question practice exam for each midterm (the midterms have 12 questions) and did not include answers. If you wanted answers, you needed to go to office hours. It made studying for the exams really difficult and rather stressful, since the exams themselves are weighed unbelievably heavily. Overall, helpful class and I learned a lot, I just wish someone else taught it. The TAs were super nice and very helpful though, so I recommend getting to know one or multiple of them and asking them questions in office hours or via email when you need help.
Robert Sanner ENAE202 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/10/2022	This course is required, so I'm sorry to all aerospace majors. This course was needlessly confusing and convoluted based on the way Dr. Sanner elected to structure assignments. Many of the homeworks revolved around math concepts such as eigenvalues and differential equations that many students in the class were unfamiliar with (including myself). This muddied the true objective of the class: learning MATLAB and C++. Dr. Sanner seemed more interested in letting us know that he knew how to do linear algebra and differential equations than making his students familiar with basic coding. All students I've talked to agree that we "learn nothing" in lecture, and there's barely any point in attending at all. Lastly, Dr. Sanner never had his camera on, and didn't allow students to unmute during lecture. We had to type in the chat box, which was often missed until class was fully over. On more than one occasion, Dr. Sanner sent messages after the lecture answering questions that were given during. Every exam was curved, but the average on them was a C- (post curve). Uninspiring professor that was more focused on a thesaurus than teaching his students.
Robert Sanner ENAE202 Anonymous 04/21/2022	Sanner is very knowledgeable but his lectures are boring and he scares the shit out of me. Very intimidating and often condescending. Exams are bullshit online quizzes and don't really feel fair. The only good thing to take away from him is that I learned something, even if I lost my mind in the process. I wouldn't recommend Sanner, but it's not like you really have a choice to take his course.
Robert Sanner ENAE788K Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/26/2021	Normally, Sanner is a great professor and teaches in an engaging manner; however, the one thing I will knock him for is his grading. One of the most important things when it comes to understand your progress in the course is seeing the grades you get from homeworks and exams. He consistently either grades homeworks and exams 4-5 weeks after they're due or flat-out never grades them (happens with the later homeworks). He also never makes the grades for final exams public. I can literally go on GradeScope right now and see that my assignments I submitted for the second half of the course are marked "Submitted" with no numerical grade attached but still somehow ended up with a final grade on Testudo. If you e-mail him for your grade for your final exam, he just flat-out ghosts you. At the end of the day, people attending grad school and taking a 788-level aerospace class are here to learn, especially from mistakes made on their homeworks and exams. Zero feedback on the second-half (and definitely the most important part) of the course doesn't help students learn from mistakes.
Robert Sanner ENAE202 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/27/2021	Dr. Sanner is very knowledgeable and communicates an immense amount of information through lectures. The biggest issues with his teaching are with respect to the homework and labs, which tend to be more of an exercise in reading comprehension and doing exactly what he is telling you to do than to learn how to implement the coding practices properly. The length of the homework problem descriptions makes them very detailed and easy to get a good grade on, but the lack of straightforward questions allowing students to practice the topics more makes completing code on exams more difficult. The exams are written with a lot of knowledge of math and notation necessary to complete the questions. Additionally, most types of collaboration with classmates can be considered academic dishonesty by him, and never share code or how to approach lab or homework problems. Overall, Sanner is a good professor who you can learn a lot from, his homework and labs could just involve more practice to help students do better in the class.
Robert Sanner ENAE788K Anonymous 08/10/2020	Overall: Intelligent professor, but tough. The course: Do not take this course without knowledge of control systems (I hope that was obvious by now). A brief, quick review of probabilities will give you the false impression this course will go in a smooth and easy manner. The pace quickly picks up. He speeds through concepts pretty quickly, as an intellectual of his caliber would do. The only problem is he expects you to already know concepts he doesn't cover. Listening and note-taking together, can not happen with both being completed to 100% accuracy. He writes A LOT. And talks a lot as he writes. He talks in a very calculated manner, which after processing, makes sense. But you don't have time to process because he's already saying/writing the next thing while you're trying to process the first. The connections between the points that are written on the board, so that you can make sense of the notes later, are spoken. So in essence, you have to write everything he writes, and write everything he says. Be prepared for the lecture time to dramatically increase due to the pausing, processing, and writing of what is spoken/written. Email exchanges will be very "like code" - almost inhumane. Lacks empathy, but will be willing to makes adjustments given legitimate rationale. Your success, unless you are independently smart (if you are, then you already know), your success will ultimately depend on the study group you make, and the hours you have to commit to understanding the material outside of lecture. Can't knock his intelligence. But as a professor, you teach to convey and educate others - not throw out your knowledge and see what sticks. You're not hired just because you're smart. You're hired to teach to students. To people with different backgrounds and different stories. And understand that they are people at the end of the day. Not computers.
Robert Sanner ENAE202 Expecting a C+ Anonymous 06/25/2019	If I had a different teacher, I may not have even passed the class. Homeworks range from absolute brutalities to half hour trivialities.
Robert Sanner ENAE202 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/21/2015	Dr. Sanner does what he does very, very well. He has this class (and I assume, 432 as well) down to a science. Some of the below reviews reference him having a bit of an ego; I didn't find that to be the case. He is clearly a really intelligent person, and he obviously loves what he does (either that or he deserves an Oscar, because he completely fooled me). His HWK's discuss everything from planetary orbit to rocket simulations to wave plots from Proxima Centauri to Fourier Transforms. You get the sense that he put in way more time on these HWK's than any other professor ever would. He loves this stuff. Lectures are interesting, and he puts all of the code notes on ELMS for reference. HWK's and labs become increasingly challenging, but usually are not too bad because some hints and tips are included. The content of the HWK's can be fascinating. Midterms and the Final are like compsci finals - written, with a good amount of theory (knowing what type of errors, if any, etc). The final especially is tough, because of sheer length and complexity [to Computer Science majors, it wouldn't be that bad, but to Aero Engineers, it is not easy]. Overall, I think Sanner is true professor's professor, and I look forward to (and fear) Systems and Controls Junior Year. One last thought: if possible do NOT take the first lab section, and leave time before your lab in between classes. You can use the free time to work on the labs (he releases them with the first lab section) and then leave labs early when you finish.
Robert Sanner ENAE432 Expecting an A Anonymous 07/10/2012	This is a class that will make you work for your grade and Dr. Sanner knows it. He is very good about clearly describing the course in the syllabus and he has been teaching this class for several years and has gotten very good at it. He may be the best professor in the Aerospace department.
Robert Sanner ENAE202 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 07/17/2011	(NOTE: For Spring 2011 Sanner did not teach ENAE202, so he may not for future classes as well. This review is for Mr. Parker who works at NASA Goddard and taught our class) Although a programming background is useful for this course (which covers MATLAB and C++), it is not necessary. I had no programming experience and did well. Mr. Parker was always willing to go over homework questions at the start of class, stay after class to answer questions, and thoroughly answer emails. Homework was challenging, but doable. If you want to do well on tests, spend at least two hours (or more) working on your own homework code, before asking a friend if you have questions, because you're a lot more likely to remember things after having that "ah ha!" moment, than if a friend just tells you the answer.
Robert Sanner ENAE202 Expecting an A fiddlerkrt 06/03/2011	202: Shame he isn't teaching this class anymore. Moved at a very reasonable pace and lectures were always very easy to follow. I struggled at the end of matlab and the beginning of C++, but he never gives unreasonable problems so I always managed to figure out the problems in the end. 432: Probably my favorite class I have taken so far. The homeworks are challenging, but they are excellent ways to learn the material. I strongly recommend working in groups on these homeworks though. The tests as have been stated are not impossible. I got a B-, B+, and A+ (took me a little time to get used to them). The worst part of this class was the final project, so make sure you start at least four days in advance.
Robert Sanner ENAE432 Expecting an A Anonymous 07/22/2010	A lot of people will say that Sanner is an a$$ and has a huge ego, and I agree, that's how he comes across in a classroom setting. But he does that because he's not going to put up with students $hit. In class he is extremely straightforward and will write down everything you need to know. I can read through my notes and it's almost like being in class because he's extremely meticulous about his details and writes exactly the way he talks. I went to Sanner a few times to discuss the final project he gives and he was way nicer than he would seem. As long as you try, and show him that you've attempted to understand what he wants you to do, he's extremely nice and helpful. I sat with him a few times and showed him what I had done and how I had attempted to solve the problem and the logic behind it, and he was very very helpful. Go in expecting to be told what to do and expecting answers without putting in the work and obviously he's not going to be that kind. As much as I despised his class during the semester (I'm not so hot at controls/programming) I really liked the class in retrospect and I have a lot of respect for Sanner. The guy is a genius
Robert Sanner ENAE202 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/23/2010	labs are not bad and hw is easy if u have a few friends to help u. final and midterm are horrible so try to do well in everything else to balance them out.
Robert Sanner ENAE202 Expecting an A+ a778999 05/18/2010	I had Dr. Sanner for ENAE432 and ENAE202. Overall he's a really good teacher, probably the best in the department. Yes he may be cocky and an asshole but you will actually learn stuff from him. Just go to class, pay attention, and take notes. In both cases, do not buy the textbooks unless you have unlimited money because his lectures cover everything and the books don't really help. ENAE202: This class was really straightforward and pretty much a joke. Note-taking is optional because he basically goes through MATLAB/C++ code that you can download from Blackboard. All the assignments/tests can be done easily by following the outline of his code and tweaking it. ENAE432: This is a more challenging course. You basically have to attend lectures and take notes. The textbook is by no means a replacement (IMO it's useless). If you're absent, get notes from a classmate. The homeworks are pretty time consuming so work in groups. Tests are not hard but time management is key. Fortunately he gives extra credit opportunities so it's not hard to well. Final project can be tedious if you procrastinate.
Robert Sanner ENAE202 Expecting an A aloo1111 05/11/2010	A nice guy...I wasn't a big fan of his homework problems as they sometimes were confusing, but normally he points things out in the assignment and it is easier than you would think.
Robert Sanner ENAE202 Expecting an A MooseNinja 04/29/2010	I started this class with 3 years of experience in Java (and a 5 on the AP AB Compsci Exam). Dr. Sanner said something about no one knowing how to program and the deplorable state of high school education in this country. If you have experience, this class is a breeze. If not, you need to devote a lot of time to studying the programs from class. P.S. don't bother buying the books, they are expensive and useless.
Robert Sanner ENAE202 Expecting an A- Anonymous 10/24/2009	As stated in another review, this class splits up in to two sections for the C++ section. I took Moylan and she could not make the class any easier. I knew nothing about C++ but it didn't matter. She was ridiculously lax about deadlines and curved like crazy. Sanner on the other hand is a 5 star @$$hole. He has a huge ego - which is understandable, the guy is a genius - and is worthless at helping you. In lab, don't even bother asking him for help because you only have one shot. If you have more than one question, you're immediately stupid in his eyes - and he shows it - regardless of how much programming experience you have. In the Matlab portion, he covered all most everything you needed for the weekly lab in lecture so go to class and you should be ok. About the book(s) - don't buy them but try and find someone that did because they have a couple examples that might help if you get stuck. Google is also useful to find forums for coding examples.
Robert Sanner ENAE432 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/16/2008	Most people need help with homeworks, so form study groups. Dr. Sanner is rather condescending if you seek homework help from him. His lectures are sometimes entertaining, and he gives lots of notes, but the notes are often not enough information to do homework. He moves through material quickly. He does curve though. I had a lot of 50%s on homeworks and 70%s on quizzes, but as long as you try, you should pass.
Robert Sanner ENAE202 Anonymous 05/06/2008	If you have never taken programming classes before and you have no idea what you're doing you won't understand what he's talking about. He explains things as much as he can but for a student new to programming it doesn't make much sense and he runs through things too fast. He gives off an air of superiority a lot, which might be earned, but I don't like it. Matlab and C++ homeworks aren't too bad. It's a lot of guess and check. Ask the TA for help, they're usually more willing to walk you through processes slowly.