Spring 2027

Advanced Inorganic Chemistry

Advanced Inorganic Chemistry emphasizes symmetry, structure, and bonding of inorganic compounds, covering transition metal, organometallic, and bioinorganic topics.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Thomas Brunold4.5/5

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · Thomas Brunold

The class did not require the textbook, though one student noted it probably would have helped.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Apply group theory to solve problems dealing with molecular vibrations and chemical bonding.

  • Analyze experimental spectroscopic data quantitatively within the theoretical frameworks of molecular orbital theory or ligand field theory.

  • Explain the role of organometallic complexes and metalloenzymes in the key steps of catalytic cycles.

  • Perform electronic structure calculations (e.g., density functional theory) for small molecules and transition metal complexes and validate the computational results using experimental observables (e.g., structural and spectroscopic data).

Source: UW Guide

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

(CHEM 345 or concurrent enrollment and junior standing) or graduate/professional standing

CHEM 511 used by

“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree

Professors

Spring 2027

Thomas Brunold

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.62/5 from 203 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

For this course: 4.5/5 raw quality · 3.0/5 difficulty · 2 reviews

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Past student reviews · Thomas Brunold

Thomas Brunold described the class average as AB on the first day and was a generous grader. Students found the textbook unnecessary but potentially helpful for understanding the material.

Thomas Brunold was described as humorous and very patient with student questions, earning high praise for his teaching style.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2019: 3.45 GPA, 70.0% A/AB (n=20 letter grades); Spring 2023: 3.50 GPA, 54.5% A/AB (n=11 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.58 GPA, 76.9% A/AB (n=13 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Past student reviews · Judith Burstyn, John Berry

Judith Burstyn simplified the course by skipping hard-core material, noting exams closely mirrored practice tests and requiring consistent attendance. John Berry taught with clear, slow-paced explanations, using homework and take-home exams to reinforce learning. He was described as helpful and kind, making the difficult material more manageable for students.

JOHN BERRY is recorded teaching in Spring 2010, Spring 2012, Spring 2014, Spring 2016, Spring 2018, Spring 2020, Spring 2024, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JUDITH BURSTYN is recorded teaching in Fall 2007, Spring 2009, Fall 2009, Fall 2010. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

THOMAS BRUNOLD is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Spring 2007, Fall 2008, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Spring 2013, Spring 2015, Spring 2017, Spring 2019, Spring 2023, Spring 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Spring 2027

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 240

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
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Student experience

the class

Past student reviews · Thomas Brunold

Students described Thomas Brunold as humorous and patient, with one calling him the best professor they had ever had.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2024: 3.94 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=9 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.58 GPA, 76.9% A/AB (n=13 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.86 GPA, 95.5% A/AB (n=22 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Thomas Brunold

The class did not require the textbook, though one student noted it probably would have helped.

Past student reviews · Thomas Brunold

A student found Brunold to be a generous grader who cared about teaching the material.

Topics

  • Symmetry, structure, and bonding of inorganic compounds
  • Transition metal chemistry, organometallic chemistry, industrial catalysis, bioinorganic chemistry, solid-state chemistry, and main group chemistry
  • Group theory, molecular vibrations, and chemical bonding
  • Spectroscopic data analysis, molecular orbital theory, and ligand field theory
  • Electronic structure calculations and density functional theory

Skills

  • Applying group theory to solve problems involving molecular vibrations and chemical bonding.
  • Analyzing experimental spectroscopic data quantitatively using molecular orbital theory or ligand field theory.
  • Explaining the role of organometallic complexes and metalloenzymes in catalytic cycles.
  • Performing electronic structure calculations such as density functional theory and validating results with experimental observables.

Grades

Latest available · Spring 2026— not enough history to project Spring 2027.

average GPA
A / AB grades
letter grades
Instructor

Grade distribution · % of letter grades

A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

Grades over time

Through Spring 2026

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Not enough comparable courses for Spring 2027 in UW–Madison.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

Download part 1
Selected offering source records
CHEM 511 · Spring 2027

Advanced Inorganic Chemistry

Recorded 2026-10-29
Raw records 
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  {
    "run_id": "20261029T213040-0fa85c20",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-29 21:30:40.248904+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:224:002776",
    "course_id": "CHEM 511",
    "course_uid": "course_3c009c0fe685bfe140508df0",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "002776",
    "source_subject_id": "224",
    "title": "Advanced Inorganic Chemistry",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Spring"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
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Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-29

View the dataset on Hugging Face
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1
Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "0207150470a5472ad79490c0312a500fa2b7b22164fa0788df61252478942d2b",
  "requirements_status": "needs_review",
  "dataset_revision": "c9cd06eaa45f9ddf7e69faa38b89ff3d3dd995dd",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-29 21:30:40.248904+00:00"
}