Jon Sensinger

Haptics: ECE 4343. Haptics is the physical representation of a virtual environment, and it is achieved by controlling actuators to render impedances that correspond to that virtual environment. This course blends a mixture of human physiology, psychophysics, and statistics with an understanding of mechanism design and control. It involves lectures, labs, and student-initiated projects.

"I just want to say that it was a fun and positive learning experience as well as one of my favorite courses to date. I think you did a good job teaching the material but more importantly showed that you welcome constructive criticism and that you are willing to learn from us.”

"Honestly be prepared for a lot of work"

"If you fail the first exam it's okay, don't give up"

"Expect to put a lot of time into this course. However, by the end of the semester you will know so much that the final exam will be easy for you"

Nonlinear Control: EE 6383. This is a challenging theoretical course that explores nonlinear tools to assess stability and design controllers using techniques such as invariant set theorem, sliding mode control, adaptive control, feedback linearization, and backstepping. It tends to be a small, informal class in which everyone learns, struggles, and has fun together.

Numerical optimal control: EE 6013. This course focuses on various concepts of numerical optimization (including concepts like dynamic programming and Pontryagin's maximum principle), covers basic numerical optimization concepts (Jacobians and Hessians, gradient descent, Levenberg-Marquardt, regularization, equality and inequality constraints, etc.), more advanced concepts (implicit integration, algorithmic differentiation), and recent advances in the field (differential dynamic programming, stochastic optimal control, and student-led topics).